April 8, 2025

After years of organizing, tenants in three single-room occupancy hotels in San Francisco’s Chinatown have won a major victory. Their landlords have agreed to pay a collective $810,000 in civil penalties to settle a city lawsuit alleging health and safety violations at the properties.

“Let this be a lesson to all landlords who profit off of the suffering of their tenants. In San Francisco, there are consequences for depriving tenants of a safe and healthy place to live.” -SF City Attorney David Chiu

For years, tenants in three Chinatown SROs have been organizing against attempts by the network of owners to flip the units and displace long-term residents. Tenants worked with Chinatown Community Development Center to address ongoing neglect, reductions in services, and harassment by the landlords. While they worked with Code Enforcement and the City Attorney, tenants continued to organize. Through a rent strike and other tactics, tenants won concessions outside of issues addressed by the housing code, including a stop to harassment via late fees and sham 3-day notices to quit. Today, the same tenants are celebrating the $810,000 settlement agreement.

“In this moment in particular, it is important to highlight the role of immigrants in San Francisco who stand up for their own and their community’s rights. Immigrants have been leaders in the fight for equity. This has been a continuous throughline in Chinatown from Wong Kim Ark in 1893 to Community Tenants Association in 2025.” -Malcolm Yeung, Executive Director of Chinatown Community Development Center

For more, see the following: