San Francisco Mayor Declares ‘Rent Emergency’ in City

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said the city faces a “rent emergency” and proposed reforms to reduce evictions and curb a surge in rent costs amid a massive rise in apartment prices.

“Today, most San Franciscans feel our city is finally moving in the right direction, but many are also asking whether they can still afford to live here. Today, we are taking action to tackle San Francisco’s rent emergency head-on and help San Franciscans stay in their homes,” Lurie, a Democrat, said in a statement published on Thursday.

“Leaders from across government and across the city are standing together, united behind a sweeping package of reforms and investments to provide renters greater stability,” he added, describing his proposals as an “opportunity” for growth.

Rental listing website Zumper says that the median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the city is $4,495. The national average stands at around $1,515, according to the site.

The site said rent rose 26.2 percent year over year, and renters now pay $898 more per month than the previous year.

Lurie’s office said more than 1,000 eviction notices have been filed in the city this year, with about a quarter initiated for nonpayment. San Francisco authorized the fewest new housing units in about 15 years in 2024.

In recent years, the city has attracted high-earning tech workers, as many tech and AI companies are headquartered there, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Twitch, Uber, Yelp, Slack, Reddit, Dropbox, Cloudflare, and many more.

The mayor’s proposals include several pieces of city legislation that would put more funds into supporting tenants who were evicted or displaced. One piece of legislation will increase by 25 percent “required payments to tenants being displaced … to reflect the increased cost of finding a new apartment in San Francisco,” according to the statement.

Another legislation proposal would unlock $27 million to keep around 650 low-income households in their homes after federal funding lapses later in 2026. The city will also launch a $1 million campaign to inform tenants of their rights and protections.

Regarding rent spikes, city legislators are looking to introduce a measure that would put a cap on “annual allowable rent increases from banked increases and capital improvement charges at 10 percent for rent-controlled tenants,” according to the statement.

The city is also dedicating $54 million to emergency rental assistance and eviction legal defense funds, including $18.1 million in tenant-based rental subsidies for certain individuals such as older adults, adults with disabilities, youth, and families living in single room occupancies.

But Oz Erickson, a member of the San Francisco Apartment Association, wrote in an opinion article that rent costs are rising because the city isn’t building enough affordable housing.

“San Francisco should require 25 percent affordable units for future projects, as opposed to the current legal requirement of 12 percent, it will jeopardize what the city needs most—more housing,” he wrote late last year for the San Francisco Chronicle, responding to the skyrocketing rent increases.