Update: The Condo Conversion measure passed the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, June 11 with 8 votes making it veto proof! We passed the 10-year moratorium & future restrictions that will curb speculation.

The legislation protects tenants by putting into place firm anti-displacement safeguards to help curb real estate speculators… at the same time it helps landlords gain better financing options through the one time condo conversion allowance.

This legislation successfully made it through the boards Land Use Committee. Previous legislation sponsored by Supervisor Mark Farrell had proposed to allow apartments that have been converted from rentals to “Tenancies In Common (TICs)” to bypass the city’s annual cap on condo conversions by paying a fee, but did not make any attempts to curb future real estate speculation or protect rent controlled housing stock from further conversions. 

The Farrell proposal has been criticized by community, labor, and environmental organizations for undermining long-standing protections of rent controlled housing in San Francisco.

Tenant advocates said that the original legislation would have led to many thousands more evictions, because it would have sent a strong signal to real estate speculators that the city will no longer have meaningful restrictions on the number of condo conversions.

This was the last push to negotiate a compromise that would be able to find solutions for TIC owners while continuing to protect one of San Francisco last forms of affordable housing, rent controlled units.