03Jan
There are times when a landlord tries to get rid of you or force you out of your lease without going through the full eviction process. Landlords often do this because they want all the benefits of having your apartment back without going to court and winning their case. However, this is illegal; typically, your landlord can't force you to go without a "just cause" or without legally buying you out.
This form of unlawful eviction is referred to as "self-help" because landlords are doing it by themselves and not involving the legitimate eviction system. Instead of going through expensive legal proceedings, they use tactics to get you out of your home, such as changing the locks or turning off your utilities so that you can't function.
Some landlords even illegally enter your place, take your belongings, and throw them out on the street. Even if you haven't paid your rent, landlords can't resort to these tactics; if you're dealing with an illegal lockout or utility shutoff, you can call the police.
Fortunately, there is also civil relief if this happens to you and consequences for your landlord. In San Francisco, when your landlord practices self-help, they're liable for damages and fines for up to $100 a day for each day that they're in violation; this counts for all the days that you're locked out.
Another way that a landlord can try to kick you out without the eviction process is to use a fake eviction notice or to merely tell you that you're evicted. Here are tips to figure out whether the notice you receive is real:
In San Francisco, in order to be evicted, your landlord must have a reason or a "just cause" (such as nonpayment of rent or breaching your lease) to evict you. Just because there isn't a legitimate just cause doesn't prevent some unscrupulous landlords from faking it in the following ways:
Even if the landlord doesn't engage in self-help or fraud, as long as they are heavily bothering you to try to get you to move out, then in most cities, (including SF) it's considered harassment.
Is your landlord trying to kick you out without officially evicting you? Do you suspect that your notice of eviction is fake? Is your eviction real or just a threat? Either way, you should contact an experienced tenants' rights attorney from Wolford Wayne right away. It's important to recognize these issues because if you just leave, you might not be eligible for important relocation costs. Contact us today for help.
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.Read More
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.Read More
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.Read More
Recovered on behalf of a San Francisco tenant in Russian Hill. Tenant was forced to vacate her illegal apartment in retaliation for reporting unlawful rent increases to the San Francisco Rent Board.Read More
Recovered for a single long-term tenant in San Francisco. Our client was forced to move out of his apartment as a result of extreme landlord harassment.Read More
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.Read More
Recovered on behalf of elderly, disabled tenant who was forced to move out of her rent-controlled San Francisco apartment of 50 years after landlord/owner failed to resolve numerous building code violations that remained outstanding for over a decade.Read More
Recovered on behalf of seven tenants living in a makeshift boarding house in East Palo Alto.Read More
Recovered on behalf of two former San Francisco tenants who were evicted via an Owner Move-In Eviction and owner failed to occupy the unit as her primary place of residence.Read More
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. Read More
Recovered on behalf of a San Francisco tenant who was forced to vacate his home as a result of ongoing, disruptive construction and the owners’ refusal to provide him with alternative housing. Read More
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.Read More
Recovered on behalf of a tenant living in an illegal “in-law” unit. In this case, a new owner purchased the building and then demolished our client’s unit without permits while she was displaced for seismic retrofitting.Read More
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.Read More
Recovered for tenant who was injured when their stairway railing collapsed at the tenant’s Mission District apartment building.Read More
Recovered in action for a group of tenants forced to vacate their San Francisco apartment house due to severe habitability defects including mold and water leaks.Read More
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 San Francisco, Oakland & Berkeley.