Sup. Preston Announces Legislation to Stop Rent Spikes On FD Haynes Residents, Others Who Lose Rent Control Protections
SAN FRANCISCO — With one Western Addition family facing a 36% rent increase, Supervisor Preston announced legislation today to stop massive rent spikes for tenants formerly protected by rent control.
“In a city with a $13 billion budget, in the midst of having necessary conversations about reparations to the Black community, it is unconscionable that the city wants to pay the bill for long-overdue repairs in subsidized housing by imposing rent hikes on long-term African-American residents,” said Supervisor Preston “We can, and we must, do better.”
A number of residents at Frederick Douglas Haynes Garden Apartments, a 104-unit affordable housing complex in the heart of the Western Addition, for years enjoyed protections provided by rent control, including limitations on how much their monthly rent could increase. But after the property owners received city funds in 2020 to make necessary repairs, it was asserted that the residents no longer were protected by rent control, and as a result some families saw astronomical hikes.
One family saw their rent jump from $1,408 to $1,921 a month, the first annual increase of what will be five years of $513 annual increases. By 2026, their three-bedroom apartment, where they have called home since 1977, will total $3,973, a 182% increase in monthly rent over five years.
The residents sought to challenge the loss of their rent control protections at the San Francisco Rent Board, but were denied in a November 2021 ruling. The Rent Board held that because the property used city funds to pay for repairs, effectively subsidizing the housing with public funds, then rent control protections no longer applied.
In January, Supervisor Preston sent a letter to HumanGood, the property manager, requesting a 90-day pause on rent increases for the residents at issue, which were set to take effect in February. They responded one week later, denying the request. All told, the annual rental increase for this year is approximately $36,000, according to the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD).
“We remain hopeful that we can work with MOHCD to find an amicable solution, but whether it is legislatively or administratively, we will not stop until we find a solution both for the FD Haynes residents, and for the long term housing stability of all San Franciscans who should be free from such spikes in their rent,” Preston.
The legislation announced today seeks to limit rent increases for residents formerly protected by rent control. The intent is, in situations where a resident is moving from a rent control paradigm to one in which the housing is government subsidized, that the maximum rent increases remain in line with what is allowed under Chapter 37.
“We cannot allow a situation where rent control tenants face huge rent increases because their homes fall under a government program that is supposed to help them, ” said Supervisor Preston. “We urge MOHCD to correct this situation without further delay.”
###