S.F. could start allowing evictions over drug use in its supportive housing facilities
It could strengthen San Francisco’s permanent supportive housing facilities to evict residents for drug use; Proponents of the move say it will help people trying to get sober in city-funded buildings.
Permanent supportive housing aims to combine subsidized housing with individualized support services, especially for those who are formerly homeless. The city currently follows state guidance in its more than 15,000 units that, as a general rule, alcohol or drug use cannot be the sole reason for eviction.
But city-funded facilities have wiggle room under that law, according to a new proposal from Supervisor Matt Dorsey. Last week, Dorsey revived a proposal that would halt funding for new permanent supportive housing facilities that are not willing to evict residents for drug use.
The ordinance would mark a symbolic shift from the city’s longstanding stance of prioritizing access to housing over participation in addiction services. Dorsey said it’s simply designed to give supportive housing residents more flexibility.
“California law requires that illegal drug use on the premises cannot be grounds for release and that addiction must be treated as a part of people’s lives,” Dorsey said. he said. “But there are populations that we want to be sensitive to. This just ensures that people who want a drug-free enclave have an option.”
The ordinance would also require the city’s homelessness department to survey residents of permanent supportive housing and gauge their interest in “living in Drug-Resistant PSH or Drug-Free PSH.” Dorsey expects this survey to reveal demand for drug-free housing. He pointed to a 2024 survey from the city-funded Tenderloin Housing Clinic; 71% of the 450 residents surveyed said they would prefer to live in a drug-free area.
Drug-free housing advocates argue that traditional supportive housing options foster a chaotic environment where drugs are often freely available, creating a potential barrier to recovery. The idea also led to the creation last fall of Hope House, San Francisco’s first sober homeless shelter.
House of Hope was close to capacity It’s been in operation for several months, but it’s unclear when additional sober housing options might open. Governor Gavin Newsom in October vetoed a bill It would help cities like San Francisco spend more of the state’s homeless funds on sober living facilities, warning that the measure could create a new category that is “duplicative and costly.” Mayor Daniel Lurie, a co-sponsor of the bill, criticized the move.
Jennifer Friedenbach of the Coalition on Homelessness said she supports some types of drug-free housing but worries Dorsey’s measure will open the door to more evictions.
“Relapse is part of the recovery,” Friedenbach said, adding that he doubted whether the legislation would actually lead to new housing developments. “It feels like a performance.”
Dorsey emphasized that, according to his proposal, reoccurring the situation would not automatically be grounds for release. He said a person’s behavior must be “substantially disruptive” to people around them before they can be removed from the residence. Even then, Dorsey aims to avoid evictions that lead to homelessness by connecting former tenants with treatment or “housing appropriate to their situation.”
Friedenbach was also concerned that the legislation could threaten the financing of already planned housing projects. Dorsey said they are instead targeting future housing, but acknowledged it will take “a while” for the city to meet demand for drug-free alternatives. A spokesman for Dorsey said Wednesday that the measure will be brought before the full Board of Supervisors for a vote “later this spring.”
“This will give us a road map forward,” Dorsey said. “As long as city-funded permanent supportive housing comes online, it will have to be drug-free until it begins to meet the demand.”
This article was first published at: SF may begin allowing evictions for drug use in supportive housing facilities.
