Supervisors Unanimously Approve Law Protecting Fillmore Residents Facing Massive Rent Spikes

SAN FRANCISCO — In response to Fillmore residents hit with huge rent increases, the Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a law today restoring their rent control protections and closing a loophole in the city’s rent ordinance.

“The rent hikes at Frederick-Douglass Haynes are unconscionable,” Preston said. “No one should have their rent control ripped away without any say, especially long-term African-American residents. My legislation restores rent control for these tenants and makes sure we close this loophole for good.”

For years, some residents at FD Haynes, a 104-unit affordable housing complex in the heart of the Western Addition, 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, they asserted that the residents no longer were protected by rent control. As a result some families saw astronomical hikes.

Patricia Beasley has lived with her family at FD Haynes since 1977. After the repairs, they saw their rent jump last July from $1,408 to $1,921 a month, the first annual increase. On July 1, their rent jumped an additional $513. By 2026, their three-bedroom apartment will cost $3,973 per month, a 182% increase in monthly rent over five years.

The Beasley family and other 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 – rent control protections no longer applied.

In response, Supervisor Preston authored an ordinance that seeks to restore rent control in situations like that at FD Haynes. In the event a property owner gets tax-exempt bonds to finance repairs, a resident that has rent control retains those protections, and can only opt-out with written consent. For FD Haynes residents, the legislation restores their rent control protections and revert their monthly payments to the previous amounts.

“We are so relieved and grateful for the support of the Board of Supervisors, you were our last hope,” said Patricia Beasley, President of the Frederick Douglass Haynes Garden Apartment Tenants Association. “Thank you for answering our prayers. We don't have to worry about becoming homeless. Special thanks to the Housing Rights Committee of SF for their assistance and Supervisor Dean Preston for championing the legislation.”

The residents at FD Haynes were supported in their organizing efforts by the Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco. “It is a heartening to see the City make good on its ongoing commitment to Black San Franciscans and ensure their stability and ability to continue to live in the city they love and have and continue to give so much over the needs of a corporate out-state management company with serious gaps in how their ability to operate in San Francisco,” said Maria Zamudio, Organizing Director at the Housing Rights Committee of SF. “This was the right call, it's a long-time coming and given the conditions of tenants in SF right now, with 40% of tenants rent burdened in this city, it's encouraging to know that the board still has tenants' backs.”

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