San Francisco · Owner Move-In Eviction
San Francisco Owner Move-In Eviction Attorney
Owner move-in is the most commonly abused eviction ground in San Francisco. The ordinance allows it — but it comes with strict requirements the landlord must actually satisfy. When they don’t, the eviction is wrongful and the remedies are significant.
What is an owner move-in eviction?
Under SF Admin Code § 37.9(a)(8), a landlord may evict a tenant if the owner or a qualifying relative genuinely intends to occupy the unit as their principal residence for at least 36 continuous months. It is a no-fault just cause — meaning you can be evicted even if you have done nothing wrong.
In theory, it is legitimate. In practice, it is the most frequently abused eviction tool in the city. Landlords use it to clear long-term, rent-controlled tenants and re-rent units at two or three times the prior rent. The financial incentive is enormous — and the ordinance’s requirements are designed to catch that abuse.
What the landlord must actually do
These are not suggestions — they are legal requirements under § 37.9(a)(8). A landlord who fails any of them has not completed a valid OMI eviction.
Good faith intent
The landlord must genuinely intend for the owner or qualifying relative to occupy the unit — not use the notice as a pretext to re-rent at market rate.
Qualifying relative
Only the owner, grandparent, grandchild, parent, child, brother, sister, or the spouse or domestic partner of such relatives qualifies. The relative must occupy the same building (for non-owner relatives).
Minimum ownership interest
The owner must hold at least 25% interest in the property — or 10% if they became an owner of record on or before February 21, 1991.
No comparable vacant unit
The landlord may not use OMI if a comparable vacant unit exists in the building, or if one becomes available before possession is recovered. If a comparable unit does become available, the landlord must rescind the notice.
Declaration under penalty of perjury
The notice must attach a Rent Board form and a signed declaration stating the good faith intent, the intended occupant's name, and their relationship to the owner.
36-month occupancy
The owner or relative must actually move in within 3 months of recovering possession and occupy the unit as their principal residence for at least 36 continuous months.
Statements of occupancy
The landlord must file sworn statements of occupancy with the Rent Board — within 90 days of service, every 90 days until possession is recovered, then annually for 5 years after recovery. Failure to file triggers administrative penalties.
One OMI unit per building (owner occupancy)
Once a unit in a building has been used for owner occupancy under § 37.9(a)(8)(i), all future owner occupancies must be in that same unit — no other unit in the building can ever be used for that purpose.
Additional tenant protections
§ 37.9(i) — Senior & disabled protection
Complete bar on OMI eviction
A landlord cannot use OMI against a tenant who is 60 or older and has lived in the unit for 10 or more years, disabled (per SSI/SSP standards) and lived there 10+ years, or catastrophically ill and lived there 5+ years.
§ 37.9(j) — School-year defense
Notice cannot be effective during the school year
If a child under 18 or an educator lives in the unit, has a custodial or family relationship with a tenant, and the tenant has been there 12+ months — the effective date of a termination notice cannot fall during the school year.
Right of first refusal
If the owner doesn’t follow through
If the owner or relative fails to move in, vacates before completing 36 months, or re-rents the unit, the displaced tenant has the right to re-occupy at the prior controlled rent.
5-year statute of limitations
You have time — but not unlimited time
A wrongful OMI claim must be brought within 5 years — running from the earlier of 3 months after possession was recovered or the date of the landlord’s first statement of occupancy filing. Don’t wait to find out what happened to your unit.
Red flags that an OMI was fraudulent
You may not know what happened to your unit after you left. But these are signals that the eviction was pretextual — and that you may have a case.
The unit was re-listed on Craigslist, Zillow, or Airbnb within months of your departure
The owner or relative named in the notice never moved into the unit
The owner or relative moved in briefly then vacated before completing 36 months
You were offered a cash payment to leave before a formal notice was served
The building was listed for sale, converted to TICs, or permitted for condo conversion shortly after the eviction
The landlord owns multiple units and the claimed "need" for your specific unit was implausible
The notice lacked the required Rent Board form or declaration under perjury
Statements of occupancy were not filed with the Rent Board as required
What you can recover
Treble damages · § 37.9(f)
3× actual damages
The rent differential between your controlled rent and current market rate — projected over the expected remaining tenancy — is the core of actual damages. That number, trebled, is what makes SF wrongful OMI cases among the highest-value wrongful eviction claims in California.
Actual damages
Rent differential, moving costs, temporary housing, emotional distress, and loss of a below-market tenancy you could have held for years.
Attorney's fees
The prevailing party recovers attorney's fees by court order. Bowlay Law takes OMI cases on contingency — you pay nothing until we win.
Unpaid relocation assistance
If the landlord failed to pay or underpaid the required relocation assistance when the notice was served, that amount is added to your recovery.
Injunctive relief
If you haven't left yet, a court can order the landlord to dismiss the eviction proceeding. Acting early matters.
Received an owner move-in notice?
The free screening call is 15–20 minutes. Cody will ask about your tenancy, the notice, and what you know about what’s happened to the unit. If there’s a case, he will tell you — and if there isn’t, he will tell you that too.
No fee unless we win · SF tenants only · Contingency fee
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