San Francisco and San Jose have the lowest eviction rates in the country according to a recent study. This news sparks attention to the eviction process, the use of eviction checks in the tenant screening arena and the overall lawful use of evictions in America.
Whenever the topic of evictions make headlines landlords and property managers should be reminded to make sure their tenant screening policies are current with existing law and understand that working with a well-qualified third-party tenant screening company continues to be a best practice. Additionally landlords need to be careful about how they go about the eviction process when they want to evict a tenant. Landlords must understand how new laws affecting the process of evicting a tenant works and must conduct the procedure according to the new rules.
San Francisco and San Jose sit atop of a recent study investigating eviction rates as the lowest nationally, highlighting evictions once again in national news outlets. Each time the topic of evictions makes its way into the news landlords and property managers, knowing that eviction checks are a critical part of a thorough tenant background check, should review current policies with a third-party tenant screening agency to ensure compliance with law.
While San Francisco and San Jose evictions are currently down this had not always been the case. Prior to a recent revision to existing law, Eviction Protection 2.0, evictions ran rampant.
From the San Francisco Examiner (SFExaminer.com; Nov. 05, 17):
Between October 2013 and September 2015, there were 4,304 evictions filed with the Rent Board, 2,200 of which were nuisance- or roommate-related. After Eviction Protections 2.0 passed, total evictions have dropped to 4,102 filed evictions between October 2015 and September 2017. sfexaminer.com/tenants-find-stability-eviction-protections-2-0/
In reaction to the climb in evictions revisions were made to existing law.
Again, from the San Francisco Examiner (SFExaminer.com; Nov. 05, 17):
What has happened, say tenant advocates, is a handy suite of protections passed in 2015 are kicking in. Eviction Protections 2.0, the wonky rewrite of San Francisco’s rent-control law, is working.
“Stronger rent projections led to an immediate drop in these kinds of evictions,” said Gen Fujioka, of the Chinatown Community Development Center, a nonprofit housing group.
So-called “nuisance” evictions — attributed to actionable offenses hanging laundry outside the window or leaving shoes in the hallway — and evictions for breach of lease when bringing in new roommates are measurably down from two years ago. ibid
Evictions have been a challenge in San Francisco and San Jose for several years due, in part, to some landlords wanting to gain higher paying tenants and utilizing potentially extralegal means.
With revisions in place evictions decreased, as details from a recent study have shown.
From SF.Curbed.com (Oct. 27, 17):
Rental site ApartmentList released a study Thursday breaking down eviction data in major metros across the U.S. and came up with some good, albeit startling, news for the Bay Area: San Jose and San Francisco had the lowest and second-lowest eviction rates nationwide, respectively. sf.curbed.com/2017/10/27/16557562/san-francisco-san-jose-owest-eviction-rate-study
Evictions will remain an important factor in vetting new tenant applications. Revisions in law in San Francisco and San Jose metropolitan areas led to a decrease in overall evictions. Subsequently, landlords and property managers should take note that new laws and revision to existing law will continue to affect tenant screening. A best practice remains to work with a well-qualified tenant screening agency in order to stay current with existing law.
To learn more about how San Francisco and San Jose attained the lowest eviction rates in the country and how revisions in law can lead to a decrease in overall evictions in the USA read recent TenantScreeningUSA.com press release: http://tenantscreeningusa.com/tenant-screening-news/study-notes-san-francisco-san-jose-with-lowest-eviction-rates-in-us/