Business-Minded Counsel

We are real estate investors ourselves and understand the economics behind a landlord-tenant dispute. Our goal is to help clients make smart business decisions, weighing legal strategy against cost, risk, and long-term financial impact.

Focused Expertise

We focus exclusively on landlord-tenant law. By dedicating our practice to this area alone, we provide deeper expertise and sharper guidance, while respecting the expertise of other attorneys and referring clients to the right specialists when matters fall outside our field.

Client Loyalty

We recognize that life happens and many tenants face real challenges, and it is easy to empathize with their situations. But removed from the emotional fray, our role is clear: we fiercely advocate for our landlord clients and put their interests first in every matter we handle.

Prompt Action

Landlord-tenant problems rarely improve with time. We address issues quickly and directly, helping our clients resolve problems now rather than kicking the can down the road and allowing small issues to fester and become costly disputes.
 

Pragmatic Negotiation

Our goal is to solve problems, not prolong them. We work to negotiate practical resolutions for our clients, and when it makes economic sense, we are willing to make concessions to avoid costly, time-consuming disputes.

Resolution Over Conflict

We don’t get jazzed about disputes the way some attorneys do. Our focus is on resolving problems as quickly and cost-effectively as possible, always weighing time, risk, and attorneys’ fees when advising our clients.

Our valued clients, referral partners, and colleagues say it best.

For over three decades, Bornstein Law has helped rental property owners and their agents power through their challenges, and we've met many friends along the way.

We've had the privilege of representing clients of all sizes and sophistication, but there is a special place in our hearts for vulnerable, "mom and pop" landlords who are most prone to make procedural errors in a complicated regulatory regime.

Hear from raving fans »

We raise the voice of rental housing providers.

Although the political rhetoric nowadays falls squarely on the side of tenants, Bornstein Law offers a fresh perspective through the lens of underrepresented property owners.

Numerous media outlets have called upon us to articulate the unique challenges of landlords.

IN THE MEDIA

Airbnb Guest or Squatter? When Short-Term Rentals Turn Into Long-Term Headaches

Short-term rentals are often marketed as control: you decide who stays, for how long, and on what terms. But when a guest refuses to leave, the situation can quickly shift from a simple booking to a legal dispute, with the law potentially recognizing the occupant as a tenant entitled to significant protections.

The San Francisco Rent Board forms you use may be a dinosaur
In San Francisco, using the wrong Rent Board form can sometimes be enough to derail an otherwise valid landlord action.

Securing Property Without Crossing the Threshold of Tenant Privacy
A new lawsuit is putting smart-home technology in rental housing under the microscope, with tenants alleging their homes were transformed into “environments of surveillance.”

Deadly San Francisco Fire Highlights the Hidden Dangers of Hoarding Conditions in Rental Housing
A deadly fire is drawing renewed attention to the serious safety risks — and potential liability — associated with unaddressed hoarding conditions in rental housing.

Habitability claims are the new type of personal injury lawsuit
Habitability litigation has become a booming industry for opportunistic attorneys targeting housing providers with costly claims over alleged living conditions.

Pods, Co-Living, and the Law: Navigating the Risks of Hybrid Housing Configurations
Pod-style and hybrid housing arrangements may offer creative solutions to California’s housing shortage, but they also raise difficult legal questions that many housing providers have not fully considered.

Just Because a Landlord Can Doesn’t Mean They Should
A controversial rental listing targeting supporters of specific political views may have been legally permissible — but the backlash raises a larger question about where landlords should draw the line.

The “Relative Move-In” Trap: Who Actually Qualifies in the Bay Area?
In Bay Area no-fault evictions, the definition of a “qualifying relative” varies significantly from city to city. Misunderstanding those local rules is one of the most common — and dangerous — mistakes housing providers make before pursuing an owner or relative move-in eviction.

Relocation Roulette: The Rules Landlords Get Wrong
Relocation payments in the Bay Area are not just expensive — they are governed by a maze of local rules, formulas, and deadlines that vary widely by city. In places like San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley, even a small procedural mistake can jeopardize an otherwise valid eviction.

Exit Tax or Strategic Buyout?
When Bay Area housing providers lack clear grounds to evict, recovering possession often comes down to two options: a no-fault eviction with relocation payments or a negotiated tenant buyout. In today’s regulatory environment, vacancy is rarely regained for free.

Extreme Rent Control Comes to San Leandro

With the adoption of a new Rent Stabilization Ordinance in San Leandro, much of the public discussion has focused on the draconian annual rent cap — the lower of 3% or 65% of CPI. But for landlords, the true impact of the law will not be felt in the percentage. It will be felt in the petition process. While San Leandro's rent control regime has a backdoor, landlords have to file for it.

Encouragingly, Palo Alto moves to pause decades-long rent control push. But the debate isn't over.
Palo Alto officials have voted to halt efforts to pursue expanded rent control policies and a city-run rent registry. For now, the City Council’s Policy and Services Committee appears to be stepping back from measures that many housing providers viewed as overly burdensome.

Albany politicians have taken their first step toward expanding tenant protections, though rent control appears to be off the table—for now.
Albany may be the next Bay Area city to expand local rent and eviction controls, following closely behind San Leandro. Despite little evidence of widespread displacement or tenant abuse, city officials are considering stronger local protections beyond existing statewide law.

Nonpayment Evictions: When California Law Says ‘Not Yet’
HUD has updated its Fair Market Rent figures, a change with significant implications for housing providers in Berkeley and Oakland. In both cities, nonpayment eviction thresholds are tied to one month of fair market rent, meaning higher FMR figures can directly affect when landlords may pursue eviction remedies.

AT A GLANCE
Practice Areas

Our mission is to help housing providers, property managers, and real estate professionals think smartly and strategically about investment properties from an economic standpoint, cauterize risk in an ever-complicated regulatory regime, and provide informed advice when landlord-tenant disputes arise.

Seeing past the horizon of the dispute, our goal is never to elongate the matter but to resolve conflicts as quickly and inexpensively as possible, taking into account time, risk, and attorneys' fees.

Landlording in California can be difficult, but with proper counsel, you can power through your real estate challenges.