Two dates matter in San Francisco. Wood-frame buildings permitted before January 1, 1978 with five or more units fall under the soft-story retrofit law, and units whose first certificate of occupancy came on or before June 13, 1979 are generally under rent control. Earthquake is a separate purchase. Send me the retrofit paperwork, the rent roll and the system updates and I can show the building to the insurers that write this kind of risk.
What underwriters look at on a San Francisco building
- Soft-story statusThe retrofit law covers wood-frame buildings of three or more stories (or two over a basement that extends above grade) with five or more dwelling units, permitted before January 1, 1978.
- Concrete screeningOwners of older concrete buildings who received a city notice must file a screening form by June 9, 2027. There is no citywide retrofit mandate for them as of November 2026.
- Liquefaction zoneThe state maps liquefaction zones in the Marina and other low-lying parts of the city, and the Port describes the filled land around Mission Creek and Islais Creek as subject to liquefaction.
- Rent OrdinanceUnits first certified for occupancy on or before June 13, 1979 are generally rent controlled; newer units have eviction protection only.
- Original systemsKnob-and-tube wiring, fuse panels and galvanized or cast-iron pipe are still found in pre-war buildings and drive fire and water losses.
The coverage parts are the same as anywhere in California (how an apartment program is built). What is local is the list above.
The Mandatory Soft Story Program
The Board of Supervisors passed Ordinance 66-13 in April 2013. It applies to wood-frame buildings of three or more stories, or two stories over a basement or underfloor area that extends above grade, with five or more dwelling units, where the construction permit was applied for before January 1, 1978. The city’s findings counted about 4,300 such buildings and estimated that at least 2,800 might have a weak story, most notably in the Mission, Western Addition, Richmond, North Beach and Marina.
Each building was placed in one of four compliance tiers with staged deadlines, and the ordinance called for all work to be completed by December 31, 2020. Tier IV took in buildings with ground-floor commercial space and buildings in mapped liquefaction zones. The Department of Building Inspection still publishes a weekly status list of every property in the program, and a building that missed its deadline gets an “Earthquake Warning” placard that is also recorded against the title.
- Was the building in the program, and in which tier?
- Is there a Certificate of Final Completion for the retrofit? That is the document underwriters want.
- If the building is posted or still open, expect fewer insurers to offer terms until it is closed out.
- Under five units? The building was outside the law, but the same garage-level weakness can exist, and earthquake underwriters will still ask.
Concrete buildings: screening now, retrofit undecided
Older concrete apartment buildings are on a separate track. In May 2025 the Board of Supervisors created the Concrete Building Screening Program, aimed at non-ductile concrete buildings and rigid-wall-flexible-diaphragm (tilt-up) buildings. If you received a notice, you must give the city information about the building by June 9, 2027, and a California-licensed architect, civil engineer or structural engineer has to submit the structural part of the form.
As of November 2026 this is screening only. The city says it will use the answers to decide whether more seismic requirements are needed, and that owners who do not file are automatically included in any future mandatory retrofit program. Voluntary retrofit standards are already in the Existing Building Code. For insurance, keep the notice, the filed form and any engineer’s report together; a lender or an earthquake underwriter will ask for them.
Earthquake and liquefaction
Earthquake damage is typically excluded from a commercial property policy, and the California Earthquake Authority writes policies for homeowners, condo unit owners, mobilehome owners and renters, not apartment buildings. An apartment owner buys earthquake separately, as a stand-alone or difference-in-conditions policy with its own deductible. How earthquake coverage works in California.
The U.S. Geological Survey puts the chance of at least one magnitude 6.7 or larger earthquake in the Bay region between 2014 and 2043 at 72 percent, and 22 percent on the San Andreas Fault alone. Ground matters as much as distance: the California Geological Survey notes that liquefaction caused some of the building damage in the Marina District in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, and its official maps show liquefaction zones there. Check your parcel on the state’s Earthquake Zones of Required Investigation map before you ask for quotes, because the underwriter will. I cover single-family and condo options on the San Francisco earthquake page.
Loss of rents under the Rent Ordinance
Loss of rents coverage replaces the rent you were collecting while units are repaired after a covered loss. In San Francisco, plan on getting the old rent roll back, not a new one:
- After a fire or other disaster, Rent Board Rules and Regulations Section 12.19 requires the landlord to offer the same unit back to the displaced tenant within 30 days of finishing repairs, on the same terms as before.
- Uninsured repair costs do not simply become higher rent. Necessary capital improvements not covered by insurance go through the Rent Board’s capital improvement petition process.
- Planned work is different. A temporary eviction for capital improvements under Section 37.9(a)(11) requires relocation payments, needs Rent Board approval if tenants will be out more than three months, and the tenant returns at the prior rent plus allowable annual increases.
- Newer buildings whose first certificate of occupancy was issued after June 13, 1979 are exempt from the rent increase limits but, since January 20, 2020, not from the just cause eviction rules.
So size the limit to the real rent roll and a realistic San Francisco permit and rebuild time. How income coverage works. The Rent Board’s disaster page does not say whether a landlord owes relocation money after an accidental fire; it sends that question to counsel, and whether a policy would pay it depends on the wording.
Knob-and-tube, galvanized pipe and other old systems
Shared walls and wood framing make fire and water the everyday claims here. Underwriters ask for years and proof:
- Wiring: any live knob-and-tube, fuse boxes or undersized service, and what was replaced under permit.
- Plumbing: galvanized supply lines, cast-iron drains, and the date of any re-pipe.
- Roof and heating: age of the roof, boiler or water heaters. Equipment breakdown coverage picks up boiler and electrical failures that property forms leave out.
- Code upgrades: rebuilding an old building means building to today’s code. Ordinance or law coverage pays that difference, up to its own limit.
An unimproved building can still be insured, but the choice of insurers narrows and a hard-to-place building may end up with the California FAIR Plan, which writes habitational buildings of five or more units on a named-peril basis. How the FAIR Plan and a difference-in-conditions policy fit together.
Decks, stairs and liability
Falls from stairs, decks and fire escapes are the liability claims that get large. Two inspection rules apply:
- Housing Code Section 604Apartment buildings and condominiums with three or more dwelling units must have decks, balconies, landings, exit corridors, stairs, guardrails, handrails and fire escapes inspected by a licensed contractor, architect or engineer, and file a compliance affidavit with DBI.
- State balcony law (SB 721)Buildings with three or more units need an inspection of wood-supported balconies, decks, stairways and walkways more than six feet above ground. The first one was due by January 1, 2026 and it repeats every six years.
Keep both reports. Ground-floor shops add a commercial tenant’s exposure (mixed-use buildings), and I put a commercial umbrella over the primary liability limit on most buildings.
What to send me
- Address, year built, stories, units and construction type, plus any commercial space.
- Soft-story paperwork: tier, permit and Certificate of Final Completion, or the reason the building was exempt.
- Concrete buildings: the city notice and the screening form you filed.
- Rent roll, marked for rent-controlled units, and a recent operating statement.
- Current declarations pages for property, earthquake, liability and umbrella.
- Five years of loss runs, with what was repaired.
- System updates with years: wiring, plumbing, roof, heating.
- Section 604 affidavit and balcony inspection report, and any open notices of violation.
Common questions
Who insures older apartment buildings in San Francisco?
Standard and surplus lines insurers both write them; which ones will offer terms depends on soft-story sign-off, wiring and plumbing updates, loss history and whether the lot is in a liquefaction zone. As an independent broker I take the building to several of them at once.
Does my San Francisco apartment policy cover earthquake?
Usually not. Earthquake is typically excluded from commercial property policies and bought as a separate policy with its own deductible, and the California Earthquake Authority does not write apartment buildings.
Does the soft-story retrofit matter for insurance in San Francisco?
Yes. Underwriters ask whether a pre-1978 wood-frame building with five or more units was in the Mandatory Soft Story Program and has its Certificate of Final Completion; an open or posted building has fewer options.
Do I have to retrofit my concrete apartment building in San Francisco?
Not as of November 2026. Owners who received a notice must file a screening form by June 9, 2027, and the city will then decide whether more seismic requirements are needed.
Will loss of rents pay market rent after a fire in a rent-controlled building?
Plan on no. The Rent Board’s rules require you to offer the unit back to the displaced tenant on the same terms once repairs are done, so the coverage should be sized to the rent you actually collect.
Why did my apartment insurance get more expensive in San Francisco?
The common local reasons are original knob-and-tube wiring or galvanized pipe, water and fire claims, wood-frame construction with shared walls, and seismic questions that are still open. Documented updates are what change an underwriter’s view.
General information about insuring apartment buildings in the City and County of San Francisco as of November 2026, not legal advice. Retrofit, screening, rent and eviction rules are set by city ordinance, Rent Board rules and state law and change; confirm your building’s status with the Department of Building Inspection and the Rent Board, and your obligations to tenants with counsel. Coverage depends on underwriting and the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy actually issued.