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1991 California St

Lower Pacific Heights, SF 94109 0649014 18 units · 4 fl · 1923

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 Lower Pacific Heights
At or below average
avg 1.6
0
FewerMore

This building has 0 novs (7y), at or below the Lower Pacific Heights average of 1.6.

Rent & eviction protection

Is 1991 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 1923
2 or more units
18 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
Units18
Floors4
Year built1923
Total area18,320 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot0649014
Ownership

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

Owner name
Johnson L & Diana W Chiao T
Mailing address
Chiao Johnson L & Diana W T 1991 California St San Francisco CA 94123
Last sale
012419

Landlord portfolio

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

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Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

1991 California Street is a 4-story, 18-unit multi-family residential building constructed in 1923, currently owned by Johnson L & Diana W Chiao T. The building has undergone significant renovations and faced several challenges in recent years. Most notably, between 2015-2017, there were multiple complaints and violations regarding heating issues, mold problems, and unauthorized construction work, particularly affecting units 104 and 204. During this period, the building underwent substantial improvements including structural reinforcements, electrical upgrades, and unit renovations. More recent concerns include a December 2023 violation related to sleeping area requirements and a January 2023 issue with sprinkler/standpipe systems, though the latter was corrected in March 2023. The building's mechanical systems have seen extensive work, including multiple boiler permit renewals and heating system upgrades between 2014-2018, as well as plumbing improvements including new water pipes and sewer connections. The property has maintained street space permits through 2017 and underwent significant electrical system modernization in 2016 with a 400-amp service upgrade. While many historical issues have been resolved, including several fire alarm system corrections between 2015-2019, the recent sleeping area violation suggests some ongoing maintenance challenges.

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

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Risk rating

How 1991 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
20th percentile

Out of 670 buildings in this neighborhood, 536 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
48%
No DBI
violation
52%
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.

Building age

Older buildings tend to have more maintenance challenges; SF's pre-1906 earthquake housing stock carries distinct risk.

12-Month severity forecast
No violation 28.3%
Moderate concern 56.5%
Severe concern 15.2%
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

1991 California St event timeline

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

2025
Building Permit Apr 24
Upgrade existing fire alarm system to comply with sffc section 1103.7.6.1
$58,900 · Complete
Electrical PermitJan 24
Online electrical permit: 1 of buildings with more than 12 dwelling units and non-residential occupany - building up to 3 floors. modification of an existing fire alarm system by upgrading the fire panel, update all existing devices to be compatible with new facp and pr

See all 8 events

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

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Every record we have

Full data for 1991 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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