How to Screen Tenants in San Francisco, CA (2026 Landlord Guide)

Tenant Screening Rules in San Francisco, CA

If you need to screen tenants in San Francisco, prepare for arguably the most restrictive tenant screening framework in California. Landlords must navigate federal law, California state law, and multiple local ordinances that limit when you can ask questions, what you can screen for, and how you must process applicants. Mistakes are expensive — the San Francisco Human Rights Commission (SFHRC), the Rent Board, and private attorneys all actively enforce these regulations.

Fair Chance Ordinance (SF Police Code Article 49)

San Francisco’s Fair Chance Ordinance was one of the first local “ban the box” laws for housing in the country. Key requirements:

• No criminal history questions on applications. Your rental application cannot include any questions about arrests, convictions, criminal history, or incarceration. Remove all such language.
• No background checks until after conditional offer. You must evaluate all other screening criteria (credit, income, rental history, employment) first. Only after issuing a conditional offer may you run a criminal background check.
• Prohibited considerations: Arrests not leading to conviction, juvenile records, offenses older than 7 years (except sex offenses requiring registration), sealed or expunged records, infractions, and non-felony marijuana convictions.
• Individualized assessment required. If a qualifying conviction appears, you must consider: the nature and gravity of the offense, the time elapsed, evidence of rehabilitation, the tenant’s age at the time of the offense, and whether the offense is directly related to tenancy risks.
• Pre-denial notice. Before finalizing a denial based on criminal history, you must provide the applicant with written notice of the specific conviction(s), your reasons for concern, and a minimum of 10 business days to respond with mitigating information.

Penalties for violations include fines of up to $1,000 per violation per day, plus private right of action for damages and attorney’s fees.

Source of Income Protections (SF Police Code Article 33F)

San Francisco’s local source of income protections supplement California’s SB 329 (Gov. Code §12955). Under Article 33F:

• Landlords must accept Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers, VASH vouchers, and all other lawful income sources
• You cannot advertise “No Section 8” or imply that voucher holders are not welcome
• You must count the voucher payment amount toward the tenant’s income for income-to-rent ratio calculations
• You cannot charge voucher holders higher deposits or impose different terms
• The SFHRC investigates complaints and can impose penalties, issue orders to cease and desist, and refer cases for prosecution

Rent Stabilization (SF Admin. Code Chapter 37)

The SF Rent Ordinance covers approximately 172,000 units built before June 13, 1979. For screening purposes, the key implications are:

• Just cause eviction requirements mean that once a tenant passes screening and moves in, you need one of 16 enumerated just causes to terminate the tenancy
• Relocation assistance requirements (varying by circumstance, potentially $7,000–$50,000+) make screening errors extremely costly
• The Rent Board can review screening practices as part of wrongful eviction investigations
• Buyout agreements require specific disclosures and Rent Board filing

First-in-Time Processing

San Francisco landlords should process applications in the order received. While not codified as strictly as some jurisdictions, the SFHRC has interpreted Fair Housing law to require sequential evaluation — you should screen each applicant against your written criteria in order and accept the first qualified applicant. Cherry-picking among equally qualified applicants creates disparate treatment exposure.

FCRA Compliance

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. §1681 et seq.) applies to all SF landlords using consumer reporting agencies.

Before Running Reports

• Obtain written consent from the applicant to pull credit, criminal, and eviction reports (15 U.S.C. §1681b(a)(2))
• Disclose that consumer reports may be used in your rental decision
• For criminal reports specifically, remember you can only pull after a conditional offer (Fair Chance Ordinance)

Adverse Action Requirements

Under 15 U.S.C. §1681m, if you deny based on a consumer report, provide:

1. The specific reason(s) for denial
2. The name, address, and phone number of the consumer reporting agency
3. A statement that the CRA did not make the decision
4. Notice of the right to a free report copy within 60 days
5. Notice of the right to dispute inaccurate information

In SF, FCRA adverse action notices and Fair Chance Ordinance pre-denial notices may both be required for criminal-history-based denials. Send both within 3 business days of your decision.

What SF Landlords Can and Cannot Screen For

Criminal History

• Cannot ask on application. All criminal history questions must be removed from your application form.
• Cannot check until after conditional offer. Evaluate credit, income, rental history, and employment first.
• Cannot use: arrests without conviction, juvenile records, offenses older than 7 years (with sex offense exceptions), sealed/expunged records, infractions, non-felony marijuana convictions.
• Must conduct individualized assessment for any qualifying conviction.
• Must provide pre-denial notice with at least 10 business days to respond.

Source of Income

• Must accept all lawful income sources including Section 8, VASH, CalWORKs, SSI/SSDI
• Must include voucher value in income calculations
• Cannot advertise income source restrictions
• SFHRC actively investigates and penalizes violations

Credit History

• Credit reports are permissible but should never be the sole basis for denial
• Review the full report, not just the score
• Medical debt collections are less predictive of rent default
• Thin files should prompt alternative verification, not automatic denial
• FCRA adverse action procedures apply when credit factors into denial

Additional SF Protections

• Immigration status: Cannot ask about or consider immigration status (Cal. Civ. Code §1940.35)
• Gender identity: Protected under both state FEHA and SF Human Rights Ordinance
• Height and weight: Protected class under SF law
• AIDS/HIV status: Specifically protected under SF law

Setting Your Screening Criteria

Step 1: Define Written Criteria (Before Listing)

Criteria	Recommended Threshold	SF-Specific Notes
Income	3x monthly rent (gross)	Include voucher value; count all lawful income
Credit score	620+ (with full report review)	Never sole basis for denial
Rental history	2+ years, no evictions	Process applicants in order received
Criminal history	Individualized assessment AFTER conditional offer	Fair Chance Ordinance: strict sequencing
Employment	Currently employed or verifiable income	Accept all lawful income sources

Step 2: Sequential Screening Process

Process applications in order received. For each applicant: (1) verify income and employment, (2) run credit report, (3) check eviction history, (4) contact previous landlords, (5) if applicant passes all criteria, issue conditional offer, (6) only then run criminal background check.

Step 3: Criminal History Review (Post-Conditional Offer)

If the criminal background check reveals a qualifying conviction, conduct your individualized assessment. Consider the nature and gravity of the offense, time elapsed, evidence of rehabilitation, and relevance to the tenancy. Provide pre-denial notice with at least 10 business days for the applicant to respond before finalizing any denial.

Step 4: Documentation and Retention

Retain all applications, reports, conditional offers, individualized assessments, pre-denial notices, responses, and final decisions for at least 5 years. The statute of limitations for Fair Housing claims in SF can extend beyond the standard 3-year period.

Related San Francisco Screening Resources

• San Francisco tenant screening laws — full local ordinance breakdown
• Denial checker tool — verify your denial complies with FCRA and Fair Chance requirements
• How to screen tenants in Oakland, CA — compare Oakland’s 14-day pre-denial period
• How to screen tenants in San Jose, CA — Bay Area comparison with Opportunity to Compete Act
• How to screen tenants in Los Angeles, CA — LA’s Fair Chance for Housing Ordinance

Bottom Line

San Francisco’s screening laws are among the strictest in the nation, layering local Fair Chance, source of income, and rent stabilization requirements on top of already-protective California state law. The critical compliance point is sequencing — criminal history checks come last, after a conditional offer, with individualized assessment and pre-denial notice. Apply your criteria consistently, process applicants in order, accept all lawful income sources, and document every step of every decision. Tenant screening in San Francisco rewards process discipline above all else.