Renting tips
Once you have spotted the area that suits you best (see article Where to live in SF), you can start to look for your new “home sweet home”. Many real estate agency’s websites offer apartments and houses for rent, but the best place to look at is "Craigslist".
The website was launched (in 1995) as a simple list of cultural events happening in San Francisco, and was updated via email by Craig Newmark.
The rental ads found on Craigslist are posted by landlords, realtors and private parties. Choose the city and neighborhood in "aps/housing for rent", and Craiglist will list the ads that match your search. You can refine your search by entering criteria, such as the number of rooms, pets retrictions... The classification by bedrooms and bathrooms might be surprising at first since we are so used to square meters. But it is indeed very practical, especially for a rental.
For lease contracts, the legal website Nolo, and SF Rent Board’s website provide a good deal of information. This is what we found out on our own: a furnished place is usually rented from one month to the next, but you can rent for longer periods as well. You usually have to pay a deposit (security deposit) to the owner. This deposit is always refundable in whole or in part. For unfurnished rentals, the lease is, in many cases, a minimum of one year. Then, the contract is automatically renewed from month to month. If you wish to terminate the lease, you might have to give notice, as stipulated in the leasing contract.
Finally, one of the peculiarities of San Francisco is the Rent Control, which sets a limit to the annual rent increase. More information is available at SF Tenants Union .
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