One couple was hit even harder. Their new landlord nearly doubled their rent to $7,000 a month- forcing them to move out.
The couple had hoped to raise their little boy in San Francisco, just as they were raised here. But they couldn't pay double rent. So what happened to San Francisco's famous rent controls? The answer lies in what many consider loopholes.
Ashley and Zach Waldman make a quick dinner in their tiny kitchen and sit with their little boy, Henry.
Behind them, floor-to-ceiling windows overlook San Francisco, where they both grew up and hope Henry can, too.
"We're both from the Bay Area. I was raised in San Francisco," Zach said.
"I just always wanted to, you know, continue to live here and raise a family," Ashley said.
The couple settled into a two-bedroom unit on the top floor of a building in the Outer Richmond District five years ago. They gave birth to their first child and planted roots in the neighborhood.
"We've been living here happily since 2021," Zach said.
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"This neighborhood has become home to us, the Outer Richmond, because it's very quiet, very suburban, very family-oriented,'' Ashley said. "We have our daycare. We know the lady at the cafe down the block. We have our whole family rhythm here."
But one night in June, everything changed.
"There was just a notice taped on our door," Ashley said.
"It was a complete shock," Zach said.
The notice was from the building's new owner, raising their rent from $3,695 a month to $7,000 -- nearly double what they've been paying.
"We cannot afford a $7,000," Zach said.
"So lots of crying, to be honest, just because we've been here five years,'' Ashley said. "A lot has happened in this home that we've made. We've had our baby. We just kind of envisioned us staying in this place. We weren't ready to just up and go."
How could this happen in a city known for rent controls?
"It's the failure of the regulatory system we currently have," Rahman Popal, founder and owner of The Law Firm For Tenant Rights, Inc., told 7 On Your Side.
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Popal says laws capping rents also have exceptions allowing unlimited rent hikes, as the Waldmans found out.
"It's just been a lot of emotions trying to figure out what to do," Ashley said.
The couple thought all along they were living in a rent-controlled apartment.
But their "apartment" is actually a condominium, one of 10 in the building.
It isn't covered by San Francisco's 1979 rent-control ordinance because it was built in 1996. That ordinance only regulates rents for pre-1979 buildings.
And the new owner, Mill Valley entrepreneur Hans Geiszler, who purchased all 10 condos in the building, claims he's also exempt from state laws capping rents.
"It doesn't feel like we are really protected as tenants," Ashley said.
California's Tenant Protection Act of 2019 limits rent increases in buildings more than 15 years old. The limit is 5% per year, plus the local cost-of-living increase, or 10%, whichever is lower. However, the law exempts most single-family homes and condos from any controls.
The law does cap rents if the owner is a corporation, real estate investment trust, or an LLC that has a corporate member.
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But Geiszler bought the condos through a single-owner LLC, claiming he can raise rents without the limits imposed by state law.
"No matter how many properties that individual owns -- they can own 20, they can own 25, they can own 50," Rahman Popal said.
Popal says the exemption was supposed to protect small mom-and-pop landlords, such as those who purchase a home for rental income augmenting retirement savings.
But individual investors can still buy multiple homes or condos and qualify for the same exemption.
"So long as the landlord has complied with the notice provisions under the law, they can raise the rate whatever they want or whatever they think is the market rate," Popal said.
"So, if things like this can happen, then I don't know what that really means for us," Ashley said.
"The city is being hollowed out," Popal said, adding that rising rents are pushing working families out of San Francisco.
"I get calls from teachers, artists, the backbone of the city, who are facing similar extreme rent hikes," he said.
Zillow data shows average San Francisco rents for all unit sizes have jumped 28% since last August to about $4,500 a month.
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Average rents rose by $500 a month since June, according to Zillow data.
The Waldmans texted Geiszler saying they reject the change in their tenancy. He replied, "The notice is not something you can reject."
7 On Your Side reached out to Geiszler, asking why he doubled the rent, uprooting a family. He promised a reply but never gave one.
"So it didn't really leave us with a real option," Ashley said.
The Waldmans are packing up, leaving their home.
"And that's the feeling pretty much I've been feeling. It's heartbroken," Ashley said.
The good news: The Waldmans have found a new place to live in San Francisco at a rent below that $7,000 figure. But they are wary about removing their son from the only neighborhood and home he's ever known.
If you're a renter, check your lease to see whether the landlord is claiming the right to raise your rent. You also may have protections besides rent control, such as eviction protections that prevent landlords from evicting any tenant without "just cause."
If you have experienced a rent increase that makes it hard to stay in the city or the Bay Area, let us know.
Take a look at more stories and videos by 7 On Your Side.
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