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1419-1421 Powell St

North Beach, SF 94133 0148005 3 units · 2 fl · 1906

This building has more problems than most buildings in this neighborhood. A handful of unresolved issues. Worth a careful walk-through and pointed questions.

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 1419-1421 Powell 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
3 units
Property type
Multi-Family Residential
Zoning
NBEACH
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
Units3
Floors2
Year built1906
Total area3,461 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot0148005
Ownership

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

Owner name
Lau Wai
Mailing address
1423 Powell St San Francisco CA 94133
Last sale
051597

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.

1421 Powell St, San Francisco, CA 94133
1419 Powell St, San Francisco, CA 94133
Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

The Powell Street property at 1419-1421 Powell St is a two-story, three-unit multi-family residential building with a commercial space, constructed in 1906 and currently owned by Lau Wai. The building has undergone several significant improvements over the years, including vertical and horizontal additions in 1988, the installation of fire sprinklers in 1990, and a facade remodel in 1996. More recently, there have been efforts to ensure accessibility compliance through the Accessible Business Entrance (ABE) program, with the most recent permit filed in August 2023 to change door thresholds and locks. A gas line repair was completed in September 2022, and there have been multiple vacant storefront-related issues, including a violation for non-compliance with the empty storefront ordinance in 2018, and a subsequent complaint in February 2020 that is currently showing as active.

The building has experienced several fire department responses, primarily related to smoke detector activations and elevator rescues, though no civilian injuries were recorded in any of these incidents. The property has been subject to various municipal service calls, particularly regarding parking enforcement, with multiple recent complaints about illegal parking on Powell Street in summer 2024. There was also one instance of graffiti on a parking meter in late 2023 and a missing utility vault cover issue reported in June 2024. The building’s accessibility improvements and maintenance history suggest ongoing attention to building code compliance, while the recent parking enforcement activity indicates ongoing challenges with street parking in the area. The property has had its share of minor incidents over the years, but there have been no major safety incidents or violations that would significantly impact resident safety or comfort.

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

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Risk rating

How 1419-1421 Powell 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
21th percentile

Out of 362 buildings in this neighborhood, 286 are predicted to be safer.

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

DBI tenant complaints (past 7 years)

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

Property class: apartment building

Apartment building — this property classification influences expected violation rates.

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 33.6%
Moderate concern 61.4%
Severe concern 5.1%
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

1419-1421 Powell St event timeline

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

2026
311 Request May 30
Municipal transportation agency
paint shop request for service
311 RequestFeb 26
Curb or curb ramp defect

See all 10 events

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

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Every record we have

Full data for 1419-1421 Powell 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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