San Francisco, CA Real Estate & Homes for Sale

Which rules apply when you buy in San Francisco?

One set of city rules covers every address, but they bite differently by building age, size and ownership form.

Real property transfer tax

San Francisco has no separate county documentary transfer tax; its own tiered tax includes it. The rate for the tier the whole price falls into applies to the whole price, so it isn’t a marginal tax (SF Assessor-Recorder).

Crossing a tier line is expensive: on our arithmetic, a $5,000,000 sale owes $112,500, against $37,500 at $4,999,999. Confirm with your title officer on any price near a boundary. By the custom in Old Republic Title’s Bay Area chart, the seller pays, but the contract decides.

• Proposition I (November 2020) raised the top tiers from 2.75% and 3% to 5.5% and 6% (ballot digest).
• A new Proposition I, on the November 3, 2026 ballot, would split those top rates into a general tax and a House SF tax for affordable housing, keeping the combined 5.5% and 6%. Sales under $10 million wouldn’t be affected (SF Controller).
• Proposition J (same ballot) would, from March 1, 2027, tax foreclosure transfers to lenders on full market value rather than value above the unpaid debt, except single-family homes and buildings under five units. It matters if you follow bank-owned and short-sale property.

Property tax and new parcel taxes

The FY2025-26 rate was 1.18268325% of assessed value, the 1% Proposition 13 base plus voter-approved levies (Resolution 447-25); the Treasurer lists 1.18162182% for FY2026-27. A purchase resets the assessed value to the price, which then rises at most 2% a year, and triggers a supplemental bill. At the September median and the FY2026-27 rate, that’s about $24,270 a year before parcel taxes. Proposition H (November 2026) would add a Muni parcel tax from FY2027-28: $129 a year for a single-family parcel with up to 3,000 square feet of building, and $249 for a multifamily parcel up to 5,000 square feet, with owner-occupants 65 and over in single-family homes exempt (SF Controller).

Rent control and eviction rules

The Rent Ordinance (Administrative Code Chapter 37, effective June 13, 1979) separates rent control, which limits increases, from just-cause eviction protection, which covers more units (SF Rent Board). When the building was first occupied is the key test.

Some units without local rent control may fall under the state cap (AB 1482). Owner move-in (Section 37.9(a)(8)) and withdrawing a whole building from the rental market under the state Ellis Act (Section 37.9(a)(13)) are both listed just causes, each with its own conditions; have a tenant-law attorney review any plan to occupy a tenanted building before you remove contingencies. Owners also report to the Rent Board’s Housing Inventory and pay its annual fee (Rent Board).

TICs, condos and condo conversion

In a tenancy in common (TIC), each buyer owns a share of the whole building, not a separately mapped unit, under an agreement that allocates the units; a condo is its own legal parcel. Converting a TIC building to condos is restricted:

• Ordinance 117-13 (2013) replaced the conversion lottery with an Expedited Conversion Program for buildings that were in the 2012 or 2013 lottery, barred lottery applications before January 1, 2024, and lets the lottery resume only after affordable-housing replacement targets are met, at up to 200 units a year (Board of Supervisors).
• Litigation suspended the Expedited Conversion Program until the suit was dismissed on April 4, 2024; Public Works announced a “temporary resumption” from April 22, 2024 (Public Works), but another of its pages still lists the program as suspended, so confirm its status first.
• Public Works lists a separate conversion process for two-unit buildings. In 2025, 50 units converted: 40 in two-unit buildings, 6 in three-unit and 4 in four-unit buildings (SF Planning).

Ask your lender early whether it finances TIC shares, and have the TIC agreement reviewed with the purchase contract.

The mandatory soft-story retrofit

Signed April 18, 2013 and operative June 17, 2013, the Mandatory Soft Story Retrofit Program requires seismic retrofits of older wood-frame apartment buildings with weak ground floors (Earthquake Safety Implementation Program).

Screening forms were due September 15, 2014, and each tier had its own permit and completion deadlines. Before buying a covered building, ask for the Certificate of Final Completion or check the Department of Building Inspection’s database, linked from the program page.

Short-term rentals

Stays under 30 days require registration with the Office of Short-Term Rentals under Administrative Code Chapter 41A, and the 14% hotel tax applies (SF Planning FAQ; Treasurer).

A San Francisco home bought as a full-time vacation rental won’t work under these rules: the owner has to live there, and unhosted stays stop at 90 nights a year.

Flood maps

Check two maps, because they show different risks and rarely overlap (SFPUC FAQ, December 2024; Floodplain Management Program).

New construction and substantial improvements in a FEMA zone must meet the city’s Floodplain Management Ordinance. Federal flood insurance is available citywide; if either map flags the parcel, price coverage during your inspection period and ask about SFPUC’s Floodwater Grant for backwater valves.

Liquefaction and seismic hazard zones

The California Geological Survey’s seismic hazard zone maps cover parts of San Francisco. Inside a zone, cities must withhold permits for development until a geologic or geotechnical investigation is done, and sellers must disclose the zone on the Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement (CGS Note 53, 2023). Look up an address on the state’s EQ Zapp viewer. In a liquefaction zone, ask for the foundation history and any geotechnical reports; the soft-story program’s Tier IV includes buildings in mapped liquefaction zones.

The Empty Homes Tax

Voters approved the Empty Homes Tax, a tax on vacant homes, as Proposition M on November 8, 2022. On September 11, 2026, the First District Court of Appeal held that it is preempted by the state Ellis Act, which protects an owner’s right not to rent (Debbane v. City and County of San Francisco, A172067; San Francisco Standard, Daily Journal). As of September 15 the City Attorney’s office was noncommittal about seeking California Supreme Court review, so check with the Treasurer & Tax Collector before counting on either outcome.

ADUs, sewer laterals and zoning

• ADUs: Local Program ADUs are rent-controlled, state law keeps some State Program ADUs out of rent control, and no ADU can be a short-term rental (SF Planning).
• Sewer laterals: the owner must repair the upper lateral if it’s found in bad condition; SFPUC repairs structural defects in the lower lateral in most cases (SFPUC). That page names no inspection at sale, but a camera inspection is worth ordering on an older house.
• Family Zoning Plan: in effect January 12, 2026, it allows mid-rise (6–8 stories) and high-rise (9+) buildings along transit and commercial corridors in western and northern neighborhoods, and corner lots and opportunity sites over 8,000 square feet can reach six stories (SF Planning). Check what’s allowed on the lots around a home you’re considering.