Displaced Tenant Housing Preference Program (DTHP)

The Displaced Tenant Housing Preference helps renters, displaced by no-fault eviction or fire, find new housing. It gives applicants higher priority in many housing lotteries.

You exercise your DTHP certificate once when you move in - to rent or to buy one unit.

You can claim a DTHP in two ways

If you were evicted in or after 2010

  1. Your landlord must have filed the eviction with the Rent Board as an Ellis Act or Owner Move In. Contact the Rent Board for confirmation »
  2. You must have received either:
    1. A Notice of Intent to Withdraw (NOI)
    2. An Eviction Notice which:
      • States the reason for termination is to enable owner or relative move-in or
      • References Section 37.9(a)(8) of the Rent Ordinance
  3. You are still eligible even if your landlord rescinds the eviction, if you already moved out.
  4. You don't need to be on the lease to be eligible.

If your unit was extensively damaged by fire

  1. You must have received a Fire Displacement Verification Form signed by a public safety official.
  2. You must prove that you cannot return to your unit within 6 months of the fire.
  3. You’ll need to add documents to your application that prove your residency. See the DTHP application for the document checklist.

Apply for DTHP

  1. Download the PDF iconDTHP Application

  2. Email the completed application to DTHPcertificate@sfgov.org

  3. If you are unable to email or scan your documents, you can mail your application to:

    Displaced Tenant Housing Preference Program
    Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development
    1 South Van Ness Ave., 5th Floor
    San Francisco, CA  94103

More information