ELLIS ACT



EVICTIONS

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San Francisco households forced out of their homes,



The Ellis Act is a state law which says that landlords have the right to evict tenants in order to "go out of business." All units in the building must be cleared of all tenants- no one can be singled out. Most often it is used to convert to condos or group-owned tenancy-in-common flats. Once a building becomes a condo it is exempt from Rent Control, regardless of the age of the building, and even if a unit owner subsequently rents to a long-term tenant.

There is no limit to the number of times a building owner can “go out of business”. Rent Board data shows some owners buying and Ellising multiple buildings over time. If these buyers do not want to be landlords, why are they buying buildings full of rental units? These Ellised buildings - now “out of business”- are also showing up for rent as illegal vacation rentals on sites like Airbnb and VRBO.

With landlords looking for ways to avoid renting to long-term tenants, the housing crisis in San Francisco will only be exacerbated. See our chart of no-fault evictions here.

If you have been evicted, please fill out our survey to add your story to a comprehensive map in the making!

Also, please take our pledge to boycott renting or buying from a landlord who has profitted by displacing tenants here! You can also look up an address to determine its eviction history.