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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Robin Buller in San Francisco

An AI boom is sending San Francisco rents through the roof: ‘nowhere left for people to go’

Illustration of San Francisco’s skyline surrounded by towering stacks of money beneath an orange sky.
Across the city, there are landlords trying to capitalize on the boom. Illustration: Guardian Design / Getty Images

To say that Maria Zamudio and her team have been busy lately would be a gross understatement.

Every Monday at 9am, the phone lines at the downtown clinic of San Francisco’s Housing Rights Committee start ringing, and they keep ringing until closing at 5 pm. In-person counseling appointments for renters facing eviction or landlord misconduct fill days in advance. After every weekend, the staff of seven sits in their office and sifts through more than 150 voicemails. The rental assistance hotline averages 200 calls a week.

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