Ernesto Bustos, 70, has lived in the Natoma building for 23 years with five family members. Nathan Weyland for Al Jazeera America

The evictions target three of the four units in the building, the residents of which declined a buyout offer, according to SOMCAN Organizational Director Angelica Cabande. The three units housed nearly 20 people ranging in age from 7 to 83 years old.

On Thursday, the first of the Natoma residents will begin the process of a legal hearing about the evictions, and Cabande said community members are preparing to be in court to show support. Future actions may also escalate to protests at Big Tree Properties’ offices, Cabande added.

Natoma Street is in the San Francisco's South of Market District (SoMa), one of many neighborhoods embroiled in what some call a “class war” as evictions of long-term working-class residents and construction of luxury condos have spiked in recent years.

Ernesto Bustos, 70, has been living on the property for 23 years. He is a Vietnam War veteran and receives dialysis three times weekly. Bustos lives with five adult members of his family, including two other seniors aged 65 and 63, the elder of whom is disabled.

“That was very distressing,” Bustos said of receiving the eviction notice, which he says was the first time he heard of Big Tree Properties as their new landlord. “My brother-in-law has since lost 20 pounds. I was hospitalized because of this, because of the stress and … all the thinking and sleepless nights that are happening right now.”

Another resident, 53-year-old Rebecca Lacap, has been living in the building, where her mother and son lived, on and off for 20 years, since she moved to San Francisco from the Philippines. Frightened by the eviction letter, she immediately left the home where she raised her children. Now she lives in San Pablo, adding nearly 40 minutes to her daily work commute.

“I felt hopeless when we received the letter. I raised my kids in this neighborhood. I watched my kids play in the streets and built a home. This is our house,” she said.

Lacap added that the eviction notice was sent to the family on Good Friday, when the landlord’s offices were closed for Easter weekend.