SEVERAL LONGTIME San Francisco residents of Chinatown protested evictions outside their apartment building on Monday and announced the formation of their own tenants association to fight to remain in their homes.
Tenants at 1120 Jackson St. said they are being pushed out — despite having rent-controlled units — by the property owner that bought the building last year in hopes of turning over the units and making a larger profit.
Protesters rallied at noon as neighbors and community advocates shared about the recent eviction notices, chanting in both Cantonese and English: “Unite to protect our homes” and “Evictions must go.”
The 16-unit apartment building between San Francisco’s Chinatown and Nob Hill is mainly occupied by low-income Chinese seniors. Of the 16 apartments, 13 have long-term renters who have been there up to 45 years and residents who have limited English fluency, according to Shelby Nacino, an attorney at Asian Law Caucus, who is representing the renters.
According to Asian Law Caucus spokesperson Lauren Nguyen, Nabob Hill, LLC bought the apartment building on Jackson Street in July 2025 from a Chinese family that had owned it for decades.
In the months following, the new property owners began assessments of unit conditions, collected photographic documentation, and sent out inspection notices and rent increase warnings, Nguyen said. She said these were intimidating and “really scary for everyone involved” because they were unclear what was happening. On March 9 and 10, nuisance conduct notices for cluttering were posted in the apartment building.
Residents have been cited for hoarding, cleanliness, safety and other public nuisance concerns.
A total of six tenants at the Jackson Street building were given eviction notices, according to Nacino.
“Each allegation of nuisance conduct, including ‘cluttering and hoarding’ and/or unsanitary conditions, is supported by photographic documentation,” said Daniel Bornstein in an email, who is legally representing Nabob Hill.
Some of the nuisance notices claimed that tenants were disturbing their neighbors, Nacino said, but people at Monday’s rally said that this is far from the truth.
“The facts of the case will speak for themselves in court,” Nacino said. “We intend to vigorously defend them in their eviction cases.”
These seniors have spent a lifetime contributing to and building San Francisco into the city we love. They have a right to age in place, and with dignity, in their homes and in this city.
Laura Chiera, the executive director of Legal Assistance to the Elderly
In addition to the eviction notices, Nacino said Nabob Hill has refused to accept tenants’ rent, which is often the first step in an eviction process, and “commence an unlawful detainer eviction case.” She also alleged that tenants did not receive any real warning or clear communication about potential concerns from the landlord.
“Disagreements about the conditions of a resident’s unit should be dealt with respectfully and through dialogue, not contextless inspections and posted notices that the tenants cannot even understand,” Nacino said. “We ask that Nabob Hill withdrawal all eviction notices and communicate in good faith with the tenants of 1120 Jackson.”
In response to the allegations, Bornstein said the property owners intend to come to a fair, just and equitable resolution.
“The owners are confident that these matters will be resolved properly and lawfully, based upon their faith in the judicial process,” Bornstein said in the email. “At every stage, the owners have endeavored to act in full compliance with the law and have extended numerous courtesy notices to the tenants in an effort to address these issues amicably before pursuing further action.”
Tenant Kin Wong said during the rally that he has lived happily in the building for 35 years with his wife. He spoke in Cantonese about how all the neighbors were like one big family that watched over one another and had their children grow up together.
Wong said that in March, a 92-year-old tenant who had lived there for around 40 years received an eviction notice informing her that she was “hoarding” and needed to get rid of her items or leave the apartment. The elderly woman immediately asked Wong and her neighbors to help her clean. After the initial notice, Wong said she was frequently scared, would not eat or sleep and would often open her door to see if someone was coming to inspect her unit.
Wong said he was scared about the situation and wanted to help his neighbor. After community advocates’ support, they formed a tenants association, which is similar to a union in that the landlord must recognize it and negotiate about matters that affect living conditions, according to Katelynn Cao, a tenant advocate with the Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco.
At the rally, the renters announced they were going to form one. In the past, tenant associations have won battles for long-term affordability, repairs, language access and other terms that allow them to assert their rights.
Unlike the former building owner who could communicate with tenants in Cantonese, the current owner does not. Nacino said language access is “a huge issue” for tenants, especially when important notices are shared about their living situation.
According to Nacino, communication with tenants during the past year are in English through an app, emails or posted notices has been a real problem, especially for tenants who were used to being able to communicate previously in Cantonese with their management.
Laura Chiera, the executive director of Legal Assistance to the Elderly, said evictions toward seniors are growing every year in San Francisco. Many of them can only sustain an income that hovers around the federal poverty level, while living in rent-controlled units.
“With San Francisco’s soaring rents, if the seniors lose their current housing, there are no affordable replacement housing options,” she said. “These seniors have spent a lifetime contributing to and building San Francisco into the city we love. They have a right to age in place, and with dignity, in their homes and in this city.”
