Dear UCSF Chancellor Hawgood,

As one of San Francisco’s largest landlords, UCSF has a responsibility to provide affordable, well-maintained housing – especially during the COVID-19 crisis.

Today, many UCSF workers are rent-burdened, and those living in campus housing often pay 30% or more of our income to UCSF as our landlord (1). While San Francisco rents declined by 27% in 2020 due to COVID-19 (2), UCSF has announced only small decreases in rent for the 2021-22 year that range from no change at all to 5% to 9% decreases in Tidelands. During the pandemic, many of us have tried to leave UCSF housing for cheaper apartments or to care for loved ones, only to find that UCSF's restrictive lease rules prevented us from doing so.

We, the undersigned, call on the UCSF administration to implement the following measures to address the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on our housing:

-Lower UCSF rent by 25% or more:
This rent decrease would be comparable to decreases across San Francisco in 2020. Substantially lowering rents in UCSF housing is an important first step toward addressing the rent burden crisis facing UCSF workers.

-Implement more flexible lease policies:
Given the realities of the pandemic, UCSF must make it easier for tenants to end their leases. During the early months of the pandemic, UCSF allowed some tenants to more flexibly terminate their leases, but this measure was suspended even as COVID cases surged nationwide. We urge the UCSF administration to permanently allow any on-campus tenant to terminate unconditionally their lease with 30 days notice.

Sincerely,

[The undersigned]
https://docs.google.com/document/d/12rIFUx60HUY_1D_1vRhMspYxtlgxtAlNosXhFXX6hJA/edit?usp=sharing

1. The Department of Housing and Urban Development defines anyone paying 30% or more of their income on housing costs (rent + utilities) as “rent burdened.” Individuals are “severely rent burdened” if they pay 50% or more of income in rent.
2. https://www.sfgate.com/realestate/article/SF-rent-closes-out-the-year-down-27-15845136.php, https://sfist.com/2021/02/09/below-market-rate-housing-units-in-san-francisco-found-to-be-above-market-rate-right-now/
3. https://campuslifeservices.ucsf.edu/housing/services/our_communities/rental_rates.