Is my building subject to the SF Soft-Story Retrofit mandate?

The SF Mandatory Soft-Story Retrofit Program covers wood-frame buildings of three or more stories with five or more residential units, permitted for construction before January 1, 1978, that have a weak or open first story (typically ground-floor parking, tuck-under garages, or storefront openings).

The program was enacted by SF Ordinance 66-13 in April 2013 and codified at SF Building Code Chapter 4D. DBI inventoried roughly 4,800 buildings and assigned each one a tier based on occupancy and use:

• Tier I: buildings with Group A, E, or R-2.1 occupancies (PDR with assembly, schools, residential care). Compliance deadline: September 15, 2017.
• Tier II: 15+ residential units. Deadline: September 15, 2018.
• Tier III: all other buildings in the program. Deadline: September 15, 2019.
• Tier IV: buildings with ground-floor commercial including PDR. Deadline: September 15, 2020.

All mandatory deadlines have passed. Buildings that received an Order to Comply and have not completed retrofit are in violation; DBI issues Notices of Violation with daily penalties under SFBC §103A.3, and many lenders refuse to refinance non-compliant properties because Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac flag them in seismic-risk underwriting.

The required scope is performance-based under FEMA P-807 or ASCE 41 — typically steel moment frames, plywood shearwall installation at the first story, hold-down anchors, and a connection load path to the foundation. Permit submittal requires a screening form (DBI Form 1) and engineering drawings stamped by a California-licensed civil or structural engineer. Construction usually takes 2 to 4 months and costs $80K–$300K depending on building size and parking-stall reconfiguration.

Tenants in covered buildings are protected by SF Administrative Code §37.9 — landlords cannot pass through the full cost as a rent increase except via the Capital Improvement Petition process at the SF Rent Board, which limits annual passthrough to roughly 10% of tenant rent. Tenant relocation under SFAC §37.9C applies if work requires temporary displacement.

Non-compliance after the deadline is now a recordable lien on the property and shows up on every SF property disclosure. Verify status on DBI's public Soft-Story Compliance Map before any acquisition or remodel.