San Francisco to give evicted tenants preference in housing program
• Ordinance addresses rising evictions from rental units as the housing market booms
• Program gives priority to eligible renters who were lawfully displaced on the basis of the Ellis Act
• Mayor vows to control “speculative evictions”
Protesters, including Filipinos, denounce speculative Ellis Act evictions. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO
SAN FRANCISCO, California — Displaced tenants will now be given preference for the City’s affordable housing programs.
Mayor Edwin M. Lee and Board of Supervisors President David Chiu April 18 launched the Ellis Act Housing Preference Program (EAHP) for tenants who are evicted under the State Ellis Act.
The Ellis Act Displacement Emergency Assistance Ordinance answers concerns over the increase in “Ellis Act evictions” that profit from rising market-rate housing prices.
The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the ordinance, and Mayor Lee signed it into law on December 18, 2013.
Landlords subject to the Rent Ordinance must have “just cause” to evict existing tenants. Of several allowable reasons for eviction that are not the tenant’s fault (“No-Fault Evictions”), Owner Move-In and Ellis Act Evictions are historically the most numerous. No-Fault Evictions rose significantly in 2013.
In response, the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development created the EAHP preference program to assist the rising number of tenants displaced by Ellis Act evictions and cannot afford a market rate rental unit.
The EAHP gives displaced tenant preference in City affordable housing programs. Tenants who have been or may be displaced by Ellis Act Evictions that took place in 2012 or later may apply for an EAHP certificate from the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development.
An EAHP Certificate will give tenants priority in getting a housing unit in a City-funded or Inclusionary housing development. Applicants must meet program eligibility rules.
“This gives San Francisco’s longtime tenants and working families the much needed and urgent help they need after an Ellis Act eviction,” said Lee.
The mayor added, “While we work on Ellis Act Reform to eliminate speculative evictions in our City, we are also providing some relief to tenants who can now more easily participate in San Francisco’s affordable housing programs, so that we remain a City for the 100 percent.”
Board President Chiu stated, “We must do everything we can to help San Franciscans facing Ellis Act evictions.” Chiu began this legislative effort in October 2013.
“This safety net measure assists our most vulnerable tenants and reinforces our commitment to building more affordable housing as quickly as possible,” Chiu added.
For more information on the EAHP and the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development, go to sf-moh.org.
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