Free SF apartment background check

271-281 Francisco St

Telegraph Hill, SF 94133 0054029A 11 units · 4 fl · 1908

This building has far more open problems than almost any other in the neighborhood. Renters here report frequent, slow-to-fix problems. Get repair promises in writing and check the unit before signing.

NOVs (7y) vs. neighborhood
Compared to a typical building in Telegraph Hill
Above average
avg 1.2
9
FewerMore

This building has 9 novs (7y), above the Telegraph Hill average of 1.2.

Rent & eviction protection

Is 271-281 Francisco St rent-controlled?

San Francisco's Rent Ordinance caps rent increases and provides eviction protection for most residential units built before 1979 with 2+ units. Here's how this building scores.

Built before 1979
Built 1908
2 or more units
11 units
Property type
Multi-Family Residential
Zoning
RH3
Likely rent-controlled. Building age and unit count suggest this property falls under San Francisco's Rent Ordinance.

Based on SF Assessor records. Not legal advice — confirm with the SF Rent Board.

Building characteristics
Units11
Floors4
Year built1908
Total area9,395 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot0054029A
Ownership

Registered owner per SF Assessor-Recorder (secured roll).

Owner name
John H Kaufmann Trust
Mailing address
124 Lyford Dr Tiburon CA 94920
Last sale
092617

Landlord portfolio

Other SF properties this owner holds, with risk grades for each.

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Multiple entrances & addresses

Included addresses

All street addresses sharing this blocklot that are covered by this report.

277 Francisco St, San Francisco, CA 94133
275 Francisco St, San Francisco, CA 94133
279 Francisco St, San Francisco, CA 94133
281 Francisco St, San Francisco, CA 94133
271 Francisco St, San Francisco, CA 94133
273 Francisco St, San Francisco, CA 94133
Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

The 4-story, 11-unit multi-family residential building at 271-281 Francisco Street in Telegraph Hill, managed by the John H Kaufmann Trust, was constructed in 1908. The property has undergone several significant improvements over the past decade, including mandatory seismic retrofits completed in 2019 that addressed both residential and commercial components of the building. Recent modifications in 2023 included the conversion of a baking school to a bakery and retail space, along with associated electrical and plumbing upgrades, though there was previously a period of non-compliance that triggered violation notices in 2018 and 2023 regarding the Soft Story Retrofit Program, which was subsequently resolved with a Certificate of Final Completion issued in October 2023.

The building has experienced periodic maintenance and upgrade work to improve its systems and living conditions, including window replacements in 2013, unit remodels in 2016, and various plumbing improvements such as water heater and furnace replacements in 2023. Safety inspections have revealed occasional issues requiring attention, including fire safety concerns in 2016, 2017, 2022, and 2024 regarding extinguishers, sprinkler systems, and hazardous materials, all of which were either corrected or found to have no merit. The history of tenant and neighbor concerns primarily relates to the operation of the cooking school between 2011-2022, which generated complaints about noise and parking, though these issues appear to have been resolved with the change in occupancy to a bakery. Recent 311 calls from 2023-2024 have primarily concerned street cleaning issues near the property, including reports of human waste and general debris, though these were primarily city sidewalk issues rather than building-specific problems.

AI-generated · may contain errors · check the source data tables below

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Risk rating

How 271-281 Francisco St's risk score is calculated

We trained a model on 7 years of SF DBI inspection data — notice of violation filings, complaint history, and owner track records. It estimates the probability that DBI inspectors will issue a Notice of Violation at this address in the next 12 months. Lower % = safer.

What the score means for you

Grade A–B — Low risk

DBI rarely finds violations here. Strong maintenance history and a clean complaint record.

Grade C — Moderate risk

Some past violations or complaints on record. Worth asking the landlord about any open issues before signing.

Grade D–F — High risk

Elevated violation and complaint history. DBI has found issues here before and is statistically likely to again.

Neighborhood percentile
1th percentile

Out of 684 buildings in this neighborhood, 677 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
14%
No DBI
violation
86%
DBI violation
likely
Model explanation

What's driving this score

The three data points that most influenced this building's risk rating — ranked by the weight the model placed on each one.

Number of units

The number of units affects how the model reads complaint and violation totals — more units means more potential sources.

Building size

Total floor area — a proxy for building scale and the number of systems (plumbing, electrical, HVAC) that can fail.

DBI tenant complaints (past 7 years)

Formal complaints tenants filed with DBI about this building over 7 years.

12-Month severity forecast
No violation 8.0%
Moderate concern 75.0%
Severe concern 17.0%
Estimated probability of receiving a DBI Notice of Violation in the next 12 months at each severity level. Model: full_hgb_balanced.
Apartment reviews

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The story over time

271-281 Francisco St event timeline

Violations, complaints, fire incidents, permits, and buyouts — most recent records in order.

2026
311 Request May 07
Garbage and debris
other loose garbage debris yard waste
311 RequestMay 05
Garbage and debris

See all 21 events

Full history back to 2020 — violations, complaints, permits, buyouts, and fire incidents.

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Every record we have

Full data for 271-281 Francisco St apartments

13 SF public datasets for this parcel — permits, violations, complaints, fire records, 311 calls, planning records, and buyouts.

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Cancel anytime · Data sourced from SF Open Data, DBI, SFFD, SF Rent Board & Planning

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