Find A Tenant Rights Group
See the list below for how to access services from Tenant Counseling and Legal Service organizations, and check their websites for the most up to date information. Go to our page on Rent Relief if you are looking for help making rent.
CENTRAL CITY SRO COLLABORATIVE Central City SRO Collaborative and La Voz Latina are only making in-person appointments after a phone consultation with a staff member. Call (415) 983-3970 (La Voz) or (415) 775-7110 (CCSROC).
Languages: English and Spanish
CHINATOWN SRO COLLABORATIVE In-person clinic available, but please call if possible: 415-984-2730. Leave your name, phone number and a counselor will return your call. How to See a Counselor: Drop-in clinic Mondays from 2-4pm & Thursdays 10:30am-2:30pm, 663 Clay Street San Francisco
Languages: Cantonese, Mandarin, English
MISSION SRO COLLABORATIVE (MSROC) Telephone counseling only: leave a voicemail with your name, phone number, and a brief description of your problem. Someone will call you back as soon as possible. (415) 282-6209
Languages: English and Spanish
EVICTION DEFENSE COLLABORATIVE (EDC) If you have received a Summons & Complaint (pictured here) or have been served a notice containing allegations of nuisance, call the legal assistance line as soon as possible: (415) 659-9184 or email: legal@evictiondefense.org. Visit our NEW OFFICE in person at 976 Mission St. Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 10-11:30am and 1-2:30pm.
Languages: English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese
AAAJ-ASIAN LAW CAUCUS By Appointment Only. If you need legal assistance on a housing issue, please call 415-896-1701. If we miss your call, please leave a voice/text message (leave your name, phone number, and briefly describe the housing issue), and we will respond to you as soon as possible. We prioritize cases involving eviction, reasonable accommodation, significant rent increase, landlord harassment, habitability issues, and change in terms of tenancy. We do not provide any services to landlords.
Languages: English, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Spanish
LEGAL ASSISTANCE FOR THE ELDERLY Appointments only. If you need legal assistance, please call (415) 538-3333. If you are an existing client, please contact your advocate directly for assistance. If you are a new client, please leave a message and we will return the call as soon as we are able.
Languages: English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Spanish
OPEN DOOR LEGAL: Free legal representation in civil cases (including family, housing, immigration, and employment law) for residents of Districts 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, or SF residents who are homeless. Potential clients can call (415) 735-4124, fill out a screening form at opendoorlegal.org/start or walk in to the following locations during the weekday hours of 10 AM to 4:00 PM (closed 12-1).
Languages: English, Cantonese (Excelsior office or by appointment), Spanish (Bayview office or by appointment)
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Bayview office located at 4634 3rd St.
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Excelsior office located at 60 Ocean Ave.
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Western Addition office at 1113 Fillmore St.
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Sunset office at 1722 Irving St.
TENDERLOIN HOUSING CLINIC (THC) Tenants seeking assistance should contact 415-771-9850 for an intake phone interview to determine whether a THC attorney will represent the tenant.
Visit our Rent Relief page for updates and resources
Eviction Defense Collaborative RADCO Program
For RADCo (rental assistance), call (415) 470-5211 or email EDCRADCo@evictiondefense.org and leave your: name, number and address. Someone from RADCo will contact you as soon as possible.
Languages: English, Spanish, Chinese
If you are currently unhoused, living in a shelter, or living in a vehicle, you have rights to your belongings and rights with the police in public spaces. There is also help available for finding food, shelter, medical services, legal help, and more.
WHAT ARE MY RIGHTS?
City policy requires 72 hour notice of encampment removals, and you have the right to get your belongings back if they are taken by the city. It is a good idea to document your belonging in any way you can and tag them to show they are not abandoned. You also have rights during encounters with law enforcement. You can learn more about these rights here in this helpful guide created by the Coalition on Homelessness.
If you are living in your vehicle, you may be able to get a fee waiver if your car is towed or get parking tickets fines reduced or dropped, and can sign up for notification before your vehicle is towed here. Find more information about where to get help in the legal support section of this list of resources.
If you are staying in a shelter, you also have rights. The Shelter Client Advocate Program at EDC can help. Find more information here: https://evictiondefense.org/services/shelter-client-advocacy/
WHERE CAN I GET HELP?
The Coalition on Homelessness has gathered a list of services/resources here. This list includes basic necessities distribution centers, shelters, legal support, and medical services. For assistance or more information, please contact the Coalition on Homelessness at 280 Turk St/415-346-3740 from Monday-Thursday (9am-5pm) & Friday (9am-noon).
The SF Service Guide is an online directory of homelessness and housing services in San Francisco. Anyone with access to a smartphone, tablet, or computer can use the guide to learn about a variety of programs from education to legal aid to seniors services: https://www.sfserviceguide.org/
Your landlord cannot discriminate against you because of your race, ethnicity, place of birth, immigration or citizenship status. Threats about your immigration status are harassment and are illegal under the rent ordinance. Tenants facing landlord harassment can reach out to free tenant rights clinics across the city.
Below is an overview of California state law AB 291. It is unlawful for landlords to do the following:
- ask about immigration or citizenship status. Applies to current and
prospective tenants/occupants. (Exception: Federally subsidized housing) - threaten to report to ICE. Landlords canʼt pressure tenants to vacate through threats to disclose immigration status of tenant or tenantʼs family/friends.
- report immigration status to ICE (and other agencies) for purposes of retaliation, harassment, intimidation, or recovery of possession. If court finds violation: Statutory damages of 6-12 times monthly rent, Injunctive relief, Attorneyʼs fees & costs. Nonprofits can bring suit for injunctive relief against landlords who violate.
- evict based on immigration status. (Exception: Federally subsidized housing)
- the law clearly defines reporting and threatened reporting as retaliation. If court finds violation: Actual damages, Punitive damages, Attorneyʼs fees and costs.
- Attorneys canʼt ask about immigration status in “any civil action involving a tenantʼs housing rightsˮ (unless tenant puts at issue).
What if ICE enters my home? How big is the risk?
Most immigrants will not have an encounter with ICE. The likelihood that ICE will actually come to a given personʼs home is generally low. **Certain people are at higher risk, including people with prior orders of removal and/or prior contact with criminal justice system.**
ICE may only enter your home if:
You consent. OR
They have a warrant signed by a judge — NOT an administrative warrant.
It can be hard to tell if ICE has a proper warrant. DONʼT OPEN THE DOOR UNLESS YOU’RE SURE ICE HAS A WARRANT SIGNED BY A JUDGE. THEY RARELY DO.
DO NOT
● Do NOT open the door at all (not even a crack).
● Do NOT consent to entry.
DO
● Keep the door shut.
● Call your local rapid response hotline. SF Rapid Response Hotline: (415)200-1548
● You can ask the ICE agent to slip any document they have under the door. But if this is not an option, just keep the door shut.
What if ICE is waiting outside my home?
ICE does not need a warrant signed by a judge to arrest you outside of your home. Often, ICE waits down the street until people leave for work to arrest them. If you suspect ICE is waiting outside your home, call your local rapid response hotline. SF Rapid Response Hotline: (415)200-1548
Interacting with ICE (if ICE stops you on the street, or at work, or at/in your home)
DO
- If in public] Ask, “am I free to go?ˮ If yes → walk away calmly.
- Remain silent. You can say, “I am using my 5th Amendment right to remain silent.ˮ
- Show the Red Card. This website has “red cards” (saying, e.g. that they do not consent to ICE entering their home and will not answer any questions) with translations into many languages, for folks to print and hand to ICE if they are approached by ICE.
DO NOT
- Do not lie.
- Do not show false documents.
- Do not resist arrest.
- Do not answer questions about your immigration status or where you were born.
- Do not sign anything without talking to an attorney.
Know Your Rights Flyers about ICE:
Immigrant Defense Project: General Know Your Rights infographics on interactions with ICE (which is available in many languages) as a comprehensive overview in addition to materials on specific scenarios (eg: what to do if ICE comes to your home, what to do if ICE stops you in your car).
ICE Ruses: This page contains a number of examples illustrating how ICE has arrested people using “ruses.” (Content warning – detailed narratives about ICE using “ruses” to arrest people.)
For more detailed information and resources on immigration rights, visit Asian Law Caucus’ guide: https://www.asianlawcaucus.org/news-resources/guides-reports/know-your-rights-guide-for-immigrant-communities-in-2025
WHERE CAN I GET HELP?
Legal Help:
Tenants: Asian Law Caucus may be able to provide assistance or referrals for California tenants who are being threatened or harassed by their landlords regarding their immigration status. Tenants should call (415)896-1701.
Immigration Issues:
For anyone seeking legal help regarding an immigration issue, consult the National Immigrant Legal Services Directory for a comprehensive list of available legal services providers. Folks can type in their zipcode to this directory, and find a list of immigration nonprofits, with specifics on what types of cases each nonprofit can help.