Rules and regulations for Business Stabilization Grants

Monday, August 24, 2026

1.Scope

These rules and regulations apply to Business Stabilization Grants to Qualified Landlords and their Legacy Business tenants, as set forth at Administrative Code Section 2A.246 (“Legacy Business Assistance Program”). The Office of Small Business manages grants through the Legacy Business Assistance Program.

Subject to the budgetary and fiscal provisions of the City Charter, the Office of Small Business shall award an annual grant for a maximum of five total grants within five consecutive years to a landlord that enters into a new agreement with a Legacy Business that leases real property in San Francisco to the Legacy Business for a term of at least 10 years or extends the term of the Legacy Business's existing lease to at least 10 years, as calculated in Section 4 below (“Amount of Grant”).

2.Qualifications for Grant

The Business Stabilization Grant is eligible only to Qualified Landlords who lease property to a Registered Legacy Business in the City and County of San Francisco. For the purposes of Administrative Code Section 2A.246, a landlord is defined as a “Qualified Landlord” if all of the following conditions are met:

(A) the landlord files an initial application for the grant with the Office of Small Business within one year after full execution of the qualifying lease, and annually files an application for the grant prior to the anniversary date of the landlord's first grant payment; and

(B) the lease meets all other criteria required by these rules and regulations of the Small Business Commission, including any criteria tied to the amount of rent and other lease provisions that may impact the long-term stability of the Legacy Business tenant; and

(C) the landlord holds a valid business registration with the City & County of San Francisco and has no amounts owed to the City as a result of fines, penalties, interest, assessments, taxes, fees, or any other financial obligations imposed by law, regulation, or contract that were delinquent as of the date of application; and

(D) the landlord is not related by ownership, either directly or indirectly, to the Legacy Business tenant to which the landlord leases the property; and

(E) the landlord informs the Legacy Business tenant they must participate in ten hours of business technical assistance and business advising services within one year of the initial grant period; and

(F) the landlord meets all other requirements for the grant established by Administrative Code Section 2A.246 and by these rules and regulations of the Small Business Commission; and

(G) the Legacy Business tenant holds a valid business registration with the City & County of San Francisco and has no amounts owed to the City as a result of fines, penalties, interest, assessments, taxes, fees, or any other financial obligations imposed by law, regulation, or contract that were delinquent as of the date of application.

Qualified Landlords receiving the Business Stabilization Grant as of August 24, 2026 may continue to receive the grant for the remainder of the existing lease agreement with the Legacy Business tenant. Following the final grant award associated with the existing lease agreement, if they have received five total grants within five consecutive years, Qualified Landlords will be ineligible to reapply for a Business Stabilization Grant upon full execution of a new lease or renewal.

3.Grant Application

A landlord seeking a Business Stabilization Grant shall submit an application on a form prepared by the Office of Small Business, and shall include:

(A) a certification of the total square footage of the commercial space leased to the Legacy Business tenant from which the Legacy Business tenant operates its business within San Francisco; and

(B) a copy of the executed lease with the Legacy Business tenant; and

(C) a certification that the landlord meets all of the requirements for the grant established by these Rules and Regulations by the Small Business Commission.

The landlord shall submit one application form per distinct San Francisco business location. If a Legacy Business tenant operates a location spanning two contiguous parcels and/or consisting of two addresses across contiguous parcels, the landlord shall submit one application form with the total square footage equal to the total combined square footage.

The Qualified Landlord shall submit any subsequent annual applications for Business Stabilization Grants under Section 2 by the anniversary date of their first grant payment on a form prepared by the Office of Small Business, and shall include:

(A) a certification that there have been no changes to the lease that would impact the Qualified Landlord's eligibility for the grant; and

(B) a certification that the Qualified Landlord continues to meet all of the requirements for the grant established by these Rules and Regulations of the Small Business Commission.

If the Qualified Landlord does not submit a timely reapplication for the Business Stabilization Grant, the grant for the year associated with the grant renewal is forfeited. A Qualified Landlord may submit a subsequent reapplication so long as the reapplication is within the five-year window. Example: If a Qualified Landlord fails to reapply for the Business Stabilization Grant in year four, the grant for that year is forfeited. They can reapply for a grant in their fifth year, but they are not eligible to reapply beyond five years for any grant they missed.

The Office of Small Business must comply with the California Public Records Act, the San Francisco Sunshine Ordinance, all other applicable federal, state, and local laws, as well as any applicable court orders.

If the Office of Small Business denies a landlord's application for a grant, the Office of Small Business shall, to the extent permitted by law, keep confidential any lease submitted by that landlord in connection with the application.

4.Amount of Grant

Following a landlord's initial application and on the anniversary date of a Qualified Landlord's first grant payment thereafter, the Office of Small Business shall pay to a Qualified Landlord a grant up to $4.50 per square foot, up to a maximum of 5,000 square feet per location, of the commercial space leased to the Legacy Business tenant from which the Legacy Business tenant operates its business in San Francisco. The total grants paid to all Qualified Landlords in a fiscal year shall not exceed the appropriations into the Legacy Business Assistance Program Fund that are allocated for the Business Stabilization Grant. If a Legacy Business tenant operates a location spanning two contiguous parcels and/or consisting of two addresses across contiguous parcels, the grant amount will be calculated based on the total combined square footage. The Office of Small Business shall allocate funds from the Legacy Business Assistance Program Fund among Qualified Landlords as follows:

(A) The Office of Small Business shall first allocate amounts in the Legacy Business Assistance Program Fund (Business Stabilization Grant allocation) to cover all grants to be made during the fiscal year to Qualified Landlords from prior years that have years remaining on their leases with respect to which the Qualified Landlords are entitled to grants. If sufficient funds do not exist to cover all grants to be made during the fiscal year to these Qualified Landlords from prior years, the Office of Small Business shall allocate the amount in the Legacy Business Assistance Program Fund (Business Stabilization Grant allocation) to these Qualified Landlords from prior years proportionately based on the square footage of the commercial space leased to the Legacy Businesses tenants from which the Legacy Business tenants operate their businesses in San Francisco.

(B) If there are sufficient funds in the Legacy Business Assistance Program Fund (Business Stabilization Grant allocation) to pay all grants during the fiscal year to Qualified Landlords from prior years, grants to new Qualified Landlords will be made out of any amount remaining in the Legacy Business Assistance Program Fund (Business Stabilization Grant allocation), after subtracting amounts necessary to pay all grants during the fiscal year to Qualified Landlords from prior years, in the order that the Office of Small Business receives the Qualified Landlords' completed grant applications, beginning on July 1 of each fiscal year. If any Qualified Landlord from a prior year fails to apply for a grant in a subsequent year or fails to qualify in a subsequent year, the amount of funds that would have been paid to that previously Qualified Landlord shall be available to pay grants to new Qualified Landlords.

(C) The Office of Small Business shall allocate all Qualified Landlords annual grants from the Legacy Business Assistance Program Fund (Business Stabilization Grant Allocation) for a maximum of five years for each Legacy Business tenant location.

5.General Qualifications for Landlords

Qualified Landlords must satisfy all of the following criteria:

(A) No Amounts Owed to City

Qualified Landlords must certify that they do not owe any amounts to the City as a result of fines, penalties, interest, assessments, taxes, fees, or any other financial obligations imposed by law, regulation, or contract that were delinquent as of the date of the Qualified Landlord’s application for a grant.

(B) Business Registration

Qualified Landlords must certify that they have complied with any requirement to register as a business with the Office of the Treasurer and Tax Collector for the Legacy Business tenant location.

Qualified Landlords must certify that they are not the subject of an OLSE investigation or enforcement action.

(D) Qualified Landlord and Legacy Business Tenant Legal Relationship

The Qualified Landlord must not be related by ownership either directly or indirectly, to the Legacy Business tenant to which the Qualified Landlord leases commercial property. A Qualified Landlord is related by ownership to a Legacy Business tenant if any of the following criteria are satisfied:

The Qualified Landlord holds any ownership interest in the Legacy Business tenant.
The Legacy Business tenant holds any ownership interest in the Qualified Landlord.
A third-party entity holds an ownership interest in both the Legacy Business tenant and the Qualified Landlord.
The Qualified Landlord holds any beneficial interest in any entity (including, but not limited to, a beneficial interest in a trust) that holds an ownership interest in the Legacy Business tenant.
The Legacy Business tenant holds any beneficial interest in any entity (including, but not limited to, a beneficial interest in a trust) that holds an ownership interest in the Qualified Landlord.
The Qualified Landlord, or any person who holds an ownership or beneficial interest in the Landlord, is in an immediate family relationship with any person who holds an ownership or beneficial interest in the Legacy Business.

The phrase “immediate family relationship” includes the relationships between spouses, domestic partners, parents or guardians and children (including step-parents and step-children, or adoptive parents and adoptive children), grandparents and grandchildren, siblings (including step-siblings or adoptive siblings), aunts or uncles and nieces or nephews, great-aunts or great-uncles and grand-nieces or grand-nephews, and first or second cousins. The phrase also includes the relationship with the parent, grandparent, or sibling of one’s spouse or domestic partner, or the spouse or domestic partner of one’s child, grandchild, or sibling.

6.Categories of Ineligible Landlords

(A) A Qualified Landlord may not be a department, agency, commission, or other entity within the City and County of San Francisco (including, but not limited to, the Real Estate Division, the Port of San Francisco, or the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency).

(B) A Qualified Landlord may not be any other local, state, or federal government; any entity within any other local, state, or federal government; or any special district created by state law (including, but not limited to, the Bay Area Rapid Transit District).

(C) A Qualified Landlord may not have entered into a lease agreement with a Legacy Business tenant that had previously owned the real property that is the subject of that lease agreement.

7.Successors to Qualified Landlords

Whenever a new landlord assumes the obligations of a lease that previously qualified the prior landlord for a grant under Administrative Code Section 2A.246, and the new landlord does not renegotiate or otherwise change the terms and conditions of that lease, the new landlord shall be eligible to be a Qualified Landlord, and to receive a grant under Administrative Code Section 2A.246, without entering into a new lease or lease extension. The new landlord must still satisfy all other requirements to be a Qualified Landlord and to receive a grant, other than the requirement to enter into a new lease or lease extension.

8.Conditions for Leases

(A) Options to Renew

To qualify for a grant under Administrative Code Section 2A.246, a Landlord must (on or after January 1, 2016) enter into a lease agreement with a Legacy Business tenant “for a term of at least 10 years,” or “extend the term of the Legacy Business tenant’s existing lease to at least 10 years.” For this purpose, any number of years for which the Legacy Business tenant has an option to renew the lease shall count towards the term of the lease, provided that the option to renew can be exercised at the Legacy Business Tenant’s sole discretion.

For example, a five-year lease in which the Legacy Business tenant (at its sole discretion) may extend the lease for an additional five years would qualify a landlord for a grant under Administrative Code Section 2A.246.

(B) Signing of the Lease

The landlord and Legacy Business tenant must sign the lease and any required addenda before the landlord applies for a grant under Administrative Code Section 2A.246, and the landlord must submit the executed lease and any required addenda with its grant application. The lease must have been fully executed or renewed within one year of the grant application date submittal.

Prior to applying for a Business Stabilization Grant, the landlord must inform the Legacy Business of the following in writing:

The landlord is applying for a Business Stabilization Grant; and
The City and County of San Francisco does not guarantee it will have sufficient appropriations in the Legacy Business Assistance Program Fund to fully fund Business Stabilization Grants; and
The City does not guarantee that it will award any grant of any amount under Administrative Code Section 2A.24; and
The Legacy Business tenant must commit to receiving ten hours of business technical assistance and business advising within one year of the initial grant period as a condition of the Business Stabilization Grant; and
The Legacy Business tenant must hold a valid business registration with the City & County of San Francisco.

(D) Additional Application Certifications

In submitting an application for a grant under Administrative Code Section 2A.246, a landlord must certify:

The landlord is aware that the grant is an annual grant and that the landlord must reapply to receive continued funding.
That any failure to reapply for an annual grant may deprive the landlord of its status as a Qualified Landlord from “prior years” within the meaning of Section 4.
That both the landlord and Legacy Business tenant understand that the amount of the grant could vary and might be less than $4.50 per square foot due to funding constraints.
That the landlord and Legacy Business tenant must meet all of the requirements for a grant in order to be awarded the grant.

9.Lease Cancellations

A Qualified Landlord must certify that they have not cancelled an existing lease or lease extension with a Legacy Business tenant that was not eligible for a Business Stabilization Grant and executed a new lease or lease extension that is eligible for a Business Stabilization Grant for the sole purpose of applying for and receiving a grant. If an existing lease or lease extension that was not eligible for a Business Stabilization Grant is replaced with a new lease or lease extension that is eligible for a Business Stabilization Grant, the Qualified Landlord must show, to the satisfaction of the Office of Small Business, that the replacement was not conducted for the sole purpose of applying for and receiving a grant.

10.Authorized Use of Funds

A grant under Administrative Code Section 2A.246 is awarded directly to the Qualified Landlord. The Qualified Landlord must provide the Legacy Business tenant with at least 50 percent of the grant to offset the Legacy Business tenant’s rent, as a direct payment to the Legacy Business tenant, or as some other method of payment such as a rent credit to the Legacy Business tenant that is acceptable to the Legacy Business tenant.

11.Confidentiality

Whenever an application for a grant under Administrative Code Section 2A.246 is denied, or before such an application has been either approved or denied, the Office of Small Business shall, to the extent permitted by law, keep confidential the entirety of any lease submitted by the landlord in connection with the application.

12.Notification of Funding Allocations to Prior Year Qualified Landlords

On or before August 1 of each fiscal year, the Office of Small Business shall notify all Qualified Landlords from the prior fiscal year of the annual grant the Qualified Landlord will receive for the current fiscal year when the Qualified Landlord reapplies. The Office of Small Business will also notify the Legacy Business tenant of the annual grant amount the Qualified Landlord will receive.

13.Receipt of Grant Payment

To be paid, Grantees must become City Suppliers.

14.Verification of Information

The Office of Small Business shall have the authority to verify all information provided by a landlord in connection with an application for a grant under Administrative Code Section 2A.246. Failure of a landlord to comply with information requests from the Office of Small Business, or the provision of false information in connection with an application or in response to such requests, shall result in the denial of a grant application.

15.Sanctions for Willful or Material Misrepresentation

Whenever the Office of Small Business learns that a Qualified Landlord who has received a grant under Administrative Code Section 2A.246 materially or willfully misrepresented any information in any application for such a grant, the Office of Small Business may terminate any pending grant to that Qualified Landlord, order the Qualified Landlord to return any grants previously awarded, or prohibit the Qualified Landlord (conditionally or otherwise) from applying for future grants for any period of time.

16.Changes to These Regulations

The Small Business Commission may revise these regulations at any time, for any reason. The Commission may, but need not, provide that future revisions of these regulations shall be prospective only, and shall not apply to existing Qualified Landlords. Alternatively, the Commission may require that all landlords (including existing Qualified Landlords) satisfy any new or revised regulations that the Commission chooses to adopt.

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2026-08-24 Business Stabilization Grant Rules and Regs