Job Description: City-Wide Tenant Counselor

The Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco (HRCSF) is a tenant rights non-profit serving tenants citywide since 1979, offering free counseling and organizing support for San Francisco tenants in all types of housing, including rent-control, public housing, and Section 8. Our purpose is to strengthen tenants’ rights, improve living conditions for renters, and preserve and expand affordable housing opportunities. Through our counseling program, we support more than 5,000 tenants a year, and our organizing program has helped build five tenant associations across the city since 2019.

Position Summary: 

The City-Wide Tenant Counselor engages private-market and rent controlled tenants across San Francisco (from the Westside to the SouthEast and everything in between) by providing accessible, culturally responsive services in multiple languages if available, or ensuring tenants are connected with the culturally and linguistically accurate resources and support. 

The City-Wide Tenant Counselor supports tenants in understanding their rights and navigating issues such as eviction notices, rent increases, repairs and habitability concerns, harassment, discrimination, security deposit return, housing access, documenting issues, communicating with property managers and landlords, navigating systems, and, where appropriate, connecting with neighbors or additional resources to address shared concerns. Counselors also provide non-legal representation at Rent Board and Department of Building Inspection hearings.

Tenant Counselors work as part of a citywide counseling team and collaborate with organizing and outreach staff to ensure coordinated support for tenants. Counselors provide case management for higher needs clients and more complex cases, supporting tenants all the way through the processes to resolve their concerns.

Essential Functions:

  • Counsel tenants by responding to calls, conducting intakes, and meeting with tenants during drop-in hours, appointments, and other scheduled sessions

  • Educate tenants on their rights and options related to repairs, decreases in housing services, rent increases, evictions, security deposits, lease issues, harassment, discrimination, and other landlord-tenant matters

  • Support tenants in documenting housing concerns and next steps, including drafting letters, preparing requests, and navigating enforcement or administrative agencies

  • Conduct site visits, as needed, to support tenants with ongoing housing issues, including repairs and habitability 

  • Assist tenants in understanding available pathways and connecting to appropriate service providers and legal resources

  • Maintain accurate and timely case notes, database records, and files in accordance with program requirements

  • Develop and facilitate tenant rights education through workshops, presentations, and one-on-one conversations

  • Collaborate with organizing staff on outreach efforts, including flyering, tabling, and community-based engagement

  • Support offsite clinics and provide services across neighborhoods throughout San Francisco

  • Assist with translation of outreach and educational materials and contribute to the development of multilingual tenant education resources, as applicable

  • Manage a rolling load of cases for higher needs clients or more complicated issues, providing ongoing support including regular check-ins with clients, and facilitating communication with property managers, landlords, and other agencies.

Knowledge, Skill and Experience:

  • Minimum Education (or substitute experience) required:

    • N/A

  • Necessary Skills

  • Patient, empathetic, and non-judgmental communication style

  • Ability to absorb and apply technical information quickly

  • Strong organizational and time management skills

  • Collaborative and team-oriented work style

  • Strong research, documentation, and problem-solving abilities

  • Initiative and curiosity to seek accurate information for complex tenant situations

  • Ability to communicate clearly in one-on-one and group settings, including workshops or trainings

  • Essential Qualifications and Experience

    • Familiarity with San Francisco tenant laws and housing conditions, or demonstrated ability to learn quickly in a fast-paced environment

    • Fluency in English required; additional language capacity strongly preferred (including Spanish, Cantonese, or Mandarin)

    • Experience conducting one-on-one interviews and/or providing direct client or community support

    • Ability to work both collaboratively as part of a team and independently with minimal supervision

    • Strong communication skills across diverse communities

    • Commitment to social and economic justice and bottom-up social change

    • Flexibility to work some evenings and weekends as needed

  • Preferred Qualities

    • Two or more years of direct service,  tenant or community-based experience

    • Knowledge of tenant rights, landlord/tenant law, or issues impacting renters in low-income communities

    • Experience working at a community-based nonprofit or social service provider

    • Legal training or background, or social work/case management experience

    • Experience with housing-related advocacy, tenant education, or navigating public systems

    • Experience with City of San Francisco grant reporting or similar program requirements

Analysis of Physical Demands (Based on typical week):

  • Traveling to clinics and/or workshops, doorknocking and other outreach efforts, prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computers

This position is a full-time non-exempt position with a current hourly rate of $36.54. Benefits include medical, dental, and vision (including chiropractic and acupuncture), generous paid vacation and sick time, and a supportive work environment that centers individual and collective care to ensure sustainability and longevity.

This position is included in a collective bargaining unit represented by Office & Professional Employees International Union, Local 29. Specific employment terms are subject to a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA).

To apply, please send your resume and cover letter to resume@hrcsf.org, with “ATTN: City-Wide Counselor” in the subject line. 

HRCSF is an equal opportunity employer: People of color, women, immigrants, LGBTQI2S, and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply. Diverse viewpoints are vital to our organization’s mission and culture. 

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.