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San Francisco, California

Property Management Software for San Francisco Landlords

A San Francisco flat, apartment, condo or house needs a plan for its actual condition, lease and legal coverage. Keep property details, repair records and rent history together before pricing a vacancy or proposing a change to an existing tenancy.

Rentari helps you organize payments, applications, lease documents and maintenance communication. Owners and their appointed professionals review decisions, check local requirements and arrange work at the property.

Manage your San Francisco rentals with AI California landlord-tenant law
Original watercolor and ink illustration of wood-frame rental homes with bay windows on a sloping street in soft marine fog.
Original Rentari illustration.

What San Francisco landlords deal with

Compare dated listings for a vacancy

  1. Choose similar homes in the same area with comparable bedrooms, property type, size, condition and lease length. Identify the source, observation date and whether a price is asking rent or a signed lease.
  2. Record mandatory recurring costs, utility responsibilities, parking and the amount and duration of concessions. Keep furnished homes and different rental terms separate.
  3. Remove duplicate listings and describe the sample limits. Review the actual tenancy and applicable rules before making a pricing decision.

Download the San Francisco rent-comparison worksheet for six blank comparisons. Use the rental-market research guide to check dates and methodology. Identify HUD Fair Market Rents as annual housing-program benchmarks rather than live asking rents. Rentari does not publish a verified private San Francisco rent series.

Check coverage and the rent-increase license

Start with the Rent Board's rental-law coverage guidance. Building age, unit type and exceptions affect which protections apply; local rent limits and eviction protections have different scopes.

The Rent Board rent-increase guide lists a 1.6% annual allowable increase for covered units for March 1, 2026 through February 28, 2027. Check timing, base rent, any banked amounts and notice requirements for the proposed effective date. The Housing Inventory guidance explains annual reporting and the license needed before covered annual or banked increases take effect.

Download the San Francisco rental-record checklist to organize the facts and official review. For applicable state rent limits, read California Civil Code 1947.12: its covered-tenancy formula uses the lower of 5% plus the specified cost-of-living change or 10%, subject to exceptions. An asking-rent worksheet does not authorize a tenancy increase.

Record deposits, interest and condition evidence

California Civil Code 1950.5 sets deposit and return rules. For tenancies starting on or after July 1, 2025, take inception photos. Since April 1, 2025, photograph relevant condition before and after repair or cleaning deducted from a deposit. Review inspection, documentation and return-method requirements for the tenancy.

San Francisco also has deposit-interest requirements for deposits held over one year, with an exception for government-assisted or subsidized rents. The current rate reference lists 4.2% for March 1, 2026 through February 28, 2027. Check the annual due date and applicable calculation before paying interest.

Reference check: October 3, 2026. Confirm current rules and unit coverage before changing rent, collecting a deposit or serving a notice.

The big three in San Francisco

Keeping the rent history and notice record clear

Retain the lease, base-rent history, effective dates, notices and evidence for any claimed exemption. Keep Housing Inventory and license records alongside that file. A timestamp helps explain the record, while the applicable rules and property facts determine whether a proposed action is permitted.

Following through on building maintenance

Capture the location, timing and photos of reported leaks, heating problems or other damage. Arrange assessment and lawful access with the responsible person and qualified vendor. Save approvals, completed work and tenant follow-up. A phone intake does not diagnose a fault, perform a retrofit or complete a repair.

Reviewing applications consistently

Document lawful criteria, required consent, the information considered and the decision correspondence. Check applicable state and local screening rules for the housing involved, and handle accommodation requests appropriately. Reports support review; the owner remains responsible for the decision.

How Rentari supports your San Francisco rentals

Online rent collection keeps payments and receipts together. Review charges against the lease and current rules. Use screening tools within the application process you have checked for the property, and retain the necessary materials and decision records.

Luna by Phone can receive maintenance calls and capture details for follow-up. Owners or their managers arrange and confirm inspections and repairs. Prepare and e-sign lease documents, keep expenses in reporting, and use the California landlord-tenant law guide alongside current local references. Licensed management, placement, court representation and legal or tax advice require the appropriate professional.

California lease resources

Review the California lease agreement, check the California landlord-tenant law guide, and select documents for the tenancy from the landlord forms library.

San Francisco landlord FAQs

Does San Francisco rent control apply to my unit?
Check building age, unit type and applicable exceptions with the Rent Board coverage guide. Local rent limits and eviction protections have different scopes, and state rules may apply to a unit outside local rent limits. Review the actual property and tenancy before relying on an exemption.
How should I check a San Francisco rent increase?
Review unit coverage, the proposed effective date, base-rent history, timing, banked amounts and notice requirements using the current Rent Board guide. Check Housing Inventory reporting and the required rent-increase license for a covered increase. State and local rules must be evaluated for the actual tenancy.
How much security deposit can I collect?
For deposits collected on or after July 1, 2024, Civil Code 1950.5 generally sets a one-month rent limit. A qualifying natural-person owner or LLC with only natural-person members and no more than two rental properties totaling four rental units may qualify for a two-month limit; that exception excludes service-member tenancies. Verify the full statute and older-deposit rules. Return the remaining deposit and required itemization no later than 21 calendar days after the tenant vacates, following the applicable documentation and return-method rules.
Does San Francisco require security deposit interest?
The city generally requires annual interest on deposits held over one year, including many units outside local rent control. Government-assisted or subsidized rents have an exception. Use the current city interest guidance to check the annual due date, applicable rate, partial-year calculation and payment requirements.
Does Rentari supply historical San Francisco rent medians?
This guide supplies a blank comparison worksheet and a method for documenting sources. It does not reproduce a proprietary historical dataset or publish bedroom-level medians or forecasts. Keep observation dates, area, property type and sample size with any market figure.
Does Rentari provide a local property manager or legal representative?
Rentari provides rental software and written guides. Owners or their appointed managers make decisions, arrange access and hire qualified vendors. Licensed human management, tenant placement and legal representation require the appropriate professional; software records do not supply those services.

Landlording in other cities

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Manage your San Francisco rental workflow

Keep rent, applications, documents and maintenance communication together. You review decisions and arrange work at the property.

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This page is general information for landlords, not legal advice. Rental rules change and local ordinances in San Francisco may add requirements beyond California law. Verify specifics with the official statute or a licensed attorney.