San Francisco's AI boom is driving rents to record highs, with eviction notices up 44% citywide compared to last year, according to the city's rent board. Tenants are on edge as landlords seek to capitalize on the surge in wealth.
Maria Zamudio, executive director of the Housing Rights Committee, said her organization's clinic is completely at capacity. The phone lines at the downtown clinic ring constantly, and in-person counseling appointments fill days in advance. The rental assistance hotline averages 200 calls a week.
Soaring rents and strained tenants
The average one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco now costs $4,400 per month, up more than 25% from last year and nearly three times the national average. A two-bedroom costs $6,000, and a centrally located four-bedroom easily exceeds $10,000.
Roughly two-thirds of city residents rent, and tenant protections cover more than 160,000 of the city's 250,000 units. However, landlords are exploiting loopholes to raise rents, convert condos, and evict tenants.
In September, Mayor Daniel Lurie declared a "rent emergency," proposing funding for eviction legal aid, larger payments to displaced renters, and caps on rent increases for newly vacant rent-controlled units.
Landlords capitalize on the boom
Critics say the measures address symptoms, not causes. "This is San Francisco on repeat," said Quintin Mecke, executive director of the San Francisco Council of Community Housing Organizations. "We treat housing like a commodity rather than a home that people have a right to, and we don't learn any lessons."
Anand Singh of the hospitality and tourism union Unite Here said tenants have faced 40% rent hikes in recent months. "When margins are as slim as they are, an extra $100 per month is easily enough to stress test a person's ability to live in the city," he said.
Under the Ellis Act, landlords can evict all tenants in a building if they exit the rental business, then sell the vacant property. With properties selling for as much as $1m over asking price to AI buyers, these evictions are increasing.
Evictions and displacement
In the Tenderloin, a rent-controlled building changed hands after the original owners defaulted on their loan. Many residents were not told to re-route their monthly payments, and when they paid the old landlord, they received nonpayment eviction notices.
Zamudio's organization has seen a 23% increase in landlord disputes related to repairs over the past year. "All of a sudden their landlord is paying attention and wanting to fix something that has been broken for years," said Danny Sauter, a city supervisor. "Folks are getting nervous."
In Chinatown, an investor purchased a rent-controlled building of mostly older Cantonese-speaking residents and began issuing eviction notices, claiming long-term renters were hoarders. Residents of 1120 Jackson St. have formed a union to fight back.
Impact on workers and the city
Displaced renters have few options. Frederick Jones, 47, spends half his earnings from his job at Ghirardelli on rent for a small room in a shared house. "I would love to have a place of my own, but in San Francisco, with its high rents, you can't," he said.
Many are moving into substandard units or doubling up. Margot Kushel, director of the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative, described patients skipping medication or meals to afford rent. "It's heartbreaking and it's real," she said.
According to Kim Tavaglione of the San Francisco Labor Council, only 7% of union members could afford to live in the city before the most recent rent spike. "Folks are living on the edge," she said. "There is nowhere left for people to go except outside the city."
Housing advocates disagree on solutions. Some, like Matthew Lewis of California Yimby, argue for building more housing to lower market rates. Others want more affordable housing. Both sides agree the system is broken. "For tenants who aren't looking at stock options, this is a lottery that most people lose," said Lewis.
Shanti Singh, a housing advocate in a rent-controlled Nob Hill apartment, said she always worries about eviction despite 10 years of never missing a payment. "Unless you're really rich, everybody is on edge."
