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1270 California St

Nob Hill, SF 94109 0247010 7 units · 3 fl · 1914

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 Nob Hill
At or below average
avg 2.4
0
FewerMore

This building has 0 novs (7y), at or below the Nob Hill average of 2.4.

Rent & eviction protection

Is 1270 California 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 1914
2 or more units
7 units
Property type
Multi-Family Residential
Zoning
RM3
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
Units7
Floors3
Year built1914
Total area5,915 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot0247010
Ownership

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

Owner name
Tong Jennifer
Mailing address
1658 Washington St Apt 3 San Francisco CA 94109
Last sale
091919

Landlord portfolio

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

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Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

The 7-unit, 3-story multi-family residential building at 1270 California Street in Nob Hill, owned by Jennifer Tong, has undergone several significant safety and infrastructure improvements since its construction in 1914. Most notably, the building completed a comprehensive fire alarm system upgrade in 2023-2024, including the installation of low-frequency sounders in all sleeping areas to comply with current fire safety codes, with the work totaling over $38,000. The building successfully completed its mandatory soft-story retrofit in 2014 (Classified as Tier 3) at a cost of $65,000, addressing seismic safety requirements. Other major improvements include a window replacement project in 2012 ($20,000) improving energy efficiency and safety compliance, and a reroofing project in 2007 ($17,800).

The building has had multiple routine inspections and one health and safety inspection in 2010, which identified several violations that were subsequently resolved, including issues with fire escape maintenance, self-closing doors, and smoke enclosure systems. While these violations were addressed, they indicate historical concerns with the building's safety systems. More recent building activity has focused on upgrading safety systems rather than addressing major structural issues. The property experienced a tenant buyout involving 4 tenants in March 2016. Recent 311 calls (from 2019-2024) primarily concern street cleaning and parking issues on or near the property, rather than building-specific problems.

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

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Risk rating

How 1270 California 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
30th percentile

Out of 1125 buildings in this neighborhood, 788 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
37%
No DBI
violation
63%
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.

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 32.7%
Moderate concern 29.6%
Severe concern 37.7%
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

1270 California St event timeline

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

2026
DBI Complaint Jun 18
Illegal construction debris removal and sidewalk blocked. this could kill someone - they're throwing debris out the window into the truck.
Code Enforcement Section

See all 11 events

Full history back to 2023 — violations, complaints, permits, buyouts, and fire incidents.

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Every record we have

Full data for 1270 California 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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