|
San Francisco residents and small businesses continue to suffer inestimable loss related to their inability to meet financial obligations during the COVID-19 pandemic. As I have said throughout, our recovery going forward will be judged based on our ability to keep people in their homes and keep small businesses afloat. This is the test of our time.
Read on to learn more about rent relief programs to help both tenants and landlords, eviction protections, and ways in which we’re trying to help small businesses survive and thrive.
See you in the neighborhood,
Aaron
|
|
Thanks to community partners for ensuring that Rent Relief and Eviction resources are accessible and culturally competent!
|
|
Do you need help paying rent? There are programs available for San Francisco tenants. You can apply online or get help applying from a community organization.
For help with rent between April 2020 and March 2021, apply for State relief at housingiskey.com. The State’s program provides rent relief and eviction protection resources for tenants, landlords and homeowners.
For help with rent for April 2021 and after, you can apply for the City’s program starting May 28. The City’s program provides for rent assistance for up to 3 months of back rent and 3 months of forward rent, for a total of 6 months of rent assistance for residents who have suffered financial hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Please visit the San Francisco Rent Assistance website for eligibility criteria, details on updated eviction protections, and information on how to get help from community partner organizations through the Anti-Displacement Coalition.
|
Residential Eviction Protections
|
If you could not pay rent from March 1 to August 31, 2020, your landlord cannot evict you for not paying during those months. They can still take you to small claims court for unpaid rent, starting August 1, 2021. The City is partnering with Bay Area Legal Aid and other legal services organizations to help with COVID-19 rental debt matters in small claims court starting August 1.
If you are unable to pay rent due to financial distress arising from and/or related to COVID-19 and you receive a “15-day notice” from your landlord, you must sign and return a declaration stating your inability to pay rent within 15 days. That declaration is available in multiple languages here.
If you could not pay rent between September 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021, your landlord cannot evict you for not paying during those months, provided that you must:
1. Give your landlord a signed declaration stating your inability to pay rent in response to a 15-day notice.
2. By June 30, 2021, pay at least 25% of your missed rent from September to June. This can be a lump sum.
UPDATE: Just this week, the Board of Supervisors extended some eviction protections through September 30, 2021. Under the leadership of Supervisor Dean Preston, certain categories of so-called “no fault” evictions are now prohibited through the summer. This is a critical next step in the Board’s efforts to keep San Francisco residents and families housed.
For more on all of these Eviction Protections and resources to get help if you’re facing displacement, click below:
|
| Are you being evicted? Is your building for sale? Were you offered a buyout? Are you facing harassment? Is your tenancy being impacted by a Soft Story Retrofit? Find more information about community-based resources below: |
More Help For Small Businesses
|
|
Small businesses are the foundation of our commercial corridors, the bedrock of San Francisco’s unique neighborhoods, and keeping them afloat is mission critical.
That’s why the San Francisco Board of Supervisors is moving full steam ahead to provide the strongest protections in the state and in the country for small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
|
Commercial Eviction Protections
|
|
Because of legislation authored by my office, San Francisco small businesses cannot be displaced for failure to pay rent for a period of up to 24 months following the expiration of State commercial eviction protections on June 30, 2021. Back-rent is still owed, unless landlords and tenants come to alternative arrangements, and your obligation to repay within certain periods of time depends on the size of your business.
That same legislation also allows small businesses with under 10 employees to terminate their leases if they are unable to come to an agreement with their landlord to ensure their longevity. While many landlords see the bigger picture and understand that we all benefit when small businesses are allowed to fully recover, let me be clear: It’s imperative that landlords and tenants come to the table to negotiate for long-term stability.
For more information about San Francisco’s Commercial Eviction Protections, click below:
|
Small Business Back-Rent Forgiveness
|
|
As of this week, I have joined Supervisor Dean Preston in co-sponsoring legislation to forgive small business back-rent- a first of its kind in the nation. The way it works is that it would allow courts to assume that the COVID-19 pandemic weakened the initial agreement between tenants and landlords because it was an unforeseen event that prevented either party from fulfilling all the terms of the contract. Read more about the pending legislation here.
Are you a small business that needs help paying your water or sewer bills? You may be eligible for emergency commercial assistance. Learn more, here.
|
|
From Day 1, I have supported the Shared Spaces Program and celebrated the astonishing ability of our small businesses to innovate, self-implement and transform their operations in the middle of an emergency. A year ago, I personally joined small business owners at the North Beach Business Association in procuring barricades to block off segments of Upper Grant Avenue and Green Street to ensure that businesses would be able to survive the pandemic.
I wholeheartedly support the continuation of Shared Spaces and am advocating for the program to continue in its current form for as long as it takes our small business community to recover - and without charging businesses a single dime while they do so.
As a member of the Land Use & Transportation Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, I am also committed to making this program work in the longer term. That means making sure it works for our entire small business community - including hardware stores, laundromats, restaurants, gyms and clothing retailers. It also means working with a diverse set of stakeholders to ensure that we maximize public access for seniors, people with disabilities, and all San Franciscans who have equal rights to use public space.
We’ve got time to get it right. The only urgency is giving small businesses the flexibility they need right now to continue bouncing back from the pandemic. If you have feedback on Shared Spaces or want to discuss your experience with me or my staff, please reach out to PeskinStaff@sfgov.org.
As always, we’re here to listen and serve.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Board of Supervisors | District 3 | Aaron Peskin
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
