# What does rewiring a rental property in San Francisco involve?

> Rewiring a rental property in San Francisco: per-unit DBI permits, tenants in place or temporary relocation, Rent Board filings and capital improvement limits.

URL: https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/guide/rewiring-a-rental-property-san-francisco/

**In short**

The landlord's side of a knob and tube job: permits unit by unit, working around tenants, the Rent Board's relocation rules and what a capital improvement petition can and cannot do.

**Last updated**

October 30, 2026

Plan it unit by unit. Each existing dwelling unit needs its own DBI electrical permit, work is sequenced around occupied units, and if tenants must leave temporarily, the Rent Ordinance’s temporary eviction rules and relocation payments apply. Whether any of the cost can be passed through to tenants is decided by the Rent Board on a capital improvement petition, filed after the work is complete.

[Fog City SF Knob and Tube](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/) manages rewiring for rental buildings and flats across San Francisco and the East Bay, with licensed and insured California C-10 electrical contractors carrying out the electrical work. This guide covers the landlord’s side of the job; [apartment building rewiring](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/apartment-building-rewiring/) covers the building scope itself. It is general information, not legal advice, and Rent Board questions belong with the Rent Board or a qualified advisor.

Key takeaways

- 57.4% of San Francisco's occupied pre-1940 housing units are rented, against 49.3% statewide
- Each existing dwelling unit needs its own DBI electrical permit, so rentals are usually phased
- Temporary eviction for capital improvement work must be filed with the Rent Board within ten days of service, and the landlord pays relocation expenses
- Passthroughs are decided on petition after completion, amortized over 10, 15 or 20 years and capped
- Lead-safe rules apply to openings in painted plaster in pre-1979 buildings

## Why rentals are central to knob and tube in San Francisco

Most of San Francisco’s oldest housing is rented. The Census Bureau’s American Community Survey counts 92,087 renter-occupied units built before 1940, against 68,209 owner-occupied, so 57.4% of occupied pre-1940 units are rentals, compared with 49.3% statewide. Of those rented pre-1940 units, 24,364 are in buildings of two to four units and 28,193 in buildings of five to 19 units: the flats and four- and six-unit Romeo flats put up after 1906, when knob and tube was standard.

Permit records reflect it. Of the 2,023 San Francisco electrical permits filed since 2016 that name knob and tube, 196 name a unit or apartment, with descriptions such as “unit 6- replace knob and tube in kind. all interior work.” Insurance is a common trigger: the San Francisco Chronicle reported on the owner of a three-unit building who, after a non-renewal, concluded he had to replace the knob and tube fully to get new coverage, which meant breaking plaster and offering tenants temporary relocation. The [California insurance guide](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/guide/knob-and-tube-insurance-california/) covers that side.

## Permits: one per unit

DBI’s fee schedule requires separate permits for each structure, condominium unit, existing dwelling unit and common area, except in single-family R-3 buildings. Each permit is inspected on its own, with a pre-cover inspection before walls are closed and a final inspection before DBI issues the Certificate to Connect Current, the Green Tag.

That shapes cost and schedule. Current DBI fees for residential wiring run $305 to $1,289 per permit, and a whole-unit rewire with more than 40 outlets and devices usually lands in the $740 category. As an illustration, six units in that category would carry $4,440 in electrical permit fees before any other cost. Contractors pulling the permits must hold one of the license classifications DBI lists, the C-10 covering any electrical work. Rental property owners cannot use DBI’s homeowner electrical permit, which is limited to owners of a stand-alone single-family home that is their primary residence. The [San Francisco electrical permit guide](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/guide/san-francisco-electrical-permit/) covers the process.

## Working around tenants

Because each unit is permitted separately, a building can be rewired one unit at a time while the others stay occupied. Inside an occupied unit, circuits are replaced in sequence so power is off only during working hours, and rooms being worked are covered and closed off. Scheduled power-off windows are announced to residents in advance, and common-area circuits for halls, entries and laundry are planned so shared spaces are not left dark.

San Francisco’s code amendments also matter in shared spaces. Nonmetallic cable is generally permitted inside the dwelling units of wood-frame multifamily buildings up to six stories, but not in the common areas of R-1 and R-2 buildings of Type IIIA construction, so common-area circuits may need armored cable or conduit. The [what replaced knob and tube guide](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/guide/what-replaced-knob-and-tube-wiring/) explains the methods, and [living at home during rewiring](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/guide/living-at-home-during-rewiring/) covers what daily life is like in an occupied unit.

## If tenants need to leave temporarily

Some work cannot be done safely with a unit occupied, especially when a whole unit’s plaster has to be opened at once. San Francisco’s Rent Board describes how temporary eviction for capital improvement work works under Rent Ordinance Section 37.9(a)(11):

- the notice must be filed with the Rent Board within ten days of service
- the landlord pays the tenant’s relocation expenses
- a displacement of under 20 days is governed by California Civil Code 1947.9
- if the work will take more than three months, the landlord must first file a Petition for Extension of Time

Planning the electrical sequence around those rules is part of the scope. A rewire that can be phased room by room may avoid relocation altogether, while one that opens every wall at once may not. The [timeline guide](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/guide/how-long-does-it-take-to-replace-knob-and-tube/) explains what sets the length of each stage.

## Capital improvement passthroughs

The Rent Board defines a capital improvement as one that “materially adds to the value of the property, appreciably prolongs its useful life, or adapts it to new uses, and which may be amortized over the useful life of the improvement.” Whether a particular rewire meets that definition is decided by the Rent Board on petition, not by the landlord or the contractor.

What the Rent Board publishes about the process:

- the petition is filed after the work is complete
- approved costs are amortized over 10, 15 or 20 years
- passthroughs are capped at the greater of $30 or 5% of base rent per 12 months
- for seismic work required by law, and other work required by laws enacted after November 14, 2002, 100% of the cost may be passed through regardless of the number of units

No San Francisco law requires existing knob and tube to be replaced; the city’s electrical code lets maintained wiring that was legal when installed stay in service. So a voluntary rewire would not obviously fall under the required-by-law provision. Keep invoices, permits and the written circuit record together, because a petition depends on documentation of what was done and what it cost.

## Lead-safe work in older rentals

DBI presumes buildings built before 1979 contain lead paint unless a certified inspector shows otherwise. Its lead-safe guide calls for notifying neighbors at least three business days before work, posting a 32 by 24 inch “Lead Work in Progress” sign, containing dust and avoiding uncontained dry sanding or scraping. Which interior requirements apply to a given rental is confirmed per project. Under the EPA’s Renovation, Repair and Painting rule, firms paid to disturb paint in pre-1978 housing must be certified, and electrical work is expressly covered. Openings for a rewire are small, but in an occupied unit containment and cleanup happen every day. The [lead and asbestos guide](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/guide/lead-and-asbestos-during-rewiring/) covers what that adds.

## Rentals in the East Bay

The rules change at the city line, and anything not listed here is confirmed per address.

- **Oakland.** Under Oakland’s Code Compliance Relocation Program, owners must pay relocation benefits to tenants who must move, permanently or temporarily, because a unit is not up to code and substantial repairs cannot be done with the unit occupied, and may not require tenants to vacate until the payment is made. Oakland’s lead permit also asks for a plan to move tenants if needed. Residential electrical permits there cover houses and duplexes; buildings with three or more units take commercial electrical permits. See [Oakland](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/service-areas/oakland/).
- **Alameda.** Alameda’s Rent Program requires a Capital Improvement Plan to request a passthrough or a temporary relocation, generally bars temporary relocation for routine repairs including “standard repairing of electrical and plumbing services,” and requires at least 60 calendar days’ notice once relocation is determined. Alameda is served by Alameda Municipal Power, not PG&E. See [Alameda](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/service-areas/alameda/).

## Planning a rental rewire

The decisions that matter most are made before the first permit: which units go first, whether any tenant must relocate, how common areas are handled and what documentation a passthrough petition will need. Condos and TICs add owner-to-owner questions, which the [condo and TIC guide](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/guide/condo-and-tic-rewiring-san-francisco/) covers. Landlords can call (628) 296-7628 or [request an estimate](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/contact/) with the number of units, which are occupied and what prompted the work.

**Questions**

## Questions about this guide

### Can a landlord pass rewiring costs through to San Francisco tenants?

Only through the Rent Board. A landlord files a capital improvement petition after the work is complete, and the Rent Board decides whether the work qualifies and what can be passed through. Approved costs are amortized over 10, 15 or 20 years and capped at the greater of $30 or 5% of base rent per 12 months.

### Does a temporary move-out for rewiring have to be filed with the San Francisco Rent Board?

Yes, if it is a temporary eviction for capital improvement work. Under the Rent Ordinance, the notice must be filed with the Rent Board within ten days of service, and the landlord pays relocation expenses. A rewire can avoid it where the occupied unit can be sequenced so power is off only in working hours and rooms are closed off one at a time, so no one has to leave.

### How are power shutoffs handled in an occupied rental building?

With notice. Each unit is permitted and inspected separately, so work moves unit by unit, and the shutoffs it needs are scheduled as power-off windows announced to residents in advance. Shared circuits for hallways, laundry or entry lighting are planned so common areas are not dark longer than necessary.

**Related service**

## Apartment building rewiring

### Apartment building rewiring

Knob and tube replaced unit by unit or building-wide, with a permit for each dwelling unit and power-off windows announced to residents.

**Read next**

## More guides

- [Decision GuideWhat does rewiring a condo or TIC unit in San Francisco involve?Why one unit's wiring is rarely only one unit's business, what DBI requires per unit, and what to settle with the other owners before work starts.](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/guide/condo-and-tic-rewiring-san-francisco/)
- [Decision GuideCan you live in a house while rewiring is under way?How an occupied rewire is sequenced, what a day without power in some rooms looks like, and when it is better to be somewhere else.](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/guide/living-at-home-during-rewiring/)
- [LearnDoes knob and tube wiring have asbestos?What the wiring itself is made of, which materials around it deserve a test before anyone cuts, and how lead-safe rules change the way openings are made and patched.](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/guide/lead-and-asbestos-during-rewiring/)
- [LearnHow does a San Francisco electrical permit work for rewiring?Who can file, what DBI charges, what each inspection checks, and why a Green Tag on its own does not prove the knob and tube is gone.](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/guide/san-francisco-electrical-permit/)
- [Decision GuideCan you insure a house with knob and tube in California?Getting a carrier to accept the house and getting anyone to pay for the work are separate questions. This guide takes them one at a time.](https://fogcitysfknobandtube.com/guide/knob-and-tube-insurance-california/)