. . . an exciting new educational & legal advocacy organization launched by Small Property Owners of San Francisco

We recognize that it's tough being a small property owner in San Francisco, and that San Francisco has more obstacles to ownership and profitability than most other cities. We recognize that our properties are our security, and that in order to be successful in our goals we must work together.

It is the mission of the non-profit SPOSF INSTITUTE to provide owners of small rental properties in San Francisco with the tools and information necessary to conduct business successfully in this difficult climate. Through our educational programs, publications, and workshops we seek to help our members better understand their rights and obligations, how to work constructively with city and state officials, and how to deal effectively with their tenants. Through legal advocacy, we seek to protect the rights of small property owners against unfair and burdensome regulations. Recent court decisions and the defeat of rent control measures in a number of US cities give us good reason to be hopeful.

Because the SPOSF INSTITUTE is a new organization, we are just beginning to put our programs in place. Please check back regularly to stay in touch with our progress and to learn about our programs.

» Yes, I'd like to make a tax-deductible donation to SPOSFI.

ACTION ALERT: SPOSF Institute goes to Washington.

U.S. Supreme Court hears two important cases regarding rent control. Help us bring this issue to the national stage.

On December 10, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it would hear San Remo v. City and County of San Francisco — just two months after agreeing to hear Lingle v. Chevron, another important case involving an unconstitutional "Taking" of private property.

These two cases signify a seismic shift in our battle for property rights. As detailed by attorney Paul Utrecht in the December/January 2005 issue of SPOSF News, (also see Sample our Newsletter page on this website), the issue in San Remo v. City and County of San Francisco, involving a local hotel hit with a huge fee for wanting to rent to tourists, concerns a procedural question that is critical to establishing an unconstitutional Taking. For background and a full description of the arguments in this case, read the legal brief that was the basis for this decision as well as the amicus brief filed by Washington Legal Foundation for the SPOSF Institute, and a news release about our brief. We'll keep you apprised of the exact date in March when the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments.

In Lingle v. Chevron, (see our November newsletter for a full review), the federal Ninth Circuit declared rent control for gas stations in Hawaii an unconstitutional Taking under the Fifth Amendment. The decision in this case has already resulted in rent control for mobile homes being declared unconstitutional. More cases raising similar issues are sure to follow. The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear Lingle v. Chevron on February 22, 2005.

Aware of the major implications these two cases have for the future of rent control, San Francisco city attorneys will not only argue before the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of the City in the San Remo Hotel case, but will be joining attorneys for the State of Hawaii in its own appeal to the highest court in the land.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TREMENDOUS SUPPORT

Our thanks to the nearly 300 SPOSF members to date who have sent donations to the Institute. We are truly gratified and impressed by your response, both by your financial contribution and by the many notes your sent. This outpouring is stark evidence of not only the frustration of small property owners who find it increasingly difficult to be a housing provider in San Francisco, but also their determination to fight back. We are just beginning an ongoing legal and educational battle to preserve our property rights, publicize our plight and reverse the erosion in the control of our homes. To all those who gave, thank you! To those who haven't, please consider doing so today. If we don't speak up and fight for our rights, who will?

» Yes, I'd like to make a tax-deductible donation to SPOSFI.