Tenderloin Housing Clinic
Serving the Legal Needs of S.F. Tenants Since 1980

What We’ve Accomplished

Since its founding in 1980, the Tenderloin Housing Clinic has:

• Uncovered the scandal of hotel “heat cheats” and led the successful campaign to enact tougher heat and hot-water laws;
• Been featured on 60 Minutes as well as in local and international media for our efforts to stop the abuses of German landlord Guenther Kaussen;
• Sponsored laws preventing the conversion of residential hotels to tourist use;
• Initiated a law exempting low-income tenants from paying the City’s hotel tax;
• Won a court order barring “no-visitor” policies at residential hotels;
• Worked with the San Francisco Police Department to develop a new Lockout Training Bulletin to curb illegal lockouts;
• Obtained a court settlement protecting families from termination from the City’s Homeless Program without due process;
• Won court settlements and jury verdicts bringing hundreds of thousands of dollars to low-income tenants.

Throughout this period, the Clinic has educated thousands of tenants about their legal rights, and assisted more tenants facing eviction than any other agency in San Francisco.

Making a Difference in Tenants’ Lives

The Tenderloin Housing Clinic, Inc. is a non-profit organization founded in 1980 to help San Francisco tenants understand and assert their legal rights.

Originally staffed by student volunteers, the Clinic now has two offices, four attorneys, and a multi-lingual support staff dedicated to preserving the right of low-income tenants to safe, decent and affordable housing.

The Clinic’s primary aim is to prevent the displacement of low- and moderate-income tenants from the Tenderloin community. We accomplish this through education and counseling, media contact, affirmative litigation, and tenant organizing. We also engage in legislative advocacy on issues related to preserving low-income apartments and residential hotels.

The Clinic also works closely with other groups seeking to make the Tenderloin a safe, healthy and affordable place to live.

What We Do:

The Clinic has offices which provide a variety of free legal services to tenants.

38 Mason Street (956-8056):

• Helps tenants to defend themselves against eviction proceedings by filling out the necessary legal forms;
• Provides drop-in and phone-in counseling to tenants;
• Provides legal representation;
• Mediates settlement of eviction disputes between landlords and tenants.

126 Hyde Street (771-9850):

• Represents, advises, and/or initiates lawsuits for tenants seeking to improve living conditions in their homes;
• Provides counseling on a drop-in and phone-in basis to North and South-of-Market residents in all areas of landlord-tenant law;
• Prevents illegal lock-outs by mediating disputes with landlords and the Police Department;
• Represents tenants at administrative hearings.

Tenderloin Housing Clinic
126 Hyde Street
San Francisco, CA 94102