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85 Palm Ave

Jordan Park/Laurel Heights, SF 94118 1040015 5 units · 3 fl · 1915

This building has a higher-than-average number of open problems nearby. 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 85 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 1915
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
Floors3
Year built1915
Total area4,290 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot1040015
Ownership

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

Owner name
Wong/Liang Family Trust
Mailing address
James Kwong Leung Wong & Xi 2006 34Th Ave San Francisco CA 94116
Last sale
080210

Landlord portfolio

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

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Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

The Wong/Liang Family Trust owns the 5-unit, 3-story multi-family residential building at 85 Palm Avenue in the Jordan Park/Laurel Heights neighborhood, a property dating back to 1915. The building has undergone several significant improvements over the years, with the most critical being a completed soft-story seismic retrofit in 2016-2017 (with associated permits filed in 2016 and an electrical permit in February 2017), demonstrating compliance with San Francisco's wood frame seismic retrofit program requirements. Other major renovations include a 2010 apartment #1 renovation featuring new kitchen fixtures, bathroom updates, and basement modifications (with corresponding plumbing and electrical permits), and earlier structural improvements in 1990 that included window replacements and mudsill installations.

The property has maintained good standing with routine housing inspections in 2001 and 2005 showing no active violations. More recent concerns have primarily been related to exterior conditions and street maintenance rather than building-specific issues, though there have been multiple 311 calls regarding the surrounding area between 2018 and 2024, including reports of garbage, debris, and some infrastructure concerns like pavement defects and a blocked sidewalk (the latter still open as of June 2022). Notably, there was one minor cooking-related fire incident recorded (classified as "cooking fire, confined to container") with no civilian injuries reported. The building's current condition and maintenance history suggest regular upkeep, with the most pressing safety concern - the soft-story retrofit - having been properly addressed as indicated by the issuance of the Certificate of Final Completion (CFC).

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

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Risk rating

How 85 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
32th percentile

Out of 272 buildings in this neighborhood, 185 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
72%
No DBI
violation
28%
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 age

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

DBI complaint rate, owner's portfolio

Per-building complaint rate across the owner's portfolio.

12-Month severity forecast
No violation 71.5%
Moderate concern 18.8%
Severe concern 9.7%
Estimated probability of receiving a DBI Notice of Violation in the next 12 months at each severity level. Model: full_hgb_balanced.
Apartment reviews

85 Palm Ave apartment reviews

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The story over time

85 Palm Ave event timeline

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

2025
311 Request Dec 09
Public works
bsm complaint

See all 1 events

Full history back to 2025 — violations, complaints, permits, buyouts, and fire incidents.

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Every record we have

Full data for 85 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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