SAN FRANCISCO—According to a survey conducted by the San Francisco Apartment Association, SF tenants are breaking their leases at a high rate. The survey revealed that 16 percent of owners reported residents broke their leases or unexpectedly gave a 30-Day Notice to Vacate.
A total of 315 landlords responded to the survey, owning or managing 10,377 residential apartments citywide, which represents 6 percent of the city’s 172,000 rent-controlled apartments.
Despite the results, Craig Berendt of Berendt Properties spoke to the SFAA and stated that he hasn’t seen many tenants break their lease.
“We’ve have had more people move at the end of their lease though,” said Berendt. “We typically see about 10 move-outs each month in our management portfolio but now, we’re up to a couple dozen moves a month.”
The biggest group of tenants breaking leases in San Francisco are Generation Z workers, those between the ages of 18 to 25 years old, according to landlord and tenants groups.
According to SFAA Housing, providers with vacant units have either put their showings on hold or have reported that there are almost no inquiries from prospective residents and essentially no demand for apartments at this time. The inability to fill vacancies has compounded the financial impact of COVID-19 on housing providers.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, orders to implement shelter in place gave renters moratoriums on eviction through August 30 and rent forbearance agreements.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed signed an executive order on April 30 that protects renters from being evicted in the midst of the pandemic and the ability to pay any missed payments for up to six months.
The mayor’s executive order is set to expire on Tuesday, June 30.
