Various forms of marijuana are now legal in California. However, it is still heavily regulated and illegal based on federal law. This creates a great deal of gray area and questions. If you are a tenant, you may wonder how your right to possess, use, and grow cannabis can be…
Once you rent an apartment, the unit is yours. You are entitled to a great deal of freedom and privacy within your apartment, with only specific limitations and exceptions. For instance, you are entitled to determine who comes in and out of your unit. You control your guests. Meanwhile, your…
San Francisco tenants have a lot to worry about. Finding an apartment takes weeks, sometimes months, of searching. Rents have skyrocketed in recent years, and many landlords are using dubious methods to force long-time renters out of their homes in order to raise the rent even more. While some landlords…
Despite what you might have heard, California does not have a statewide rent control provision. This leaves rent control up to cities or counties. If you live in a unit that is applicable to your local rent control ordinance, then you have a number of additional rights as a tenant…
On May 15, the Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board appointed Marìa Poblet as the replacement commissioner for Katherine Harr, who had to step down. Poblet is a well-known tenants’ rights advocate and recently served as the executive director of Causa Justa: Justice Cause, a housing and immigrant rights organization for the…
San Jose took a momentous step forward in April when it passed two regulations to create stricter eviction rules and protect the city’s tenants. The Tenant Protection Ordinance and Ellis Act Ordinance both passed with six votes in favor and five votes against, only narrowly making it through after hours…
In the current political climate, it comes as no surprise to local California attorneys and authorities that landlords are using the threat of deportation against their tenants who are or appear to be immigrants. The exact reasons for the threats vary. Some landlords want to force immigrants to pay higher…
Whether or not your landlord can raise your rent and by how much depends on your rental unit and whether it is covered by the San Francisco Rent Ordinance. If you received notice of a massive rent hike on your unit, do not hesitate to reach out to an attorney…
Where there is one cockroach, there are bound to be many more. These hard-to-kill insects, also called water bugs, reproduce easily and quickly. A female can produce hundreds of new cockroaches each year and the insects can live off of almost anything. It is no wonder that once a cockroach…
There are no shortages of older buildings in San Francisco. While these old homes and apartment buildings may have their own charm, they also often have lead paint since it was not banned until 1978. When lead-based paint is in good shape, it poses little health threat to you or…