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1244-1250 Kearny St

Telegraph Hill, SF 94133 0133026 6 units · 3 fl · 1913

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 Telegraph Hill
At or below average
avg 1.2
0
FewerMore

This building has 0 novs (7y), at or below the Telegraph Hill average of 1.2.

Rent & eviction protection

Is 1244-1250 Kearny 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 1913
2 or more units
6 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
Units6
Floors3
Year built1913
Total area5,900 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot0133026
Ownership

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

Owner name
Lau Gary
Mailing address
255 Niagara Ave San Francisco CA 94112
Last sale
080714

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.

1250 Kearny St, San Francisco, CA 94133
1248 Kearny St, San Francisco, CA 94133
1244 Kearny St, San Francisco, CA 94133
1246 Kearny St, San Francisco, CA 94133
Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

The three-story multi-family residential building at 1244-1250 Kearny Street in Telegraph Hill, owned by Gary Lau, was constructed in 1913 and contains 6 units. Most notably, the building successfully completed a mandatory soft-story retrofit in 2017 (completed at a cost of $60,000), categorized as a Tier 3 property. The building underwent significant interior renovations in 2013, including a gut renovation of one kitchen and one bathroom, along with associated electrical and plumbing upgrades totaling $18,000. All relevant permits from this work have been properly filed as completed, including the correction of an address error between 1248 and 1250 Kearny Street.

The property has a history of addressing maintenance and safety concerns, though many of these incidents are now inactive. In 2006, routine inspections revealed issues with smoke detectors and fire extinguishers, though these violations were promptly abated within a month. Earlier complaints from 2003 documented bathroom wall wood rot that required attention. More recently, the building has experienced several external incidents typically unrelated to structural or habitability concerns, including multiple cases of blocked sidewalks and parking spaces (2016-2024) and two confirmed sewage backup incidents in January 2016. A 2021 investigation into illegal short-term rentals was resolved through a Notice of Violation and penalty payment. Recent permits from 2017-2018 primarily relate to street space usage and soft-story retrofit work, and the most recent permit activity indicates compliance with city requirements.

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

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Risk rating

How 1244-1250 Kearny 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
28th percentile

Out of 684 buildings in this neighborhood, 492 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
72%
No DBI
violation
28%
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.

Property class: tenancy in common

Tenancy-in-common ownership structure, which has distinct maintenance and management patterns.

Neighborhood location

Precise location is a proxy for neighborhood-level risk — some SF blocks have systematically higher DBI activity.

12-Month severity forecast
No violation 61.0%
Moderate concern 22.5%
Severe concern 16.6%
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

1244-1250 Kearny St event timeline

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

2026
311 Request May 02
Blocked sidewalk
scooter without license plate

See all 5 events

Full history back to 2024 — violations, complaints, permits, buyouts, and fire incidents.

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Every record we have

Full data for 1244-1250 Kearny 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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