With residents spending more time at home due to the Stay Home order, construction work performed in residential buildings can be much more disruptive for tenants than it would be typically. If you are planning to conduct construction work in your residential building, you need to notify and prepare alternative water and/or utility sources for your tenants if the work is expected to impact their water and/or utility services.

Utility Shutoff Ordinance

Due to the emergency ordinance, building owners cannot perform construction work that impact building tenants' water and utility services unless you and all impacted tenants come to an agreement or you do the following:

1. Notify tenants of upcoming construction work impacting water and/or utility services: 72-hours advance notice for work lasting more than two consecutive hours to four non-consecutive hours in one day or at least one week's notice for work occurring on multiple consecutive days or three days in a single week, with weekly updates to tenants for prolonged construction projects.
2. Provide alternative water and utility services when these are impacted due to construction work occurring at the property.
3. Provide tenants a main point of contact for the time of the construction work.
4. Provide temporary insulation in areas where loud instruments will be used over a continuous or long period of time to reduce the noise impact to residents.

The emergency ordinance is in effect through October 31, 2020 and can be extended. For more information, visit www.sfdbi.org/sip​.

Water or Utility Service Replacement Requirement
Before you can start construction work that will require suspension of utilities for more than two consecutive hours or four non-consecutive hours in a day in their residential building, you must provide advance notice to affected tenants and provide alternative sources of those utilities.

This could include:

• Bottled Water
• Generators
• Battery systems

In the case of electricity shut-offs, the alternative power source needs to be sufficient to allow for the tenants’ continued internet access.

Advanced Notice Requirement

The advanced notice requirements are:

• 72-hours advance written notice to all impacted residents in the event of an anticipated water or electricity shutoff lasting more than two consecutive hours or four non-consecutive hours in a single day.
• One week’s advance written notice to all impacted residents in the event of an anticipated water or electricity shutoff of more than two consecutive hours or four non-consecutive hours on two or more consecutive days, or on more than three days in a single week.  Weekly updates are required for prolonged construction projects.

This notice must provide in the notice a main point of contact who can respond to tenant concerns during the duration of the work. 

Noise Insulation Requirement

If you expect to use loud instruments resulting in noise over a continuous or long period of time during construction, you are required to install temporary insulation to reduce the noise impact and disruption to your tenants in the building.

You are exempt from complying with the requirements of this emergency ordinance if:

• You and all impacted tenants agree to terms other than those set forth in the ordinance. You must submit a copy of the agreed upon terms and duration of that agreement to DBI. 
• All impacted residents reside in 100% affordable residential units. 
• DBI authorizes the construction to continue if it deems that a pause would create an imminent safety hazard.

Enforcement of this Ordinance’s Requirements

DBI is responsible for enforcing the requirements of this ordinance. We will take the following steps when we receive a complaint relating to this ordinance:

• DBI will issue a warning to the building owner for a first violation. Upon receiving said warning, the building owner must provide notice to each affected building tenant and provide a copy to DBI. 
• For any subsequent violations, DBI will issue a Notice of Violation and/or any other applicable citation to the building owner. 

If you have any questions, please email us at dbi.sip@sfgov.org
 

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