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Draft your San Francisco Rent Ordinance pre-service worksheet Pick the Rent Year, the building status (covered multi-unit pre‑1979 vs Costa-Hawkins exempt), the banking status (none vs unused prior-year banked), enter the current rent and effective date, and get the SF allowable cap, the Cal. Civ. Code §827(b) 30-day vs 90-day notice math, the 7%-per-year and 10%-per-notice ceiling check, the once-per-12-months next-eligible date, and the §37.8 wrongful-increase exposure pre-computed before you serve.

Free preview — no sign-up, no card. Submitting opens a worksheet with the Rent Year you elected, the SF allowable percentage that applies, the math you'd put on the §827(b) notice, and flags if the building is Costa-Hawkins exempt (single-family / condo / post-June-13-1979 multi-unit), if banked increases push the total over the 7%-per-year or 10%-per-notice ceiling, or if the planned service date is too tight against the §827(b) 30/90-day window. Nothing about your tenant, unit, or rent is stored on the server until you explicitly purchase the $9 archived worksheet + compliance-log entry.

The SF Rent Ordinance is a price-control regime; the notice rules are state law. S.F. Admin. Code §37.3(a) caps the annual rent increase at the Rent Board's annual allowable percentage (1.6% for RY 2026‑27), with a 7% statutory ceiling and a 10%-per-notice ceiling on banking-stacked increases. Cal. Civ. Code §827(b) governs the form and timing of the notice itself: 30 calendar days for any increase under 10%, 90 calendar days for 10%+. Service per Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §1013 (personal delivery, post-and-mail with +5 days, or substituted service). The SF Rent Board does not prescribe a specific notice form, but your notice should cite the Ordinance section, the Rent Year, the prior rent, the percentage increase, and any banking calculation. Costa-Hawkins exempts single-family homes, condominiums, and post-June-13-1979 multi-unit buildings from the SF cap (those units fall under AB 1482 at 8.8% in 2026 unless they meet AB 1482's own carve-outs). The just-cause-eviction protections of §37.9 and the harassment rules of §37.10B may still apply to Costa-Hawkins exempt SF units.

Step 1 — Parties and premises

Appears on the worksheet as the serving housing provider.
For tenant responses; goes on the worksheet header. Per §37.9(c) and §1962, must be a CA address (PO box NOT acceptable for §37.9 purposes).
List all named tenants on the lease (comma-separated).
Full street address with unit number.

Step 2 — Rent Year, building status, and banking

Rent Year resets March 1. Notice served in December with a March effective date uses the upcoming Rent Year.
Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1954.50–1954.535. Even if exempt, SF §37.9 just-cause may still apply.
Banking lets you stack skipped allowable increases — but never above 7%/yr or 10%/notice. Ignored for Costa-Hawkins exempt units.
Total banked unused prior-year increases you wish to apply (e.g. 1.4 if RY 2025-26 was unused). Cap-stack ceiling: 7% per Rent Year, 10% per notice.
Identify which prior Rent Years' unused increases are being applied; printed on the notice.

Step 3 — Adjustment computation

Use the rent in effect right now under the existing lease.
Default = current rent × (cap + banked%). Stays under 7%/yr and 10%/notice ceilings.
At least 30 days after service for any increase under 10% (Cal. Civ. Code §827(b)(2)(A)).
When you intend to serve the §827(b) notice. Worksheet flags too-early. Blank = today.
Once-per-12-months rule under §37.3(a). Worksheet computes earliest next-eligible effective date. Banking does NOT permit a second increase within 12 months.

On submit, this form opens a new tab at /notice/san-francisco/preview.html with your inputs as URL parameters. The worksheet renders the SF Rent Ordinance cap computation, the Cal. Civ. Code §827(b) 30/90-day notice math, the Costa-Hawkins exemption callout if applicable, the banking-stack ceiling check (7%/yr and 10%/notice), the once-per-12-months next-eligible date, and the §37.8 wrongful-increase exposure. Use your browser's Print → “Save as PDF” to capture the free preview (orange “draft” banner is hidden in print). The paid $9 flow archives the worksheet to your unit's compliance log keyed to your account.

What you'll get

The worksheet documents which Rent Year applied, what was computed, and what banking or exemption layers were flagged.

  • Rent Year picker. RY 2025‑26 (1.4% allowable, March 1, 2025 — February 28, 2026) or RY 2026‑27 (1.6% allowable, March 1, 2026 — February 28, 2027). The worksheet stamps the elected Rent Year and the controlling Ordinance section.
  • Building-status switch. Multi-unit pre-June-13-1979 buildings are covered — the SF cap controls. Single-family homes, condos lawfully separable, and post-June-13-1979 multi-unit buildings are Costa-Hawkins exempt — the worksheet stamps a yellow callout and notes that AB 1482 governs at the higher 8.8% (2026) statewide cap unless the unit meets AB 1482's own carve-outs.
  • Banking calculation against two hard ceilings. If you elect to stack banked unused prior-year increases under Rent Board Rules §4.12, the worksheet does the math: SF allowable + banked percentage, then checks (a) the 7%-per-year ceiling and (b) the 10%-per-notice ceiling. If the stacked total exceeds either, the worksheet flags it red and prints the lawful capped figure.
  • Once-per-12-months next-eligible date. If you provide the effective date of the most recent prior increase, the worksheet computes the earliest date a NEXT increase may take effect. Banking does NOT permit a second increase within twelve months.
  • Cal. Civ. Code §827(b) notice window. The worksheet computes the earliest lawful effective date from the planned service date: 30 calendar days for any increase under 10% (which the 1.6% SF allowable always is, even with banking up to the 10%-per-notice ceiling), 90 calendar days for 10%+. Adds 5 days if served by mail.
  • §37.8 wrongful-increase exposure. If your proposed new rent exceeds the cap (or the banking-stacked ceiling), the worksheet flags the excess in red and prints the Rent Board petition exposure: rent rollback, refund, ongoing overcharge findings, per-unit civil penalties, and City Attorney referral under §37.10A (up to $1,000/violation/day + injunctive relief).
  • AB 1482 preemption note. For covered SF units, the worksheet notes that the lower SF cap controls under AB 1482's stricter-local-rule clause (Cal. Civ. Code §1947.12(b)(1)(B)). For Costa-Hawkins exempt units, the worksheet pivots to AB 1482 framing.
  • Versioned audit token. Every preview prints an audit token deterministic for the same inputs against the same rule version — proves which Rent Year was elected and which rule was in effect when the rent was set, in the event of a tenant petition under §37.8 or a City Attorney inquiry under §37.10A.

Before you serve the notice

Five San Francisco-specific gotchas the worksheet won't catch.

  1. Service must be per Cal. Code Civ. Proc. §1013. Personal delivery is the gold standard. Post-and-mail (mailing first-class plus posting on the unit door if mailed) requires adding 5 calendar days to the §827(b) period. Substituted service requires good-faith efforts to deliver personally first. Email is not statutory service unless the tenant has affirmatively agreed in writing to electronic service.
  2. Capital-improvement and operating-and-maintenance passthroughs are petition-based. If you incurred a major capital improvement on the building, you cannot self-add the amortized share to the tenant's rent — you must file a Rent Board petition under §37.7 and get an order. Same for §37.8 hardship petitions if the cap doesn't afford a fair return. Self-help passthroughs above the cap are unlawful and the tenant can petition for refund.
  3. Annual rent-board fee passthrough caveats. The Rent Board's annual per-unit fee for FY 2025-26 is $59 per unit (50% may be passed through to tenants under §37.3(b)(5)(C) when the unit is occupied for the qualifying period — $29.50 maximum passthrough, treated as a once-per-year separate-line item, NOT part of the §37.3(a) annual allowable rent increase). Worksheet does not auto-apply the fee; if you intend to pass through, add it as a separate line on the §827(b) notice with the §37.3(b)(5)(C) citation.
  4. Rolling tenant-protection layers (Tenant Protection Ordinance, harassment). S.F. Admin. Code §37.10B (harassment) and the Tenant Right to Counsel program (§58 et seq.) layer enforcement and damages on top of the cap. A rent increase that's mathematically lawful can still be tenant-harassment if it's the third notice in twelve months designed to drive the tenant out, or if accompanied by other harassing conduct. The worksheet computes math; harassment is a separate cause of action.
  5. Owner-move-in (OMI) and Ellis Act re-rental restrictions. If the unit was vacated under an OMI eviction (§37.9(a)(8)) or an Ellis Act withdrawal (§37.9(a)(13)), the Costa-Hawkins vacancy-reset to market is restricted: under §37.9A, an Ellis-withdrawn unit re-rented within five years is subject to the prior tenant's last lawful rent (not market). Owner-move-in failures (owner doesn't move in within 3 months, or moves out within 36 months without a relative replacing) trigger civil penalties and rent rollback. The worksheet does not validate OMI or Ellis history; conservative practice is to confirm vacancy lineage with prior leases or Rent Board petition records before pricing the new tenancy at market.