San Francisco Rule on Rent Hikes Survives Lawsuit from Landlords

A group of San Francisco landlords failed to convince a state appellate court Monday that a local rule oversteps the city’s power to regulate residential rent prices.

At issue was a 2019 update to San Francisco’s eviction regulations that prohibited landlords from rent increases in bad faith to regain control of rental units exempt from rent controls.

The landlords argued that California’s Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act generally exempts newly constructed residential units, homes, and condominiums from local rent increase limits, and that law precludes San Francisco’s eviction-by-price hike rule.

The update to the regulations, though, doesn’t regulate rent, but instead ...