Free SF apartment background check

701 Fell St

Hayes Valley, SF 94117 0828001 18 units · 3 fl · 1925

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 Hayes Valley
At or below average
avg 2.3
2
FewerMore

This building has 2 novs (7y), at or below the Hayes Valley average of 2.3.

Rent & eviction protection

Is 701 Fell 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 1925
2 or more units
18 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
Units18
Floors3
Year built1925
Total area13,125 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot0828001
Ownership

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

Owner name
Sf Multifamily Iv Property
Mailing address
C/0 Ballast Investments 49 Powell St Fl 4 San Francisco CA 94102
Last sale
112018

Landlord portfolio

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

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Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

701 Fell Street is a three-story, 18-unit multi-family residential building constructed in 1925, currently owned by SF Multifamily IV Property. The property has undergone significant recent fire safety upgrades, including a 2023 fire alarm system improvement to comply with current codes, though a subsequent revision in September 2023 modified the scope to remove certain strobe devices and smoke detectors from specific areas. The building has seen substantial unit improvements between 2016-2021, including bathroom and kitchen renovations across multiple units, electrical system upgrades, and the addition of in-unit laundry facilities. Noteworthy recent work includes a completed soft-story seismic retrofitting in 2018 and various unit improvements totaling over $500,000.

The building has had several fire safety inspections and incidents, with the most recent fire violation in December 2023 regarding sleeping area requirements (abated), and previous violations dating back to 2005 that were also corrected. Historical complaints from 1998-2009 indicated past issues with plumbing, fire safety systems, and electrical concerns, all of which have since been resolved. The property has maintained regular safety inspections, with the most recent routine inspection in 2018. Current external issues noted in 2025 include a sidewalk defect and illegal parking concerns, though these do not directly affect the building's internal systems or living conditions. The building's maintenance record shows consistent attention to unit upgrades, fire safety compliance, and periodic addressing of infrastructure issues, with most recent works focusing on fire alarm system upgrades and unit improvements under current codes.

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

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Risk rating

How 701 Fell 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
7th percentile

Out of 1027 buildings in this neighborhood, 955 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
21%
No DBI
violation
79%
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 8.9%
Moderate concern 83.3%
Severe concern 7.8%
Estimated probability of receiving a DBI Notice of Violation in the next 12 months at each severity level. Model: full_hgb_balanced.
Apartment reviews

701 Fell St apartment reviews

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The story over time

701 Fell St event timeline

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

2026
Building Violation (NOV) Mar 02
No permit to operate the boiler. serial no 61906160198, cmc 1022. monthly monitoring fee applies. code sec: sfbc 110a, table 1a-k
Building Violation (NOV)Mar 02
No permit to operate the boiler. serial no 1204339314, cmc 1022. monthly monitoring fee applies. code sec: sfbc 110a, table 1a-k

See all 21 events

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

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Every record we have

Full data for 701 Fell 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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