San Francisco, California, Proposition F, City-Funded Legal Representation for Tenants Facing Eviction (June 2018)
| Proposition F: San Francisco City-Funded Legal Representation for Tenants Facing Eviction |
|---|
|
| The basics |
| Election date: |
| June 5, 2018 |
| Status: |
 Approved
|
| Topic: |
| Local housing |
| Related articles |
| Local housing on the ballot June 5, 2018 ballot measures in California San Francisco County, California ballot measures Local property on the ballot |
| See also |
| San Francisco, California |
An initiative to provide city-funded legal representation for tenants facing eviction was on the ballot for San Francisco voters in San Francisco County, California, on June 5, 2018. It was approved.
| A yes vote was a vote in favor of providing legal representation funded by the city for any residential tenant facing an eviction lawsuit. |
| A no vote was a vote against providing legal representation funded by the city for any residential tenant facing an eviction lawsuit. |
Election results
|
San Francisco Proposition F |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
|
|
133,190 | 55.74% | ||
| No | 105,774 | 44.26% | ||
Measure design
Legal representation
Proposition F was designed to provide legal representation for tenants facing eviction according to the following timing, whichever event occurs first:[1]
- 30 days after an eviction notice is served, or
- Upon service of an unlawful detainer complaint (such as when a tenant remains on a property after the expiration of the lease).
Under Proposition F, representation would be supplied "at least until such time that the eviction notice or unlawful detainer complaint is withdrawn, the case is dismissed, or a judgment in the matter is entered."[1]
Representation would entail "full scope representation provided to an individual by a designated organization or attorney which includes, but is not limited to, filing responsive pleadings, appearing on behalf of the tenant in court proceedings, and providing legal advice."[1]
An exception would be made for landlords or master tenants residing in the same unit as the tenant facing eviction.[1]
Text of measure
Title and summary
The title and summary for the ballot measure were as follows:[1]
| “ |
City-Funded Legal Representation for All Residential Tenants in Eviction Lawsuits The City and County of San Francisco (“City”) does not provide legal representation to San Francisco tenants who face eviction from their homes. The City does fund nonprofit organizations that provide free legal representation to some San Francisco tenants who face eviction. Before a landlord may evict a tenant the landlord must give the tenant a written notice that the landlord intends to do so. If a tenant does not move after receiving that eviction notice, then the landlord may file a lawsuit asking a court to order eviction. Each year the Board of Supervisors adopts a budget that sets the funding for all City programs. The Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development administers City programs to create and preserve affordable housing in San Francisco. This measure would require the City to establish, fund and run a program to provide legal representation for all residential tenants in San Francisco whose landlords are attempting to evict them from where they live. The measure would require the City to provide a lawyer for a tenant within 30 days after the tenant receives an eviction notice or a lawsuit seeking eviction. The lawyer would provide legal representation to the tenant until the notice is withdrawn or the lawsuit is resolved. The measure would not require the City to provide legal representation to tenants who reside in the same dwelling unit with their landlord. The measure would require the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development to implement this program within 12 months after the measure becomes effective. Also, this measure would adopt a policy that, “San Francisco tenants facing an eviction from their home shall have a right to legal representation in eviction proceedings and the City and County shall provide such legal representation to tenants to assist in the fair administration of justice.”[2] |
” |
Impartial analysis
The following impartial analysis of the measure was prepared by the office of the San Francisco Controller:
| “ |
The cost of the proposed ordinance, should it be approved by the voters, is dependent on decisions that the Mayor and Board of Supervisors make through the budget process, as an ordinance cannot bind future Mayors and Boards of Supervisors to provide funding for this or any other purpose. In my opinion, the cost of fully funding the program created in the proposed measure, should future policymakers do so, is likely to be significant. The measure establishes a City program to provide full legal representation to residential tenants in eviction proceedings. Depending on the number of cases and other factors, the program would increase the City's program costs by between approximately $4.2 million and approximately $5.6 million annually, and this amount would be likely to grow in future years. The measure would require that the City establish a program to provide full legal representation for all residential tenants in San Francisco facing eviction. Currently, the City provides some services available to all tenants, including no-cost tenant counseling and tenant's rights education, and no-cost or low-cost basic legal services. Annual City spending on tenant counseling, education, outreach and eviction-related basic legal services is approximately $4.4 million. The City also provides no-cost full legal representation in eviction proceedings for a limited number of eligible tenants under certain criteria including age, income and health status. Annual City spending on eviction-related full legal representation is approximately $2.0 million. Data from the San Francisco Superior Court and other local data sources show that approximately 3,500 tenants annually would be eligible for full legal representation under the program. However, not all tenants would use these services, and the extent of the legal representation required would vary from case to case. These and other factors result in a range of estimated annual program costs of between $4.2 million and $5.6 million. Counseling, tenant education and eviction-related legal services are primarily provided through contracts between the Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD) and non-profit community-based organizations. In addition to the program costs above, MOHCD would require added staffing for implementation of the program, estimated at $200,000 annually. Some studies suggest that there are also cost savings associated with universal access to civil legal services, including eviction defense. Services that keep tenants in their homes help reduce or prevent costs in other publicly-funded service systems, such as shelters and other homeless services. As stated above, an ordinance cannot bind future Mayors and Boards of Supervisors to provide funding for this or any other purpose. Under the City Charter, the ultimate cost of this proposal depends on decisions made in the City's annual budget process. [2] |
” |
| —San Francisco Controller[3] | ||
Full text
The full text of the measure is available here.
Support
Proponents
Defend SF Against Evictions, Yes on F led the campaign in favor of Proposition F. Jen Snyder worked as the campaign manager for the Proposition F support campaign.[4]
A list of groups and individuals endorsing a "yes" vote on Proposition F, compiled by Defend SF Against Evictions, can be read here.
Officials who endorsed a "yes" vote on Proposition F include:[5]
- Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer
- Supervisor Jane Kim
- Supervisor Aaron Peskin
- Supervisor Hillary Ronen
- Supervisor Jeff Sheehy
- Supervisor Norman Yee
Arguments
The group Defend SF Against Evictions, Yes on F stated the following on its website:[6]
| “ |
Thousands of tenants are evicted each year. In fact, 70% of our homeless population was housed here within the last 3 years. There's a real power imbalance between landlords and tenants. Nationally, 90% of landlords go into an eviction with an attorney, while only 10% of tenants do. Which means tenants lose, even when they shouldn't. A right to counsel will protect thousands of tenants from being unfairly evicted from their homes.[2] |
” |
| —Defend SF Against Evictions, Yes on F | ||
Opposition
Opponents
Groups that endorsed a "no" vote on Proposition F include:
- The San Francisco Chronicle editorial board[7]
- The San Francisco Republican Party[8]
- The San Francisco Apartment Association[9]
Arguments
| “ |
Tenants rights groups pushing the measure like to point out anecdotes of San Franciscans being pushed out by landlords seeking a higher return on investment. No question — that happens in this expensive city. However, the right to counsel also would apply to tenants who are abusive to others or destructive to property — and you would be forced to cover their legal fees. ... This measure falls short on another score. The Board of Supervisors is studying a similar plan that can be adjusted more easily than a voter-confirmed measure that would need a rerun at the ballot box to address any unintended consequences.[2] |
” |
| —San Francisco Chronicle Editorial Board | ||
Path to the ballot
Jon Gollinger filed this initiative on behalf of Dean Preston, who led the citizen initiative campaign to place Proposition F on the ballot.[10]
In San Francisco, signatures equal to 5 percent of the votes cast for mayor in the preceding election are required to put an initiative on the ballot. The requirement for 2018 initiatives was 9,485 valid signatures.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 City and County of San Francisco, "Legal Text," accessed May 6, 2018 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "Text" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ San Francisco City and County, "Controller Analysis," accessed March 22, 2018
- ↑ Ballotpedia Staff Writer, "Email correspondence with campaign representative," May 29, 2018
- ↑ SF Right to Counsel, "Endorsements," accessed May 6, 2018
- ↑ SF Right to Counsel, "Home," accessed May 6, 2018
- ↑ San Francisco Chronicle, "Editorial: San Francisco’s housing troubles doesn’t mean every tenant gets a free lawyer," March 29, 2018
- ↑ San Francisco Republican Party, "Endorsements," accessed June 5, 2018
- ↑ San Francisco Public Press, "Proposition F: Free Legal Aid for Tenants Facing Eviction," May 1, 2018
- ↑ SF Gate, "Petition Submitted To Give Legal Counsel To Tenants Facing Eviction," January 27, 2018
 |
State of California Sacramento (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |
