Justice
Peak Eviction Came to San Francisco Back in the 1990s
The tech boom has seen a rise in renter evictions, but the practice was perfected during the dot com madness of the late '90s.
Late last week, the California Senate passed S.B. 1439, a law introduced by Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), with input from San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, after a flurry of last-minute compromises following the bill's near failure. If it's signed into law, it will require landlords in San Francisco to own a building for five years before they may evict tenants under the Ellis Act.
Enacted in 1986, the Ellis Act was designed to protect property owners who decided to leave the rental market. But in the intervening years it's been abused by some property owners and speculators who seek to force renters out of rent-stabilized dwellings in order to convert them into condos or Airbnb units.