Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

I own a rental condo in San Francisco that was built in 2000 and is not under rent control. Due to financial constraints and medical bills that I have to clear, I cannot afford to pay the negative on the monthly expenses of the condo.

The lease with my tenants who are four guys will expire at the end of this month. The way the lease was written made it clear that the lease will not be extended or renewed at the end of the lease and the tenants should vacate the premises at the end of the lease. Sometime in the middle of February this year, I also served a courtesy notice on my tenants that they have to vacate the premises at the end of the lease.

My tenants are now asking to stay in my condo and saying they cannot find another condo with a similar condition and low rent.

In order to evict them, 1) do I need to serve them with a 3-day notice to vacate the premises and if so, 2) when should I serve them with the notice and 3) can I myself serve it on them?

Many thanks for clarifying


Asked on 4/12/16, 11:51 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

You cannot evict them. San Francisco has a "just cause" eviction law that applies to ALL rental units, not just ones under rent control. It prevents you from renegotiating/renewing the lease unless they have failed to pay rent or committed other violations that would allow you to evict them for cause. If you do not give them the option to renegotiate/renew the lease they can sue you. You do not have to keep renting it to them at a negative cash flow, however. There are almost always other options besides losing money and evicting them. Give my office a call and I will gather some more details about your situation and may be able to help you figure out your other options.

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Answered on 4/13/16, 11:08 am


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