That's a lot of red dots... [Image: Bay Guardian]
The Bay Guardian got its hands on an interactive map that shows locations of filed San Francisco Ellis Act Notices of Intent to Withdraw Rental Units. The Ellis Act is a state law that gives landlords unconditional right to evict tenants and "go out of business," removing all units at that property from the rental market for five years before they can be converted to TICs or condos. The data spans sixteen years, from January 1997 through April 2013. Looks like the majority of these are (no surprise) in the Mission, Noe Valley, Lower Haight, and North Beach. The outrage over Ellis Act evictions is nothing new, with housing and tenants rights advocates protesting the practice, blaming "an improving real estate market and speculators hoping to take advantage of the city's tech boom." While inevitably there will be lots of back and forth over the virtues or evils of the Ellis Act and property rights, one thing is for sure: Ellis Act evictions have almost doubled over the past year, increasing from 64 in 2011/212 to 116 notices in 2012/2013. The last time numbers were that high was during the housing boom of the mid-2000s, indicating property owners are counting on an improved market.
· You want scary? We've got an eviction map [Bay Guardian]
· Rent Board Annual Report of Eviction Notices 2012/2013 [SF Rent Board]
· Previous Coverage of the Ellis Act [Curbed SF]
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