What the Daly Amendments Would Do

·        Allow the Rent Board to "suspend any rent increases which will cause a tenant's rent to exceed 33 percent of their income." This would be accomplished by expanding an existing provision in the Rent Ordinance that allows the Rent Board to suspend rent increases based on "tenant hardship." Under the expanded provision, "hardship" would be redefined to allow a renter to claim hardship any time a renter's rent exceeds 33 percent of the renter's gross income.

·        Expand the rights of renters to add roommates to help pay the rent. This would be accomplished by including in the Rent Ordinance occupancy allowances from the San Francisco Housing Code based on the size and number of bedrooms in an apartment. Currently, rental property owners are able to limit the number of renters to levels below those the law allows.

·        Limit the amount of "banked" rent increases which can be imposed in any one year. Currently, rental property owners are able to "bank" annual rent increases and pass them on to renters at will. The amendment would limit banked rent increases to no more than 8 percent in any one year.

Daly's Renters Relief Package Is a Travesty

San Francisco already has stringent rent control in effect and rents are not "overly inflated" as the supervisor contends. To prevent owners from raising rents above an arbitrary percentage of a renter's gross income is outrageous. And, allowing as many renters to occupy a dwelling unit as the Housing Code allows is simply reckless and irresponsible.