What data is available for SF buildings?
Category: Reports & Data
Read time: 5 minutes
San Francisco building reports pull from 13 public datasets plus ownership, rent control analysis, and the same predictive risk model that powers NYC reports. The coverage is structured differently from NYC — SF doesn't have an HPD equivalent — so the report is organized around the agencies that regulate buildings here.
What you get in an SF building report
Risk score & neighborhood percentile
The same 12-month maintenance forecast model that powers NYC reports works for SF buildings. Trained on 7 years of city inspection data, it estimates the probability of serious violations filed in the next 12 months. The neighborhood percentile compares the building against others in the same SF neighborhood.
Rent control analysis
SF's rent control laws differ from NYC's. The report checks:
- Built before 1979 — Most SF rent control applies to buildings constructed before June 13, 1979
- Costa-Hawkins exemptions — Single-family homes, condos, and buildings built after 1979 are generally exempt
- Registration with the Rent Board — Active registration is a strong indicator that units are rent-controlled
- Tenant buyout filings — Ellis Act buyout agreements recorded with the Rent Board can indicate the landlord is clearing units
This is not legal advice. Rent control status is complex in SF — verify with the SF Rent Board or a tenant attorney.
AI insights
An AI-generated narrative analyzing the building's data — key risk factors, historical trends, and specific concerns — in plain language. Available with a free account; full version on premium.
Building overview
Characteristics including units, floors, year built, and parcel identifiers (block/lot). SF uses a blocklot system (e.g., 1234-567) rather than NYC's BBL.
13 SF public datasets (premium reports)
The premium report unlocks the Full building data section with 13 accordion groups of public records:
| Dataset | Source | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| Building Permits | SF DBI | Permits for construction, alterations, repairs — with estimated costs and status |
| Plumbing Permits | SF DBI | Plumbing installation, repair, and replacement permits |
| Electrical Permits | SF DBI | Electrical wiring, panel upgrades, and related permits |
| Soft Story Program | SF DBI | Seismic retrofit compliance status for soft-story wood-frame buildings |
| Building Violations (NOV) | SF DBI | Notices of Violation for code violations — unresolved ones can escalate to legal action |
| DBI Complaints | SF DBI | Code violation complaints filed with DBI, tracking lifecycle from filing to abatement |
| Planning Project Records | SF Planning | Project entitlements — discretionary review, conditional use, variances, environmental review |
| Planning Non-Project Records | SF Planning | Administrative records — pre-application meetings, compliance, referrals |
| 311 Service Requests | SF 311 | Maintenance, street, sidewalk, and quality-of-life requests geo-joined to the parcel |
| Fire Complaints | SFFD | Fire code complaints — type, disposition, and outcome |
| Fire Incidents | SFFD | Structure fires, alarms, and emergency responses with injury/fatality counts |
| Fire Violations | SFFD | Fire code violations with corrective actions and resolution status |
| Tenant Buyout Agreements | SF Rent Board | Ellis Act buyout amounts paid to tenants to vacate rent-controlled units |
What's different from NYC
SF buildings don't have an HPD equivalent. The main regulatory body is the Department of Building Inspection (DBI), which handles code enforcement, permitting, and complaints that in NYC would be split between HPD and DOB.
| Data category | NYC | SF |
|---|---|---|
| Housing violations | HPD (Housing Maintenance Code) | DBI (Notices of Violation) |
| Building permits | DOB | DBI |
| Construction complaints | DOB | DBI |
| Rent regulation | Rent Stabilization (DHCR) | Rent Control (SF Rent Board) |
| Bedbug reports | Required annual filings | Not available as a separate SF dataset |
| Rodent inspections | DOHMH | Not available as a separate SF dataset |
| Tenant buyout records | Not available (NYC doesn't track) | SF Rent Board filings |
| Soft story compliance | Not NYC-specific | SF DBI program |
What SF reports don't include
Some data types available for NYC aren't available for SF:
- Bedbug infestation reports — NYC requires building owners to file annual bedbug reports; SF does not have a comparable mandatory dataset
- Rodent inspection records — NYC DOHMH publishes rodent inspection results; SF's 311 captures pest complaints but no separate inspection dataset exists
- OATH hearing records — NYC's administrative hearing system for code violations; SF handles enforcement through DBI directly
- Tax lien sales — NYC publishes properties eligible for tax lien sale; SF does not have the same dataset
Data freshness for SF
| Dataset | Update frequency |
|---|---|
| DBI permits & violations | Weekly |
| 311 service requests | Daily |
| Fire records | Weekly |
| Rent Board filings | On filing |
| Tenant buyouts | On filing |
Free vs. premium for SF
| Feature | Free report | Premium report |
|---|---|---|
| Risk score & percentile | ✓ | ✓ Full detail |
| Rent control analysis | — | ✓ Full analysis |
| AI insights | ✓ Partial (with account) | ✓ Full narrative |
| Building overview | ✓ | ✓ |
| 13 public datasets | — | ✓ Full history |
| Event timeline | — | ✓ |
| PDF download | — | ✓ |
Search any SF address to check its risk score — free for your first 10 buildings.