Landlords – Get Your Calculators, Tenants – Get Your Checkbooks! San Francisco Annual Rent Increases Announced

It’s that time of year again…. rental property owners in San Francisco get to hear how much they can increase their tenant’s rent.  Depending on the amount you might be paying in rent, this might mean having to cut back on 1 latte a month, or maybe several lattes a month.
Here’s the scoop from the San Francisco Board of Realtors:

Effective March 1, 2011 through February 29, 2012, the allowable annual increase amount is 0.5%. In accordance with Rules and Regulations Section 1.12, this amount is based on 60% of the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for All Urban Consumers in the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose region for the 12-month period ending October 31, which was 0.9% as posted in November 2010 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
To calculate the dollar amount of the 0.5% annual rent increase, multiply the tenant’s base rent by .005. For example, if the tenant’s base rent is $1,250.00, the annual increase would be calculated as follows: $1,250.00 x .005 = $6.25. The tenant’s new base rent would be $1,256.25 ($1,250.00 + $6.25 = $1,256.25).
The Rent Board also has announced the interest rate payable on security deposits for the 3/1/11 – 2/29/12 period—0.4%.

And property owners, don’t forget, you also need to pony up the interest on your tenants’ security deposits too.