Free SF apartment background check

3820 Scott St

Marina, SF 94123 0417B013 12 units · 3 fl · 1929

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

NOVs (7y) vs. neighborhood
Compared to a typical building in Marina
At or below average
avg 1.1
0
FewerMore

This building has 0 novs (7y), at or below the Marina average of 1.1.

Rent & eviction protection

Is 3820 Scott 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 1929
2 or more units
12 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
Units12
Floors3
Year built1929
Total area12,513 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot0417B013
Ownership

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

Owner name
Sf 3820 Scott Street Llc
Mailing address
Steven C. Thrower 1 Bush St Ste 900 San Francisco CA 94104
Last sale
021820

Landlord portfolio

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

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Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

The 12-unit, 3-story apartment building at 3820 Scott Street in the Marina, built in 1929, has undergone significant renovations and maintenance work over the past several years. Most recently, in May 2024, the building completed a substantial fire alarm system upgrade to comply with San Francisco Fire Code requirements at a cost of $42,316, following multiple fire alarm violations in 2023 and 2024 that were subsequently abated. The property has seen extensive unit renovations between 2015-2021, with several apartments receiving comprehensive upgrades including kitchen and bathroom remodels, washer/dryer installations, and layout modifications. Notable improvements include Unit 303's conversion of kitchen to bedroom in 2021 ($45,000), Unit 202's kitchen conversion and bathroom rehabilitation in 2021 ($22,000), and Unit 304's renovation in 2019 ($22,000).

The building has a history of fire safety-related issues, with recurring fire alarm system problems documented between 2005-2024, including recent violations in 2023 and 2024 that were eventually resolved or abated. Earlier violations from 2007 (now inactive) included lead paint hazards and security-related deficiencies that were resolved. The property has maintained active compliance with building permits, completing multiple unit remodels and system upgrades, though there were some instances of permit expiration requiring renewal in 2015. Recent activity on the property shows ongoing attention to both unit modernization and safety system upgrades, with the most recent fire alarm system work demonstrating compliance with current fire safety requirements. The building has also been subject to various parking-related incidents in the vicinity, as evidenced by multiple 311 calls regarding illegal parking between 2019-2024, though these are external to the building itself.

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

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Risk rating

How 3820 Scott 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
16th percentile

Out of 988 buildings in this neighborhood, 830 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
45%
No DBI
violation
55%
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 22.6%
Moderate concern 58.8%
Severe concern 18.5%
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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On the map

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The story over time

3820 Scott St event timeline

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

2025
Planning Record Oct 31
Zoning letter for compliance report
Closed - Issued
Planning RecordFeb 03
CASE CLOSED: No violation. The use of existing, authorized storage space within the building by a tenant as a place of storage does not constitute a violation of the Planning Code. COMPLAINT SUBMITTED: Resident, Alan J Kocha, of 3820 Scott Street Apt. 301 is operating their business (MARINA ELECTRICAL CONSTRUCTION) out of his Apartment and Building's Garage. This building is a 12 unit residential building owned by Brick and Timber who leases its apartments to tenants, Alan being one of them. The building is zoned to residential use as "RM-3 - residential- mixed, medium density" using the https://sfplanning.org/resource/find-my-zoning tool. Alan has access to a garage at the ground floor to which he is using as a storage unit for his equipment and supplies, workspace for sawing, drilling and manufacturing components for his electrical business. Alan also instructs his employees to use the garage as a space to store his commercial equipment and supplies. Alan operates his business out of his apartment and garage outside the hours of 8am and 5pm PT - consistently creating loud noises and commercial noise disrupting the living situation of the building. We are requesting the commercial use of the property cease immediately.

See all 19 events

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

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Every record we have

Full data for 3820 Scott 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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