Chapter 41G — RESIDENTIAL HOTEL COVID-19 PROTECTIONS

Sec. 41G.1. Name, Findings, and Purpose.

Sec. 41G.2. Definitions.

Sec. 41G.3. Policies and Protocols to Protect Occupants of Residential Hotels.

Sec. 41G.4. Undertaking for the General Welfare.

Sec. 41G.5. Severability.

(a) Name of Ordinance. This Chapter 41G shall be known as the “Health Protections for Residential Hotels Ordinance.”

(b) Findings.

(1) On February 25, 2020, Mayor London Breed proclaimed a state of emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 3, 2020, the Board of Supervisors concurred in the February 25 Proclamation.

(2) On March 31, 2022, the County Health Officer issued Order No. C19-07y (the “Safer Return Together Order”). The Safer Return Together Order, among other public health requirements and recommendations, continues to direct San Franciscans to follow Health Officer Directives 202003f (“Isolation Directive”) and 2020-02g (“Quarantine Directive”). Issued in updated form on April 8, 2022, the Isolation Directive generally requires individuals who test positive for, are diagnosed with, or are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 to isolate if and to the extent required by current California Department of Public Health guidance on isolation and quarantine. Issued in updated form on April 8, 2022, the Quarantine Directive generally requires individuals who have been exposed to a person who tested positive for or was diagnosed with COVID-19 to follow current California Department of Public Health guidance on isolation and quarantine.

(3) A high percentage of SRO Residents are 60 years of age or older and/or experience serious health complications. Conditions in Residential Hotels often present environmental problems such as mold growth, poor sanitation, broken plumbing, and poor ventilation. These environmental problems can exacerbate negative health consequences for SRO Residents.

(4) SRO Residents regularly use Common Areas for daily activities such as building access and unit access, cooking, eating, personal hygiene, social gathering, and entertainment. Many SRO Residents share common faucets, toilets, showers, and washing stations with other SRO Residents who are not part of the same household. High Touch Surfaces within these facilities serve as points of transmission for infectious or contagious diseases such as shigellosis, hepatitis, and norovirus. And Residential Hotels have in the past experienced outbreaks of some of these and other contagious diseases.

(5) Properly Cleaning and Disinfecting these surfaces using effective disinfecting cleaning agents and properly washing hands with soap and water or, if soap is not available, applying to hands an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol content, destroys most pathogens and substantially lessens the likelihood of transmission of contagious disease between SRO Residents from different households.

(c) Purpose. The purpose of the Health Protections for Residential Hotels Ordinance is to establish general cleaning and disinfecting standards in common areas of Residential Hotels, to provide SRO Residents improved access to information regarding housing rights, and in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, to provide SRO Residents information regarding public health resources and isolation and quarantine requirements.

e of the Health Protections for Residential Hotels Ordinance is to establish general cleaning and disinfecting standards in common areas of Residential Hotels, to provide SRO Residents improved access to information regarding housing rights, and in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, to provide SRO Residents information regarding public health resources and isolation and quarantine requirements.

(Added by Ord. 30-21, File No. 201388, App. 3/19/2021, Eff. 4/19/2021; amended by Ord. 76-22, File No. 220284, App. 5/13/2022, Eff. 6/13/2022)

For purposes of this Chapter 41G, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

“City” means the City and County of San Francisco.

“Clean and Disinfect” means (1) cleaning visible dirt or soiling from a surface and (2) in accordance with product labeling or instructions, disinfecting the surface using a disinfectant product registered by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as effective against common pathogens.

“Common Areas” means indoor spaces to which SRO Residents from more than one Residential Unit have access, including but not limited to lobbies, stairwells, elevators, hallways, lounges, dining rooms, kitchens, laundry facilities, and bathrooms.

“COVID-19” means coronavirus disease 2019, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus and that resulted in a global pandemic starting in the early months of 2020.

“Department” means the Department of Public Health.

“Director” means the Director of Health or the Director’s designee.

“High Touch Surfaces” means surfaces found in Common Areas that are frequently touched by SRO Residents including but not limited to doors, door handles, light switches, railings, drawers, faucets, and appliances.

“I&Q Directives” means (1) Health Officer Directive 2020-03f, issued April 8, 2022 and (2) Health Officer Directive 2020-02g, issued April 8, 2022, both as they may be superseded, replaced, or updated.

“Operator” has the meaning set forth in Administrative Code Section 41.4, as may be amended from time to time.

“Owner” has the meaning set forth in Administrative Code Section 41.4, as may be amended from time to time.

“Residential Hotel” has the meaning set forth in Administrative Code Section 41.4, as may be amended from time to time. A Residential Hotel is often informally referred to as a “Single Room Occupancy” Hotel or “SRO” Hotel.

“Residential Unit” has the meaning set forth in Administrative Code Section 41.4, as may be amended from time to time.

“Safer Return Together Order” means the series of County Health Officer orders, beginning with No. C19-07, issued on March 16, 2020 and previously titled the Stay Safer at Home Order, and updated on March 31, 2022 as Order No. C19-07y. The Safer Return Together Order includes any subsequent County Health Officer order that replaces, supersedes, or updates the Safer Return Together Order.

“SRO Resident” means an individual who occupies a Residential Unit within a Residential Hotel.

(Added by Ord. 30-21, File No. 201388, App. 3/19/2021, Eff. 4/19/2021; amended by Ord. 76-22, File No. 220284, App. 5/13/2022, Eff. 6/13/2022)

(a) Resources for SRO Residents. Each Residential Hotel shall post in a common area where fire safety information is required to be posted:

(1) The telephone number of the Eviction Defense Collaborative;

(2) The telephone numbers of the Single Room Occupancy Collaboratives;

(3) The telephone number of the Residential Hotel’s Operator or on-site representative, so that City representatives, essential service workers, home-care providers, and other persons can obtain prompt access to the building in order to serve the SRO Residents; and

(4) A copy of this Chapter 41G.

(b) Generally Applicable Cleaning and Sanitation Requirements. The Owner or Operator of a Residential Hotel shall Clean and Disinfect all High Touch Surfaces in Common Areas within the Residential Hotel at least once per day or more frequently if surfaces become visibly soiled or if otherwise directed by the Department. The Owner or Operator of a Residential Hotel shall ensure that soap or hand sanitizer dispensers are available in all Common Areas within the Residential Hotel and shall confirm at least once per day that all dispensers are functioning and adequately filled with either handwashing soap or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer of at least 60% alcohol content. The Owner or Operator of a Residential Hotel must maintain a log demonstrating compliance with this subsection 41G.3(b) and must upon demand by Department employees immediately present the log for inspection. A violation of the standards in this subsection 41G.3(b) may, in the discretion of the Director, be deemed a threat to public health and safety constituting a public nuisance in accordance with Article 11 of the Health Code.

(c) COVID-19 Isolation or Quarantine Assistance. The Department shall assist SRO Residents who may have been exposed to COVID-19 in understanding the requirements of the I&Q Directives. The Department shall maintain a COVID-19 telephone hotline for SRO Residents to access public health information related to COVID-19 including information regarding testing resources and the I&Q Directives. Persons who call the telephone hotline may be screened for symptoms and referred to a neighborhood-based and culturally competent medical provider for testing. This subsection 41G.3(c) shall expire by operation of law upon termination, suspension, or expiration of one or both of the I&Q Directives; if only one of the directives terminates, is suspended, or expires, then this subsection shall expire by operation of law only as it pertains to that directive. Upon expiration of this subsection 41G.3(c) in its entirety, the City Attorney is authorized to cause this subsection to be removed from the Administrative Code.

termination, suspension, or expiration of one or both of the I&Q Directives; if only one of the directives terminates, is suspended, or expires, then this subsection shall expire by operation of law only as it pertains to that directive. Upon expiration of this subsection 41G.3(c) in its entirety, the City Attorney is authorized to cause this subsection to be removed from the Administrative Code.

(d) Right to Return Following Isolation or Quarantine. Nothing in this Chapter 41G shall in any way affect an SRO Resident’s right to return to their Residential Unit following a temporary absence due to a period of isolation or quarantine at a different location. Further, a temporary absence due to a period of isolation or quarantine shall not constitute a failure to continuously reside in the unit for purposes of Chapter 37 of the Administrative Code.

(e) Language Access. In carrying out the requirements of this Chapter 41G, the City shall comply with the requirements of the Language Access Ordinance, Administrative Code Chapter 91, as amended from time to time, including, but not limited to, the requirement to translate materials that provide vital information to the public about a department’s services or programs into the language(s) spoken by a substantial number of limited English-speaking SRO Residents.

(f) Contact Tracing. Where necessary to facilitate contact tracing and testing for any infectious or contagious disease, the Residential Hotel’s Owner or Operator shall, upon the Department’s request, provide the Department with access to a list of all SRO Residents, including name and contact information, who have occupied, and individuals who have worked at, the Residential Hotel during the two-week period before the Department’s request.

(Added by Ord. 30-21, File No. 201388, App. 3/19/2021, Eff. 4/19/2021; amended by Ord. 76-22, File No. 220284, App. 5/13/2022, Eff. 6/13/2022)

In enacting and implementing this Chapter 41G, the City is assuming an undertaking only to promote the general welfare. It is not assuming, nor is it imposing on its officers and employees, an obligation for breach of which it is liable in money damages to any person who claims that such breach proximately caused injury. This Chapter does not create a legally enforceable right by any member of the public against the City.

(Added by Ord. 30-21, File No. 201388, App. 3/19/2021, Eff. 4/19/2021)

If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this Chapter 41G, or any application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of a court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions or applications of the Chapter. The Board of Supervisors hereby declares that it would have passed this Chapter and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, and word not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any other portion of this Chapter or application thereof would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional.

(Added by Ord. 30-21, File No. 201388, App. 3/19/2021, Eff. 4/19/2021)

(Added by Ord. 30-21, File No. 201388, App. 3/19/2021, Eff. 4/19/2021; repealed by Ord. 76-22, File No. 220284, App. 5/13/2022, Eff. 6/13/2022)

(Added by Ord. 30-21, File No. 201388, App. 3/19/2021, Eff. 4/19/2021; repealed by Ord. 76-22, File No. 220284, App. 5/13/2022, Eff. 6/13/2022)