Evictions are up for the sixth year in a row according to a recently released report from the San Francisco Rent Board. At 2,134, the total number filed between March 1, 2015 and February 29, 2016 represents yet another year in which more and more people were forced from their homes at a time when the price of renting a one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco is the highest in the country.
As the Examiner discusses, evictions have continued to rise since 2010 — a year which actually saw a 13-year low in evictions, coming in at 1,269. With a recent report estimating that the San Francisco metro area grew by 60,000 people last year, it stands to reason that those successfully evicted will have no easy task in locating a new place to live.
The report breaks down the different causes, with 417 owner or relative move-ins (up 22 percent from last year), and 154 Ellis evictions (up 36 percent from last year). Of the 506 reports of alleged wrongful eviction filed with the rent board in the in the same time period, 58 involved the eviction of children.
When looking over the report, it appears at first glance that the biggest jump — at a 697 percent increase over the preceding year — falls in the category of capital improvements. However, a footnote clarifies that 242 of the 295 capital improvement evictions were only for one day to allow for asbestos abatement in one apartment building. As such, while those are technically evictions, they are not included in the 2,134 total.
While city officials have proposed various plans to deal with city's housing crisis, the continued year after year increase in evictions suggests that this is a problem with no easy fix. (And efforts to make Ellis Act evictions much more difficult for landlords have so far failed in the state legislature.) So, you know, if you're lucky enough to have one, good luck holding on to your rent-controlled apartment.
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