News Releases
The latest news and announcements from Mayor London N. Breed

Mayor Lee’s Statement on Ellis Act Reform

Mayor Edwin M. Lee today issued the following statement regarding Senate Bill 1439, a bill to close a loophole in the Ellis Act that allows speculators to buy rent-controlled buildings in San Francisco and immediately begin the process of evicting long-term renters, which failed in the State Assembly Committee:

“I am deeply disappointed that special interests have stopped a common sense measure to prevent real estate speculators from displacing long-time San Francisco renters. Senator Mark Leno’s bill would have given our City the critical tools we need to close a loophole in the Ellis Act and stop these evictions. I want to again thank Senator Leno for all of his work and efforts to help protect San Francisco tenants.

Whether it was our Board of Supervisors, local labor and tech leaders, business partners like the Bay Area Council, or our community supporters throughout our City and the State, we brought together a broad coalition to fight an uphill battle against some of the most powerful special interests in California. But we will continue this fight for Ellis Act reform and the need to protect our residents. In San Francisco, we are aggressively working to create 30,000 units of housing – 50 percent of which we want to be affordable – but we also know that new housing units alone are not enough. San Francisco needs to protect our communities and keep residents in their homes. We will continue this vital work.”