By Neal Wong

San Francisco tenants are paying some of the highest rents in the City’s history, with the average rent for all bedrooms and property types citywide reaching $4,772, according to Zillow Rentals data as of today. In the Sunset District, rents in the 94116 zip code average $4,673, up $1,173 from a year ago, and in 94122, average $4,495, an increase of $995 from last year.

On Thursday, S.F. Mayor Daniel Lurie unveiled a package of reforms aimed at San Francisco’s “rent emergency,” combining six proposed ordinances with $31 million in new funding. The mayor’s office cited data from Apartment List showing the median rent in San Francisco has climbed 25.6% over the past year, faster than any other major city in the country in 2026. The rise in rents has been mirrored by a rise in evictions, with more than 1,000 notices already filed this year, putting the City on pace for its highest eviction total in nearly a decade and roughly a quarter of those filings tied to nonpayment of rent.

“Today, most San Franciscans feel our City is finally moving in the right direction, but many are also asking whether they can still afford to live here,” Lurie said. “Today, we are taking action to tackle San Francisco’s rent emergency head-on and help San Franciscans stay in their homes.”

The City already had more than $54 million budgeted for emergency rental assistance and eviction legal defense this fiscal year. Among the new funding, the package includes $27 million to help keep roughly 650 extremely low-income households housed as federal Emergency Housing Voucher funding lapses ahead of schedule at the end of 2026. The package also adds $3 million this year to the City’s existing Tenant Right to Counsel program, expanding full-scope eviction representation to 400 households that previously would have received partial representation. The City is also putting $1 million toward a “Know Your Rights” campaign to educate renters and property owners on their legal protections and responsibilities.

The package includes a 25% increase in required Ellis Act relocation payments to displaced tenants – now totalling nearly $3,000 per person, a cap on annual rent increases from banked rent and capital improvement charges and introduces new legislation blocking evictions for tenants who fall only narrowly behind on rent.

District 3 Supervisor Danny Sauter introduced the banked-rent increase measure. Banked rent allows landlords to accrue unused annual rent increases from past years and apply them later, sometimes all at once, resulting in a large rent spike for tenants.

“This moment calls for stronger action to keep longtime residents in their homes, free of harassment and clear of devastating surprise rent hikes,” Sauter said.

District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder sponsored the nonpayment eviction legislation.

“I want to thank the mayor for supporting the eviction threshold legislation my office worked on with the Anti-Displacement Coalition that will prevent evictions of longtime rent-controlled tenants who have miniscule, one-time, or accidental rent shortages,” Fielder said.

Additionally, new legislation will require an annual notice to tenants of rent-increase limits and just-cause eviction rules. Also, the City will encourage renters to file complaints against landlords who break rental laws, in an effort to expand enforcement.

Gail Gilman, executive director of the Eviction Defense Collaborative, welcomed the package. Gilman’s nonprofit provides rental assistance, legal support and advocacy to tenants.

“San Francisco is facing an eviction crisis, and we’re excited to see the mayor and Board of Supervisors act with urgency to go to bat for tenants,” Gilman said. “Investing in ‘Know Your Rights’ education and expanding legal representation for tenants facing eviction will empower tenants and help prevent displacement. This is how we stop homelessness before it starts and keep San Franciscans housed.”

Anastasia Yovanopolous, president of the SF Tenants Union, a nonprofit that focuses on preserving and expanding tenant rights, said that the package was not sufficient.

“It falls seriously short of what is needed to address the displacement that is happening today,” Yovanopolous stated. “Of course more funding for eviction defense is positive, but that may not stop evictions – it just helps the lawyers get paid.”

Yovanopolous argued that several of the reforms simply duplicate protections tenants already have under state law, rather than expanding rent control or freezing rent increases outright.

“The mayor’s plan falls short because it doesn’t add rent control to more units, freeze the rent or increase eviction protections,” Yovanopolous said. “Increased noticing to tenants of a rent increase does not help them afford the higher costs year after year.”

Yovanopolous also responded to coverage of the package that frames new housing construction as part of the solution.

“Every article we have read touting this package adds a paragraph about how the City needs to build more units, but that does nothing to help the tenants who are being displaced today,” Yovanopolous said. “It’s a red herring to pretend the Mayor is doing something to address costs.”

For tenants navigating the current market before the ordinances take effect, Yovanopolous said they should seek counseling.

“If they are facing immediate eviction, they should rush to the Eviction Defense Collaborative with their paperwork,” Yovanopolous said.