Actually, a prospective tenant probably has no idea if the unit is "illegal" or not. It is an apartment for rent and there is a line going out the door, so don'

Actually, a prospective tenant probably has no idea if the unit is "illegal" or not. It is an apartment for rent and there is a line going out the door, so don't ask any annoying questions. I can understand the confusion because I once interned for a midwestern city's planning department. There if someone built an unapproved apartment above their garage, the city would hit them like a ton of bricks. In San Francisco, it is not like that, and these so-called "illegal" units are enshrined by law and practice in many respects. As a tenant, you have nearly all the same rights as a legal unit, so this would probably not figure into your evaluation.