Free SF apartment background check

9 Palm Ave

Jordan Park/Laurel Heights, SF 94118 1040003 5 units · 2 fl · 1913

This building has more problems than most buildings in this neighborhood. Few open issues; problems get fixed quickly. A reasonable bet for a smooth tenancy.

NOVs (7y) vs. neighborhood
Compared to a typical building in Jordan Park/Laurel Heights
At or below average
avg 0.9
0
FewerMore

This building has 0 novs (7y), at or below the Jordan Park/Laurel Heights average of 0.9.

Rent & eviction protection

Is 9 Palm Ave 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 1913
2 or more units
5 units
Property type
Multi-Family Residential
Zoning
RM1
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
Units5
Floors2
Year built1913
Total area6,440 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot1040003
Ownership

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

Owner name
Robert A Tomei 2001 Trust
Mailing address
2324 Leavenworth St San Francisco CA 94133
Last sale
052599

Landlord portfolio

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

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Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

The two-story, five-unit multi-family residential building at 9 Palm Avenue, owned by the Robert A Tomei 2001 Trust, has undergone several significant safety and code compliance improvements since its construction in 1913. Most notably, the building completed a mandatory soft-story retrofit in 2015 (Tier 3) to enhance seismic safety, at a cost of $50,000. In recent years, the property has focused on fire safety upgrades, including a $14,000 fire alarm system overhaul in 2022 to install low-frequency sounders and replace existing bells with horn strobes, followed by the addition of new horns in units 3 and 5 in mid-2023 to complete the system improvements. These updates included 24V cell GSM monitoring with Starlink.

The building's history includes a cluster of violations in 2005 relating to smoke detectors, emergency exits, and wood stairs, all of which were promptly abated within two months. A complaint in 2020 regarding unsafe work practices and potential lead paint issues was filed but later closed. Recent 311 calls primarily relate to street-level services such as cleaning and waste removal, with no major building-related issues reported since the 2005 violations. The most recent electrical work, completed in early 2023, focused on fire alarm system compatibility and UL certification. Curb defect complaints were filed and investigated in June 2023, though no issues were found during inspection. While the building's safety improvements and code compliance efforts are noteworthy, the concentration of violations in 2005 and the 2020 lead paint concern indicate past compliance challenges that appear to have been addressed through subsequent improvements.

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

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Risk rating

How 9 Palm Ave'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
28th percentile

Out of 272 buildings in this neighborhood, 196 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
69%
No DBI
violation
31%
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.

DBI tenant complaints (past 7 years)

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

12-Month severity forecast
No violation 50.2%
Moderate concern 39.5%
Severe concern 10.3%
Estimated probability of receiving a DBI Notice of Violation in the next 12 months at each severity level. Model: full_hgb_balanced.
Apartment reviews

9 Palm Ave apartment reviews

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The story over time

9 Palm Ave event timeline

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

2026
DBI Complaint Jan 16
Date last observed: 16-jan-26; time last observed: 01:45; exact location: side bldg; building type: residence/dwelling water intrusion; fire safety/fire escape; ; additional information: wooden boards have fallen off the side the building, exposing the building to water intrusion during heavy rains. additionally, the fire alarm system makes constant, very loud beeping noises at all hours of the day. fire alarm likely out of compliance.;
Code Enforcement Section

See all 9 events

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

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Every record we have

Full data for 9 Palm Ave 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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