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437-441 Chestnut St

North Beach, SF 94133 0063027A 5 units · 3 fl · 1907

This building has more problems than most buildings in this neighborhood. Few open issues; problems get fixed quickly. A reasonable bet for a smooth tenancy.

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 437-441 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 1907
2 or more units
5 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
Units5
Floors3
Year built1907
Total area4,967 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot0063027A
Ownership

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

Owner name
Donald Russo&Margaret Johns
Mailing address
Russo Donald & Johnston Mar 210 Manor Dr Mill Valley CA 94941
Last sale
082897

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.

439 Chestnut St, San Francisco, CA 94133
441 Chestnut St, San Francisco, CA 94133
437 Chestnut St, San Francisco, CA 94133
Augrented Insights
AI summary

The three-story multi-family residential building at 437-441 Chestnut Street, located in North Beach, was constructed in 1907 and contains 5 units. The property, currently owned by Donald Russo and Margaret Johns, has experienced several significant issues in recent years, particularly concerning an unauthorized structural addition. In May 2021, a complaint was filed regarding a reportedly unstable horizontal addition at the second floor west side of the rear building, which allegedly extended approximately 40 square feet beyond the property line into the neighboring lot and was constructed without proper permits. This structure raised safety concerns due to substandard support, leading to an active building violation that remains unresolved pending a director's hearing scheduled for January 2025. Following this investigation, permits were filed in 2022 to provide additional structural support to the existing cantilevered bay as required by the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection.

The building's maintenance history includes multiple roofing projects, with completed reroofing work done in 2011 (cost: $7,000) and 2019 (cost: $18,000). A sewer lateral replacement was completed in July 2022. The property has undergone several routine housing inspections over the years, with the most recent one from 2015 still showing as active. Notable infrastructure issues include two sewage backup incidents recorded in August-September 2016. The building area has generated various 311 calls over recent years, primarily related to abandoned vehicles, street cleaning, and a temporary moving sign request in 2013. Recent records show some minor exterior maintenance issues being addressed, including street space renewal in October 2023 and a garbage debris case in December 2024.

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Risk rating

How 437-441 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
23th percentile

Out of 362 buildings in this neighborhood, 279 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
51%
No DBI
violation
49%
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.

DBI tenant complaints (past 7 years)

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

Director's hearing rate, owner's portfolio

Per-building rate of director's hearings across the owner's portfolio.

12-Month severity forecast
No violation 38.2%
Moderate concern 38.6%
Severe concern 23.2%
Estimated probability of receiving a DBI Notice of Violation in the next 12 months at each severity level. Model: full_hgb_balanced.
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The story over time

437-441 Chestnut St event timeline

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

2022
Building Permit Jul 26
Provide additional structural to extg cantilevered bay to abate sfdbi nov #202177284
$4,000 · Filed
Plumbing PermitJul 15
Work category: 1p; sewer lateral replacement

See all 6 events

Full history back to 2019 — violations, complaints, permits, buyouts, and fire incidents.

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Every record we have

Full data for 437-441 Chestnut 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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