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1801 California St

Lower Pacific Heights, SF 94109 0648001 31 units · 5 fl · 1926

This building has far more open problems than almost any other in the neighborhood. Renters here report frequent, slow-to-fix problems. Get repair promises in writing and check the unit before signing.

NOVs (7y) vs. neighborhood
Compared to a typical building in Lower Pacific Heights
At or below average
avg 1.6
1
FewerMore

This building has 1 novs (7y), at or below the Lower Pacific Heights average of 1.6.

Rent & eviction protection

Is 1801 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 1926
2 or more units
31 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
Units31
Floors5
Year built1926
Total area34,827 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot0648001
Ownership

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

Owner name
Sf Multifamily 1 Llc
Mailing address
49 Powell St Fl 4 San Francisco CA 94102
Last sale
051321

Landlord portfolio

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

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Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

1801 California Street is a 5-story, 31-unit multi-family residential building constructed in 1926 in the Lower Pacific Heights neighborhood, currently owned by SF Multifamily 1 LLC. The building has undergone significant renovations and improvements over the past several years, most notably the conversion of ground floor garages into four ADUs (Accessory Dwelling Units), with work including new windows, doors, and a fire sprinkler system installation in 2023. Between 2020-2021, substantial unit renovations were completed in multiple apartments (units 202, 502, 503, 504, 306, and 404) including bathroom and kitchen rehabilitations, as well as the installation of mini-split heat pumps in units 32-35 in 2023. The building has also seen major safety system upgrades, including a complete fire alarm system replacement in 2022 and ongoing sprinkler system improvements.

The property has experienced several maintenance and regulatory issues, particularly related to boiler permits, with violations recorded in 2018 and 2022 regarding unpermitted boiler operation, though these violations were eventually abated. A sleeping area requirements violation was issued in December 2023 that remains open according to the latest records. There have been previous concerns about the elevator's reliability in 1996 and exposed wiring in 2016, but these issues were resolved. The building's fire safety systems have had their share of challenges, with multiple false alarms and system activations recorded, though none resulted in civilian injuries. Recent complaints in late 2024 regarding mechanical noise and garbage issues outside the building indicate ongoing maintenance and environmental challenges in the surrounding area. Two tenant buyouts were recorded, in 2016 for $12,000 (2 tenants) and in 2020 for $40,000 (1 tenant), suggesting previous unit conversions or upgrades.

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

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Risk rating

How 1801 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
2th percentile

Out of 670 buildings in this neighborhood, 657 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
10%
No DBI
violation
90%
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.

Building size

Total floor area — a proxy for building scale and the number of systems (plumbing, electrical, HVAC) that can fail.

Number of units

The number of units affects how the model reads complaint and violation totals — more units means more potential sources.

NOV rate, owner's portfolio

Per-building NOV rate across everything this owner manages — high rates signal pattern neglect.

12-Month severity forecast
No violation 7.7%
Moderate concern 85.0%
Severe concern 7.3%
Estimated probability of receiving a DBI Notice of Violation in the next 12 months at each severity level. Model: full_hgb_balanced.
Apartment reviews

1801 California St apartment reviews

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The story over time

1801 California St event timeline

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

2026
Building Permit Jun 09
Unit 505 on 6/f: new bedroom. relocate kitchen. new laundry. new finishes, fixtures at (e) bath. no change to use, area, egress, water or space heating. revision to 202603127484.
$40,000 · Issued
DBI ComplaintJun 09
Date last observed: 08-jun-26; time last observed: 9am; floor: first; exact location: main bldg; building type: residence/dwelling fire safety/fire escape; ; additional information: fire alarm panel expired 3/26/2026, extinguishers expired 1/9/2026;

See all 34 events

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

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Every record we have

Full data for 1801 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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