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San Francisco controller audit finds state oversight stalls SRO elevator repairs

San Francisco controller audit finds state oversight stalls SRO elevator repairs

Rule Changes San Francisco, CA local

City inspectors can cite bad elevators, but permits and safety enforcement sit with Cal/OSHA

2 days ago: Controller audit faults state oversight

Overview

Updated 4 minutes ago

For years, tenants in San Francisco's single-room occupancy hotels have been stranded in their apartments when elevators break. An audit released Nov. 12 by the city controller's office found the failures are widespread, and that the city largely cannot fix them because elevator enforcement belongs to the state.

California's Occupational Safety and Health Agency handles elevator permits, inspections and safety, and its backlog leaves nearly 8,000 city elevators without current permits. The audit says San Francisco could change that only by rewriting city law or taking over a job the state currently does.

Why it matters

The buildings house some of San Francisco's poorest and oldest residents; the audit shows who actually controls whether their elevators get fixed.

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Key Indicators

34%
SROs with elevators cited for violations
Of 225 SROs with elevators, 34% received at least one notice of violation from 2018 to April 2024.
8,000
City elevators lacking current permits
Nearly 8,000 San Francisco elevators lack up-to-date permits, including more than 200 in SROs.
600
311 elevator complaints, 2018–2023
About 600 reports of non-working elevators, 45% of them tied to SROs.
$10M
Allocated for SRO elevator upgrades
The Board of Supervisors set aside $10 million in 2023; the audit advises how to spend it.
$100K–$300K
Cost to modernize one elevator
A full modernization runs $100,000 to $300,000 and is usually repaid in repair savings within 4–7 years.

Voices

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People Involved

Jane Kim
Jane Kim
Former District 6 Supervisor, San Francisco
Out of office; raised the SRO elevator issue during her tenure
JL
Jessica Lehman
Director, Senior and Disability Action
Advocates for elevator repair funding

Organizations Involved

SF
San Francisco Controller's Office
City fiscal watchdog
Published the Nov. 12 audit

The city's independent financial and performance auditor.
CD
California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA)
State safety regulator
Holds elevator permitting and safety authority

The state agency, part of the Department of Industrial Relations, that permits and inspects elevators.
SF
San Francisco Department of Building Inspection
City Agency
Cites elevators but cannot enforce beyond filing with the state

The city department that enforces building codes, including elevator citations.
San Francisco Board of Supervisors
San Francisco Board of Supervisors
City legislative body
Controls city law; could pass an elevator-maintenance ordinance

The city's legislative body, which allocated the $10 million and could enact landlord requirements.

Timeline

2023 November 2026

3 events Latest: 2 days ago

  1. Controller audit faults state oversight

    Latest Audit

    Audit finds widespread elevator failures and points to state control as the core obstacle.

  2. Mission Local finds spotty state inspections

    Investigation

    Reporting finds over a third of single-elevator buildings had no state inspection in three years.

  3. Supervisors fund SRO elevator upgrades

    Funding

    Board of Supervisors allocates $10 million for modernization; the controller's audit begins.

Scenarios

1

San Francisco passes a Berkeley-style elevator ordinance

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: Controller's Office; Senior and Disability Action

The audit recommends the Office of Disability work with the Board of Supervisors to require landlords to maintain elevators and provide alternative housing during outages longer than 24 hours, as Oakland and Berkeley do. Adoption would shift the burden onto building owners and give tenants recourse without waiting on the state.

2

State lets San Francisco inspect its own elevators

Unlikely Resolves by End of 2028

Discussed by: Controller's Office, citing Los Angeles

Following Los Angeles, San Francisco could seek a special state provision giving it independent inspection and permitting authority, removing Cal/OSHA from the local role. That requires action by the California Legislature, not the city alone.

3

Audit recommendations stall and the elevators stay broken

Possible Resolves by End of 2028

Discussed by: Pattern from earlier hearings that produced no lasting policy

Past hearings, including Jane Kim's, aired the same failures without resolving them. If the Board does not act and the state does not cede authority, the audit becomes another report and the backlogs persist.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

Ongoing

Los Angeles runs its own elevator inspections

Under a special state provision, Los Angeles gained authority to inspect its own elevators and issue permits, removing the state from that role. The controller's audit cites the arrangement as a model San Francisco could pursue.

Then

Los Angeles took over inspection and permitting from the state.

Now

The audit treats the arrangement as an alternative to state-run permitting for San Francisco.

Why this matters now

Shows a path where San Francisco controls its own elevator oversight, though it requires a state provision.

Ongoing

Oakland and Berkeley require landlords to maintain elevators

Both cities adopted laws requiring landlords to maintain elevators and give tenants recourse during outages, including alternative housing if a failure lasts more than 24 hours. The audit recommends San Francisco adopt a similar ordinance.

Then

Tenants gained a maintenance mandate and relocation protections.

Now

The rules are cited as models for San Francisco legislation.

Why this matters now

A city-level fix San Francisco could copy without waiting on the state.

June 23

Supervisor Jane Kim's SRO elevator hearing

District 6 Supervisor Jane Kim convened a hearing where seniors and disabled tenants described being stranded for weeks. City departments cited cost and bureaucratic hurdles; Kim pressed for funding.

Then

The hearing raised the issue's profile but produced no immediate policy.

Now

The problem persisted for years, as the controller's audit later documented.

Why this matters now

Shows the elevator crisis was aired years before the audit, without resolution.

Sources

(3)
Mission Local Beyond Chron ABC13 Houston