Adjusted Relocation Payments Go Into Effect July 1, 2021

Published on June 02, 2021

Rent Ordinance no. 3250 prevents landlords from terminating a tenancy except for certain allowable grounds and requires a relocation payment in circumstances that are not the fault of the tenant. Amounts for these relocation payments were established by City Council resolution and are adjusted annually based on a component of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) calculated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Permanent Relocation Payments

As of July 1, 2021, the Permanent Relocation Payment amounts will increase to the following, based on the size of the rental unit:

  • Studio: $5,956
  • 1 bedroom: $6,689
  • 2 bedrooms: $7,728
  • 3 bedrooms: $9,703
  • 4+ bedrooms: $11,339

Tenant households that include someone age 62 or older, who has a disability, or who has a child younger than 18 receive a larger payment. Permanent Relocation Payment amounts for these Qualified Tenant Households will increase to the following:

  • Studio: $7,697
  • 1 bedroom: $8,799
  • 2 bedrooms: $10,326
  • 3 bedrooms: $13,319
  • 4+ bedrooms: $15,774

Any tenant whose tenancy is permanently terminated based on Owner Move-In*, Demolition, Capital Improvement Plan*, Withdrawal of the Rental Unit from the Rental Market, or Compliance with a Governmental Order is entitled to a relocation payment. For more information on how and when Permanent Relocation Payments are due, see the Rent Program FAQs. The current relocation payment amounts can always be viewed on the program website's Permanent Relocation Schedule.

* Terminations of tenancy based on Owner Move-In and Capital Improvement Plan are currently not allowed due to an urgency ordinance passed by the City Council in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. For more information, click here.

Temporary Relocation Payments

In addition, tenants who are temporarily displaced from their unit through no fault of their own may be owed Temporary Relocation Payments until they are able to return. These amounts are similarly adjusted annually.

As of July 1, 2021, the per diem payment amounts will be updated to the following:

  • Hotel or Motel: $227 per day per household
  • Meal Expenses: $66 per day per person
  • Laundry: $1 per day per household
  • Pets - Dog: $67 per day per animal
  • Pets - Cat: $36 per day per animal

For more information on how and when Temporary Relocation Payments are due, see the Rent Program FAQs. The current relocation payment amounts can always be viewed on the program website's Temporary Relocation Schedule.

Adjustment Calculation

City Council Resolution 15602 established the current system for calculating relocation payments that are owed to a tenant following a permanent or temporary termination of tenancy. The resolution states that the amounts shall be adjusted annually for inflation by the percentage change in the rent of the primary residence component of the CPI-W Index for the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward area. For the 12-month period ending April 2021, the change in this CPI component was 0.3 percent.

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