The Ellis Act in San Francisco: Notices, Relocation Payments and Re-Rental Limits

By Matthew Martinez, Founder, CEO & Managing Broker, Diamond Real Estate Group. California DRE #01869679.

The Ellis Act (Government Code 7060 and following) lets a California owner take residential rental units off the market and end the tenancies, but only by leaving the rental business for those units, and only by following the local procedure. In San Francisco that means filing a Notice of Intent with the Rent Board, giving tenants at least 120 days (one year for qualifying elderly or disabled tenants), paying relocation assistance, and living with re-rental restrictions that run up to 10 years. For March 1, 2026 through February 28, 2027, the Rent Board’s Ellis relocation payment is $11,110.05 per tenant, capped at $33,330.13 per unit, plus $7,443.90 for each elderly or disabled tenant.

The Ellis Act is a withdrawal from renting, not a tool to swap tenants. The rules below follow the owner from the decision to withdraw, through the notices and payments, to the limits that stay on the title afterward. San Francisco’s process has many deadlines, so work with a landlord-tenant attorney before serving anything.

What the state law allows

Government Code 7060 says no public entity may compel an owner to offer, or keep offering, residential units for rent. The units withdrawn are defined by structure: in a detached building with four or more units, the accommodations are the units in that building, and for three or fewer units, they include the units in that building and any other structure on the same parcel. In practice, you withdraw the units as a group, not one unit at a time. (There is a narrow exception for certain residential hotel rooms.)

The state then lets cities with rent control attach conditions:

• Notice and timing. Under Government Code 7060.4, withdrawal takes effect 120 days after the owner delivers notice to the city. A tenant who is 62 or older, or disabled, and has lived in the unit at least one year gets one year instead, if the tenant notifies the owner in writing within 60 days. During the extension the tenancy continues on the same terms.
• Re-rental rules. Under Government Code 7060.2, units re-rented within five years must be offered at the lawful rent in effect when the notice was filed, plus allowed adjustments. Units re-offered within two years expose the owner to actual and exemplary damages and require a first offer to the displaced tenant. A city may also require a first offer to displaced tenants for 10 years.
• Tenant notice. 7060.4(c) lets the city require the owner to tell tenants that the city was notified, what name and rent were reported, and what rights the tenant has to re-offer and to the one-year extension.

San Francisco’s procedure, step by step

San Francisco carries out the Ellis Act through Rent Ordinance Sections 37.9(a)(13) and 37.9A. The Rent Board’s Ellis Act page lays out the sequence:

1. File the Notice of Intent. The owner files a Notice of Intent to Withdraw Residential Units from the Rental Market with the Rent Board.
2. Serve termination notices. Notices of termination of tenancy go to every tenant, effective 120 days after the Notice of Intent is filed. Half of the relocation payment is due when the notice is served.
3. Notify tenants of the filing within 15 days. The owner tells tenants the Notice of Intent was filed and explains their re-occupancy rights, relocation assistance and the one-year extension.
4. Tenant extension claims within 60 days. Eligible elderly or disabled tenants claim the one-year extension in writing.
5. Owner reports claims within 30 days of receiving one, and within 90 days of filing tells the Rent Board and tenants whether it disputes the claim and the revised withdrawal date.
6. Record a memorandum summarizing the Notice of Intent with the County Recorder before withdrawal takes effect. A tenant can raise failure to record as a defense to an eviction case.
7. Withdrawal date. 120 days after filing, or one year if extended. The second half of relocation is due when the tenant moves out.
8. Notice of Constraints. The Rent Board records it against the property within 30 days after the withdrawal date.

Relocation payments for 2026–27

Every authorized occupant is entitled to a payment, regardless of age or length of tenancy, under Section 37.9A. The Rent Board adjusts the amounts every March 1. These are the figures on its current rates page:

Amounts change every March 1, so confirm with the Rent Board which figures apply to your notices. For comparison, the same page lists different, lower amounts for owner move-in and capital improvement evictions under Section 37.9C; those are not Ellis payments.

Re-rental restrictions after withdrawal

The Notice of Constraints follows the property, so a buyer inherits these limits. According to the Rent Board:

• Five years of vacancy control. For five years from the withdrawal date, any re-rental must be at the rent-controlled rate the displaced tenant paid, plus allowed increases. If the filing is rescinded, the period runs from the filing date instead.
• Ten-year first-offer right. If a unit returns to the rental market within 10 years, a displaced tenant who requested it in writing gets the first offer, at the controlled rate during the first five years and at market rate during the next five. Tenants file a Notice of Interest in Renewed Accommodations with the owner and the Rent Board to keep that right.
• All or nothing. Under a July 18, 2022 amendment, if any unit returns to the rental market during the 10-year period, the whole property must return. Certain owner-occupied units are exempt.
• Two-year exposure. Under state law, re-offering a unit within two years of withdrawal can bring claims for actual and exemplary damages from displaced tenants and the city (Gov. Code 7060.2).
• Demolition and rebuild. If the owner applies to demolish and redevelop under Planning Code Section 317.2 within five years after tenants leave, tenants may have more rights, including added relocation and a right to return to a comparable unit.

The Rent Board notes that violations can lead to actual and punitive damages. Tenants who got an Ellis notice on or after January 1, 2012 may also have preference in certain city housing programs.

Condo and TIC conversion after an Ellis eviction

This is where an Ellis filing has long-term value consequences in San Francisco. Converting a building to condominiums is governed by the Subdivision Code, and Section 1396.2 bars the city from selling conversion lottery tickets, accepting conversion applications or approving maps for a building with:

• Two or more evictions in separate units, each with a notice issued on or after May 1, 2005, under Rent Ordinance 37.9(a)(8), (10), (11) or (13) (Ellis is (13)); or
• One or more such evictions where the tenant was a senior (60 or older with 10 or more years in the unit), disabled, or catastrophically ill.

The bar applies whether or not the current owner did the evictions. A building with qualifying evictions but no protected tenant becomes eligible 10 years after the last eviction. There is an exemption for buildings where each unit had a separate owner of record on April 4, 2006. Section 1396 adds separate bars for some tenant buyout agreements made on or after October 31, 2014.

Tenancy-in-common (TIC) owners who hope to convert to condos later should check a building’s eviction history before buying. Our San Francisco TIC guide covers TIC ownership. For the current status of the conversion lottery and the Expedited Conversion Program, check with San Francisco Public Works and a subdivision attorney.

Before you file, or before you buy an Ellis building

• Model the full cost. Relocation for every occupant, any elderly or disabled supplements, legal fees, carrying costs during the 120-day or one-year period, and the long-term rental and conversion limits.
• Compare alternatives. A negotiated buyout can also affect later condo conversion (see above). See our cash for keys guide and just-cause eviction overview.
• Buying an Ellised or tenant-occupied building? Pull the Rent Board history and recorded Notice of Constraints, and order a title report. Our guides on buying property with tenants and San Francisco selling requirements list the documents to request.
• Selling instead? A tenant-occupied sale is often the simpler path. See selling multifamily and our San Francisco multifamily page.

Questions people ask

How much notice does an Ellis Act eviction require in San Francisco?

At least 120 days from the Notice of Intent filing with the Rent Board. A tenant who is 62 or older, or disabled, and has lived in the unit at least one year can extend that to one year by notifying the owner in writing within 60 days.

How much are Ellis Act relocation payments in San Francisco?

For March 1, 2026 through February 28, 2027, $11,110.05 per tenant, with a $33,330.13 maximum per unit, plus $7,443.90 for each elderly (62+) or disabled tenant. Half is paid at notice and half at move-out. Amounts adjust each March 1.

Can I Ellis just one unit in my building?

Generally no. The Ellis Act defines the accommodations by building and parcel, and San Francisco requires the whole property to return to the market if any unit is re-rented within 10 years.

Can I rent the units again after an Ellis withdrawal?

Yes, but with limits. For five years, rents are capped at the prior controlled rate. Within 10 years, displaced tenants who asked get the first offer. Re-offering within two years exposes you to damages claims.

Do the Ellis restrictions transfer to a buyer?

Yes. The Rent Board records a Notice of Constraints against the property, and the condo conversion bars in Subdivision Code 1396.2 apply regardless of who did the evictions.

Can an Ellised building be converted to condos?

Often not. Two or more qualifying evictions since May 1, 2005, or one involving a senior, disabled or catastrophically ill tenant, bar conversion under Subdivision Code 1396.2. Some buildings become eligible 10 years after the last eviction if no protected tenant was involved.

Do I have to record anything?

Yes. San Francisco requires the owner to record a memorandum of the Notice of Intent with the County Recorder before withdrawal takes effect, and the Rent Board records a Notice of Constraints afterward.

Sources & notes

1. Government Code 7060, 7060.2 and 7060.4: Ellis Act withdrawal, re-rental rules, notice and extensions.
2. San Francisco Rent Board, Evictions Pursuant to the Ellis Act: procedure under Rent Ordinance 37.9(a)(13) and 37.9A, vacancy control, 10-year rules and the 2022 amendment.
3. San Francisco Rent Board, current rates: relocation payments for March 1, 2026 – February 28, 2027.
4. San Francisco Subdivision Code Section 1396.2 (as amended by Ord. 210-22) and Section 1396: condo conversion eligibility.

State statute text was reviewed through a public mirror; confirm current wording on leginfo.legislature.ca.gov. Relocation amounts change every March 1; check the Rent Board’s figure for the date you serve notice. General information, not legal, tax or lending advice. Updated November 2026. Primary sources are linked in this guide.

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