San Francisco · Tenant Harassment
San Francisco Tenant Harassment Attorney
SF Admin Code § 37.10B makes landlord harassment a standalone civil claim. You don’t have to wait for a formal eviction notice — and you don’t have to leave. If your landlord is making your life in your home miserable on purpose, that is a Rent Ordinance violation with real remedies.
What makes § 37.10B different
You can sue while still in the unit
Unlike constructive eviction — which requires you to have left — § 37.10B lets you bring a harassment claim while you are still a tenant. You do not have to be forced out to have a cause of action.
No eviction notice required
The claim does not depend on a formal termination notice. The prohibited conduct is the violation — whether or not the landlord has moved toward a formal eviction.
Covers all SF residential tenants
Unlike rent control, § 37.10B applies broadly to residential tenancies in San Francisco — it is not limited to pre-1979 units or otherwise covered buildings.
What § 37.10B prohibits
The ordinance lists specific categories of prohibited conduct. These are not limited to dramatic incidents — a sustained pattern of lower-level conduct can also qualify.
Interference with housing services
- ·Interrupting, terminating, or failing to provide housing services — including heat, hot water, utilities, and access to common areas
- ·Failing to perform required repairs and maintenance after written notice
- ·Removing amenities (parking, storage, laundry) that were part of the tenancy
Abuse of entry rights
- ·Entering the unit without proper advance notice (24 hours written notice required under California Civil Code § 1954)
- ·Entering with excessive frequency — even with notice — in a manner designed to harass
- ·Sending contractors or inspectors to the unit without legitimate purpose or adequate notice
Threats and intimidation
- ·Threatening a tenant with physical harm
- ·Misrepresenting to the tenant that they are required to vacate — when they are not
- ·Threatening eviction without a legal basis, or misrepresenting the landlord's legal rights
- ·Interfering with the tenant's right to quiet enjoyment through intimidation or coercion
Improper buyout conduct
- ·Offering payment to vacate without first advising the tenant in writing of their right to refuse and their right to consult an attorney
- ·Misrepresenting the value of the tenancy or the tenant's legal rights in the context of a buyout discussion
Retaliation
- ·Retaliating against a tenant for complaining about habitability conditions
- ·Retaliating against a tenant for contacting the Rent Board or another government agency
- ·Retaliating against a tenant for participating in tenant organizing
- ·Refusing to accept rent as a pressure tactic
When harassment is part of a wrongful eviction scheme
Landlords often use harassment as a precursor to a formal eviction — or as a substitute for one, hoping to push the tenant out voluntarily. When that pattern is clear, the claim is not just under § 37.10B. It is also a constructive eviction under § 37.9(f), with the full damages framework that entails: treble damages on actual losses (including the rent differential), attorney fees, and injunctive relief.
A harassment campaign that causes a tenant to vacate — even without a formal notice — is treated the same as a wrongful OMI or fraudulent Ellis Act eviction under California courts’ application of § 37.9(f).
Document everything
Harassment cases require a paper trail. Build yours from the first incident.
Log every entry
Date, time, who arrived, what they claimed to be doing, how much notice you received (if any). Keep this running from the first incident.
Save all communications
Screenshot texts. Forward emails to yourself. Write contemporaneous notes of in-person conversations with the landlord or their agents.
Photograph and video
Document any physical changes to the unit, removal of amenities, or conditions the landlord is ignoring. Timestamps on photos matter.
Preserve buyout communications
Any offer to pay you to leave should be preserved in full — including how it was framed and whether you were told about your right to refuse.
Get neighbors' contact info
Neighbors who witnessed incidents or patterns are important witnesses. Introduce yourself and ask if they noticed anything.
Medical records
If the harassment caused physical or psychological harm, records connecting the symptoms to the landlord's conduct strengthen the damages claim.
Remedies
Actual damages
Emotional distress, out-of-pocket losses, and — if the harassment caused you to vacate — the full rent differential between your unit and current market rates.
Punitive damages
Available for willful or malicious conduct. Harassment campaigns designed to push out rent-controlled tenants are precisely the conduct courts view most seriously.
Attorney's fees
Recoverable in successful tenant harassment claims. Bowlay Law handles these cases on contingency.
Injunctive relief
A court can order the landlord to stop the harassing conduct, restore severed services, and make required repairs — while you remain in the unit.
Treble damages (if wrongful eviction)
If the harassment campaign caused you to vacate, the claim may rise to a § 37.9(f) wrongful eviction with 3× actual damages.
Rent Board hearing
Under § 37.9(l), you can file a harassment report with the Rent Board. If the Board determines the harassment is ongoing or severe, it can schedule a formal investigative hearing before an ALJ.
Is your landlord making your home unlivable?
You do not have to wait for a formal eviction notice to call a lawyer. The sooner you document the conduct and get advice, the more options you have — including stopping it before you feel forced to leave.
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