Free SF apartment background check

491 Chestnut St

North Beach, SF 94133 0063023 14 units · 3 fl · 1906

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 North Beach
At or below average
avg 2.1
1
FewerMore

This building has 1 novs (7y), at or below the North Beach average of 2.1.

Rent & eviction protection

Is 491 Chestnut 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 1906
2 or more units
14 units
Property type
Multi-Family Residential
Zoning
RM2
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
Units14
Floors3
Year built1906
Total area8,594 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot0063023
Ownership

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

Owner name
Gordon Jim
Mailing address
2050 Powell St San Francisco CA 94133
Last sale
012611

Landlord portfolio

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

Unlock complete report
Multiple entrances & addresses

Included addresses

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

2050 Powell St, San Francisco, CA 94133
491 Chestnut St, San Francisco, CA 94133
Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

The three-story multi-family residential building at 491 Chestnut Street, owned by Jim Gordon, contains 14 units and was constructed in 1906. The property has undergone several significant safety upgrades in recent years, including a $24,000 fire alarm system upgrade in 2021 to comply with San Francisco Fire Code requirements, and a $25,000 seismic soft-story retrofit in 2018 involving the installation of new moment frames and shearwalls on the first floor. The building has experienced multiple permit renewals and revisions in 2023 related to its soft-story retrofit work, indicating attention to this critical safety requirement, with the most recent permits completed in February 2023. Plumbing infrastructure improvements are also documented, including new gas lines installed in early 2023 and sewer repairs in January 2022, demonstrating ongoing maintenance of essential systems.

The building's history includes some concerning events, particularly in 2009 when there were two complaints about gaseous fumes from the ground floor commercial space impacting residents' health. These complaints were resolved by November 2011. Additionally, the property underwent accessibility improvements in 2018 at the adjacent 2054 and 2064 Powell Street storefronts. While there were several routine inspections and violations noted between 2001-2023, most have been resolved, including a 2023 soft-story program violation that was abated in February 2023. Recent 311 calls from 2024 primarily relate to street cleaning and debris management issues outside the building rather than building maintenance concerns.

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

Free account unlocks the full analysis — plus 2× more records across all data categories and the complete landlord portfolio.
Risk rating

How 491 Chestnut 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
4th percentile

Out of 362 buildings in this neighborhood, 348 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
16%
No DBI
violation
84%
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 8.3%
Moderate concern 35.1%
Severe concern 56.6%
Estimated probability of receiving a DBI Notice of Violation in the next 12 months at each severity level. Model: full_hgb_balanced.
Apartment reviews

491 Chestnut St apartment reviews

Real experiences from people who have lived here. Share yours to help other renters decide.

Share your experience — Help other renters by leaving an honest apartment review

Create account

Loading reviews…

On the map

Compare nearby alternatives

This building and nearby alternatives, color-coded by risk level. Click any marker to explore.

Buildings nearby
Loading…
The story over time

491 Chestnut St event timeline

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

2025
311 Request Mar 05
Garbage and debris
refrigerator appliance

See all 14 events

Full history back to 2021 — violations, complaints, permits, buyouts, and fire incidents.

Unlock complete timeline
Every record we have

Full data for 491 Chestnut St apartments

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

Still apartment hunting in SF?

Look up the next apartment before you sign

Search any SF address free — no account needed to see the risk rating.

Search another address Get full report
Simple pricing

Get the complete picture

Every plan unlocks the complete report: all 13 SF datasets, full history, landlord portfolio, and PDF & Excel exports.

Report Bundle

For the buildings you're deciding on right now

$10 one-time

~$3.33 per building. No subscription ever. Each credit unlocks one building's premium report for 30 days.

  • 3 full AI-powered reports
  • Download PDF reports
  • Advanced safety analysis
  • Compare multiple buildings
  • Credits never expire until you use them
  • Full public records (200 rows per dataset)
Buy 3 Reports — $10

Apartment Hunter

For a wide search across many buildings

$39 one-time

30 reports — ~$1.30 each. No subscription ever.

  • 30 full AI-powered reports
  • Download PDF reports
  • Advanced safety analysis
  • Compare multiple buildings
  • Credits never expire until you use them
  • Full public records (200 rows per dataset)
Buy 30 Reports — $39
Most Popular Current plan

Renter

For the weeks when the stakes are highest

$10/mo

Billed $120/year — save $24 vs monthly

  • Unlimited basic reports
  • 5 premium AI reports per month
  • Download PDF & Excel reports
  • Full public records (200 rows per dataset)
  • Full event timeline — every year of history
  • Landlord portfolio & ownership insights
Start Your Search

Less than $0.34/day. Cancel anytime.

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

Watch 491 Chestnut St
Get alerted the moment a new violation or complaint is filed.