# SF Renters Face Buyout Offers and Evictions as AI Boom Sends Prices Soaring Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/kqed-s-forum-910728/sf-renters-face-buyout-offers-and-evictions-as-ai-boom-sends-prices-soaring Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/kqed-s-forum-910728/sf-renters-face-buyout-offers-and-evictions-as-ai-boom-sends-prices-soaring.md Podcast: [KQED's Forum](https://stenobird.com/podcast/kqed-s-forum-910728) Published: 2026-09-09T17:37:00+00:00 Episode link: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/traffic.megaphone.fm/KQINC6410739387.mp3 Audio file: https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/traffic.megaphone.fm/KQINC6410739387.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/kqed-s-forum-910728/episodes/sf-renters-face-buyout-offers-and-evictions-as-ai-boom-sends-prices-soaring Duration seconds: 3287 ## Resource Rents are shooting through the roof in San Francisco as the AI boom creates yet another new class of wealthy people. The average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in the city is now $4,600, according to Apartment List, up more than 25% from last year. Some landlords are looking to cash in by clearing out tenants from rent-controlled homes, so renters say they’re being offered massive buyouts – some above six figures – to leave their apartments or else face no-fault eviction. We’ll talk about wild times in San Francisco’s rental market and how landlords, renters and those in search for a place to live are adjusting. Guests: Kami Rieck, contributing writer, New York Times Tuesday Thornton, staff attorney, Eviction Defense Collaborative Joshua Howard, executive vice president of local government affairs, California Apartment Association J.K. Dineen, Bay Area housing reporter, San Francisco Chronicle Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/kqed-s-forum-910728/episodes/sf-renters-face-buyout-offers-and-evictions-as-ai-boom-sends-prices-soaring/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/kqed-s-forum-910728/sf-renters-face-buyout-offers-and-evictions-as-ai-boom-sends-prices-soaring.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.