SF Admin. Code § 37.9E

(2) The City Attorney or any organization with tax exempt status under 26 United States Code Section 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) and with a primary mission of protecting the rights of tenants in San Francisco may bring a civil action against a landlord in San Francisco Superior Court for failure to comply with subsection (h). A landlord who has violated subsection (h) shall pay to the City an administrative penalty of up to $100 per day for each document the landlord failed to file, but in no event shall the landlord’s total administrative penalty in a single civil action exceed $20,000. Any administrative penalties collected under this subsection (k)(2) shall be deposited in the General Fund of the City and County of San Francisco. The court shall award reasonable attorney’s fees and costs to the City Attorney or a nonprofit organization that is the prevailing party in a civil action brought under this subsection (k)(2).

(3) A tenant may not bring a civil action under subsection (k)(1) and the City Attorney or a nonprofit organization may not bring a civil action under subsection (k)(2) more than four years after the date of the alleged violation.