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What is the Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act?

The Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act is a powerful state law enacted in 1995 that places limits on rent control. For help understanding this legislation, schedule a consultation with a San Francisco Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act lawyer.

If you have received an eviction notice, it is not a lost cause. Contact our team of seasoned tenant attorneys to discuss your options.

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Original Occupants and Vacancy De-Control

Costa Hawkins allows landlords to raise the rent on an otherwise rent-controlled unit to market rate when the “last original occupant” no longer lives in the unit.

Original occupants are those that took possession of a unit with the express consent of the landlord at the time that the base rent for the unit was first established with respect to the vacant unit. The original occupant doesn’t have to be named on the lease but must be able to show they moved in at the same time as the named person on the lease.

A “Subsequent occupant” means an individual who became an occupant of a rental unit while the rental unit was occupied by at least one original occupant. For help understanding who consitutes as an original occupant, reach out to our San Francisco attorneys experienced in handling Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act cases.

50+

years of experience in representing tenants.

In addition to excluding new construction from rent control, Costa Hawkins also created exclusions for single-family homes and condominiums. Tenants already living in these units as of the passage of the ordinance continue to have rent control, however. There are also exceptions for units converted to condos. To learn more, reach out to a San Francisco Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act attorney.

Buildings Built After 1995 Are Excluded

Costa Hawkins established that residential buildings with a certificate of occupancy issued after February 1, 1995, could not be protected by rent control. This means that all “new” construction is automatically excluded from rent control protections with some limited exceptions.

Costa Hawkins Rent Increase Notices

If you’re a tenant who’s received notice of this type of petition, it’s not a lost cause. Depending on your relationship with the landlord, the length of your tenancy, and other factors, you may still have a right to rent control. A tenant’s attorney in San Francisco can advise you on the validity of the landlord’s Costa Hawkins petition, and possibly represent you at the Rent Board.

Learn More About the Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act From a San Francisco Lawyer

Contact a San Francisco Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act lawyer for assistance if your landlord is attempting to raise your rent. Our team at Wolford Wayne, LLP looks forward to hearing from you.​​​

$2 Million

Recovered on behalf of a South Bay Family after an apartment fire caused severe burns to a minor due to the lack of fire safety equipment.

$ 1.56 Million

Recovered on behalf of a group of 30 tenants living in an SRO in San Francisco who were living with horrendous conditions in their rent controlled apartments, including rodents, bedbugs, mold, water leaks, and harassment.

$1.3 Million

Recovered on behalf of a group of tenants living in an SRO in San Francisco dealing with negligent management, pest infestations and poor living conditions.

$1 Million

Recovered on behalf of a San Francisco family who were forced out of their long term home due to toxic mold and bad living conditions.

$ 850,000

Recovered on behalf of a San Francisco tenant who suffered personal injuries and was forced to vacate his home of fifteen years after dealing with many months of environmental contamination and disruptive and nuisance construction conditions.

$ 800,000

Recovered on behalf of an Oakland tenant who suffered a serious injury due to her landlord’s negligent maintenance of her home.

$ 750,000

Recovered on behalf of a couple living in a rent-controlled home in the outer Sunset neighborhood. Our clients were forced to vacate after the landlord served them with an Owner Move-In Eviction Notice. After the landlords failed to move into the property, our clients filed suit for wrongful eviction.

$ 700,000

Recovered for a long-term tenant in San Francisco. Our client was forced to move out of his apartment as a result of extreme landlord harassment.

$ 575,000

Recovered on behalf of a San Francisco couple who were forced to give up their home of over twenty years after their landlord’s dog attacked and killed their dog.

$ 575,000

Recovered on behalf of an elderly, disabled San Francisco tenant who was forced to move out of her rent-controlled San Francisco apartment of 50 years after the landlord/owner failed to resolve numerous building code violations that remained outstanding for over a decade.

$ 560,000

Recovered on behalf of two San Francisco tenants who were wrongfully evicted via a fraudulent owner move-in eviction where the owner failed to occupy the property as their principal place of residence.

$ 550,000

Recovered on behalf of a San Francisco tenant who was forced to vacate his home as a result of ongoing, disruptive construction and the owner’s refusal to provide him with alternative housing.

$ 525,000

Recovered on behalf of a tenant living in an illegal unit who was wrongfully evicted. Our client was forced to vacate under false pretenses while her landlord undertook supposedly necessary construction and then was never allowed to return.

$ 450,000

Recovered for a San Francisco tenant who was injured when her stairway railing collapsed.

$ 450,000

Recovered in action for a group of tenants forced to vacate their San Francisco apartment due to severe habitability defects, including mold and water leaks.

$ 395,000

Recovered on behalf of two long term San Francisco tenants who were fraudulently evicted from their home of over twenty years under the pretext of an owner move-in eviction.

$ 375,000

Recovered on behalf of a San Francisco family that was constructively evicted from their home in the Richmond District as a result of unlawful rent increases, defective conditions, and tenant harassment.

$ 375,000

Recovered on behalf of an elderly long-term tenant who was forced to vacate her long San Francisco apartment as a result of her landlord’s refusal to address longstanding defective conditions, including lack of heat, mold, rodent infestations, and defective plumbing.

$ 325,000

Recovered on behalf of seven tenants living in a makeshift boarding house in East Palo Alto.

$ 300,000

Recovered on behalf of three families living in a building in San Francisco’s SOMA neighborhood who were forced to live with substandard conditions for years as a result of their landlord’s negligence, including issues with lack of heat, lack of hot water, and cockroach/rat infestations.

$ 300,000

Recovered on behalf of a San Francisco tenant in Russian Hill. The tenant was forced to vacate her illegal apartment in retaliation for reporting unlawful rent increases to the San Francisco Rent Board. Our client was forced to vacate after her landlord served our client with a series of eviction notices and told her the apartment was unsafe to live in.

$ 300,000

Recovered on behalf of three long-term tenants in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood who were constructively evicted due to noise and nuisance conditions created by their downstairs neighbors, which the owner refused to address.

Awards & Associations

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For more information or to discuss your legal situation, call us today at (415) 649-6203 for a phone consultation or submit an inquiry below. Please note our firm can only assist tenants residing in the Bay Area.