San Francisco Legalizes Rental of 'In-Law Units'

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted earlier this week to allow property owners to rent “in-law units”—a major policy departure that could add tens of thousands of rental units to the constrained San Francisco real estate market.

2 minute read

April 3, 2014, 11:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Marisa Lagos reports on legislation that could potentially allow an estimated 30,000 to 50,000 existing in-law units to enter the rental market in San Francisco.

Despite the soaring cost of housing in San Francisco, the vote wasn’t without opposition. From the article by Lagos: “On Tuesday, the board voted 8-2 to let property owners voluntarily apply to legalize units built before Jan. 1, 2013. The vote came after more than an hour of debate and several attempts by Supervisor Norman Yee to weaken board President David Chiu's position. At a recent hearing, dozens of homeowners from Yee's district west of Twin Peaks turned out to vehemently oppose any attempts to legalize in-law units.”

The opposition from the west side of the city came from neighborhoods, whose residents have traditionally honored private contracts that detail rental rules for the neighborhood. A provision in the new law states that the city will not interfere with such agreements.

To pass muster for the legal rental market, “[property] owners will be allowed to ask city officials to ‘prescreen’ their units and, if any necessary upgrades are too expensive or difficult, the homeowner could drop his effort to legalize the unit without penalty.”

“To protect renters of the units - many of whom are low-income families and immigrants, according to Chiu - any legalized units would be covered by the city's rent-control ordinance and could not be sold as condominiums. The legislation also bars landlords from passing on to tenants the costs of upgrades to bring the apartments up to code and prevents property owners who have evicted someone in the past 10 years from legalizing their units.”

Wednesday, April 2, 2014 in SF Gate

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

April 30, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Close-up on Canadian flag with Canada Parliament building blurred in background.

Canada vs. Kamala: Whose Liberal Housing Platform Comes Out on Top?

As Canada votes for a new Prime Minister, what can America learn from the leading liberal candidate of its neighbor to the north?

April 28, 2025 - Benjamin Schneider

Hot air balloons rise over Downtown Boise with the State Capitol building visible amidst the high rises.

The Five Most-Changed American Cities

A ranking of population change, home values, and jobs highlights the nation’s most dynamic and most stagnant regions.

April 23, 2025 - GoodMigrations

People biking along beach path with moored ship in San Diego, California.

San Diego Adopts First Mobility Master Plan

The plan provides a comprehensive framework for making San Diego’s transportation network more multimodal, accessible, and sustainable.

30 minutes ago - SD News

Sleeping in Public

Housing, Supportive Service Providers Brace for Federal Cuts

Organizations that provide housing assistance are tightening their purse strings and making plans for maintaining operations if federal funding dries up.

1 hour ago - KSL

Conductor walks down platform next to Amtrak train at station in San Jose, California.

Op-Ed: Why an Effective Passenger Rail Network Needs Government Involvement

An outdated rail network that privileges freight won’t be fixed by privatizing Amtrak.

2 hours ago - Streetsblog USA

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.