Enforcement - Appeal and Payment Process

If you received a Notice of Violation (NOV), you may demonstrate to your assigned Enforcement Planner that your property is already in compliance, or use the following appeals process:

1. Within thirty (30) calendar days from the date of the Notice of Violation, you may request a Zoning Administrator Hearing. There is no cost to request this hearing.
2. Within fifteen (15) calendar days from the date of the Notice of Violation, you may request to appeal this notice to the Board of Appeals.

After a Zoning Administrator (ZA) Hearing, the Zoning Administrator will issue a Notice of Violation and Penalty Decision (NOVPD). If you do not agree with the decision, you can use the following appeals process:

1. Within fifteen (15) calendar days from the date of the Notice of Violation and Penalty Decision, you may request to appeal this notice to the Board of Appeals.

Fees are issued to pay for Planning staff time spent on bringing properties back into compliance. Penalties are issued for properties who have not taken corrective action towards abatement.

Enforcement Fees

Planning staff will bill all their time working with you to bring your property back into compliance. This may include phone calls, emails, meetings, site visits, inspections, reviewing documents, monitoring abatement work, and preparing billing information. We may charge additional fees to recover costs beyond the initial base fee and a $20 charge by the Assessor’s Office to release the Order of Abatement. The base Enforcement Fee is adjusted annually in August.

• Refer to the Fee Schedule for most current information.
• Read more about Enforcement Fees in Planning Code Section 350(g)(1).

Administrative Penalties

If the responsible party does not take corrective action or appeal the violation, administrative penalties, of up to $1,000 per day for each violation, will begin to accrue starting on the 31st day from the date of the Notice of Violation. The penalty amount must be paid within 30 days from the issuance date of a Notice of Penalty and Fee. Additional penalties will continue to accrue until corrective action is taken to fix all violations.

One-Time Penalties

Additional one-time penalties may also apply depending on the violation:

1. Up to $250,000 for each unauthorized dwelling unit removed;
2. Up to $250,000 for each unauthorized dwelling unit added if four or more units are added; or
3. Up to $500,000 for each historic structure significantly altered, damaged, or demolished.

The Planning Commission and the Historic Preservation Commission were required to adopt extra criteria and guidelines for setting the appropriate fines for these violations and those adopted criteria are provided in the resolutions below.

• Planning Commission Resolution No. 21455
• Historic Preservation Commission Resolution No. 1370

If you already have an existing Public Portal account: please let your assigned Enforcement Planner know the email address you use for that account so that our administrative staff can link the fee to your account. It may take up to 48 hours for your fee to reflect on your account.

If you do not have a Public Portal account: register for a free account, using a preferred email address. Once your registration is complete, send an email to your assigned Enforcement Planner. Provide them with the email used for that account so that our administrative staff can link the fee to your account. It may take up to 48 hours for your fee to reflect on your account.

There is no fee for Electronic Check (eCheck) payments, and a 2.25% service fee for Credit Card payments made via our SF Planning Public Portal.

Note: in both instances above, updating your account is not immediate, and may take a couple of hours to register. To confirm your account has been updated, log back in to the Public Portal – your balance will appear in My Records. If it has not appeared after a few hours, please contact the assigned Enforcement Planner to inform them.

Make a payment by visiting the San Francisco Permit Center Kiosk located at 49 South Van Ness Avenue, 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103. Prior to your visit, please notify your assigned Enforcement Planner at least 48 hours in advance. We will need to create an invoice and attach it to your enforcement record number to pay at the kiosk.

Bring with you:

• an ATM/debit card, credit card, or check made payable to San Francisco Planning – Code Enforcement Fund (include your enforcement case number in the memo field)
• Your enforcement record number (be sure to enter in the “dash” in the Enforcement record number when entering the record number into the kiosk)

Please make the check payable to “San Francisco Planning - Code Enforcement Fund” and include your enforcement case number on the check in the memo field. 

Mail the check to:

San Francisco Planning Department
49 South Van Ness Avenue, Suite 1400
San Francisco, CA 94103

Please email your assigned Enforcement Planner to confirm you have mailed the check. 

You have several options:

1. Reach out to the assigned planner and schedule a site inspection to demonstrate compliance.
2. Request a Zoning Administrator Hearing to demonstrate why the Notice of Violation is issued incorrectly and should be revoked.
   • The Zoning Administrator will issue a decision on the violation within 30 days of the hearing.
   • The responsible party may appeal the Zoning Administrator's decision to the Board of Appeals within 15 calendar days from the date of the decision.
3. Waive the right to a Zoning Administrator Hearing and proceed directly to appeal the Notice of Violation to the Board of Appeals.

Contact the assigned planner to discuss options. In very limited circumstances, the Board of Appeals will hear appeals after the filing deadline has passed. Contact the Board offices to learn more.

There is no cost to appeal your case to the Zoning Administrator (ZA) as shown under option 2, above, but you will be charged Enforcement Fees for staff time and materials. If you plan on filing directly to the Board of Appeals, refer to the Board of Appeals Fee Schedule for information on costs associated with processing a case.

The Zoning Administrator (ZA) aims to schedule hearings within 30 days of request. After submitting the Hearing Request Form, the ZA will assign a hearing date and the assigned planner will contact you with details. The hearing is a public hearing.

The Zoning Administrator (ZA) will issue a Notice of Violation and Penalty Decision (NOVPD) typically within 30 days of the hearing.

You may appeal the outcome of your case to the Board of Appeals within 15 calendar days from the date of the decision.

If you are unable to pay a penalty fee, please contact the assigned Enforcement Planner to discuss available options.