Free SF apartment background check

2201 California St

Lower Pacific Heights, SF 94115 0652001 18 units · 4 fl · 1906

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
0
FewerMore

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

Rent & eviction protection

Is 2201 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 1906
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 built1906
Total area17,124 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot0652001
Ownership

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

Owner name
Palmer John T & Amy L
Mailing address
2201 California Street Apts 100 Shoreline Hwy #160B Mill Valley CA 94941
Last sale
120820

Landlord portfolio

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

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Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

The 17-unit apartment building at 2201 California Street, built in 1906, has undergone significant improvements and faced several challenges over recent years. The property completed required seismic retrofitting as a Tier 2 soft-story building, including comprehensive upgrades to its fire protection systems between 2016-2019, such as a new fire sprinkler system, wireless low-frequency sounders, and radio monitoring equipment. Recent concerns include a persistent fire alarm issue reported by tenants in late 2022, with alarms sounding multiple times daily, and a violation issued in December 2023 regarding sleeping area requirements. The building underwent substantial modernization from 2017-2019, including the addition of an ADU unit, electrical system upgrades, and various unit renovations. Several maintenance issues have been documented, including plumbing problems in 2021, water-related issues in 2024, and electrical work concerns in 2018 involving transformer issues that required fire department response. The property has a history of fire alarm system-related inspections and corrections dating back to 2007, though no civilian injuries have been reported in related incidents. Two tenant buyouts were recorded, in January 2019 for $45,000 and December 2017 for $90,520.59, suggesting significant rental turnover during recent years.

The building's recent history shows consistent attention to safety upgrades, particularly regarding seismic retrofitting and fire safety systems, though recurring issues with the fire alarm system and periodic maintenance problems indicate ongoing challenges with building systems. The property owners, John T. and Amy L. Palmer, have invested in major improvements including a new garage design, though some external maintenance issues have been noted through recent 311 calls for sidewalk cleaning and debris removal in 2024. The building's current status as a registered Tier 2 soft-story property indicates compliance with seismic retrofit requirements, though ongoing fire safety concerns were highlighted in recent violations and tenant complaints.

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

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Risk rating

How 2201 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
6th percentile

Out of 670 buildings in this neighborhood, 630 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
26%
No DBI
violation
74%
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.

DBI tenant complaints (past 7 years)

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

Building size

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

12-Month severity forecast
No violation 18.5%
Moderate concern 44.9%
Severe concern 36.5%
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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The story over time

2201 California St event timeline

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

2026
311 Request May 17
Garbage and debris
other loose garbage debris yard waste
311 RequestApr 27
Garbage and debris

See all 18 events

Full history back to 2019 — violations, complaints, permits, buyouts, and fire incidents.

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Every record we have

Full data for 2201 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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