San Francisco Tenants Union, et al. v. Smart Rent, et al.

The ACLU’s lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court seeks to protects tenants' privacy rights from landlords who force renters to allow AI-powered surveillance technology in their homes. In multiple residential buildings across San Francisco, landlords have forced tenants to accept so-called “smart home” systems that monitor their comings and goings and other behavior. They're using tenants’ personal information to track them, potentially even profiling their behavior with AI tools built specially for landlords.

In December of 2025, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California and our legal partners sued landlord Equity Residential and surveillance technology vendor SmartRent in San Francisco Superior Court for violating tenants’ constitutional right to privacy in their homes.

The San Francisco Tenants Union is one of the plaintiffs in the case, and the Tenants Union is bringing the suit to advance its mission of protecting tenants rights and well-being in San Francisco. The case currently covers certain buildings where members of the Tenants Union live. The San Francisco Tenants Union website has details about how to become a member and support their work in San Francisco.