Free SF apartment background check

1290 Grove St

Alamo Square, SF 94117 1181014B 36 units · 6 fl · 1929

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 Alamo Square
Above average
avg 2.3
20
FewerMore

This building has 20 novs (7y), above the Alamo Square average of 2.3.

Rent & eviction protection

Is 1290 Grove 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 1929
2 or more units
36 units
Property type
Multi-Family Residential
Zoning
NC2
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
Units36
Floors6
Year built1929
Total area32,100 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot1181014B
Ownership

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

Owner name
Sf Multifamily 1 Llc
Mailing address
49 Powell St Fl 4 San Francisco CA 94102
Last sale
033120

Landlord portfolio

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

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Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

The six-story, 36-unit apartment building at 1290 Grove Street in Alamo Square, built in 1929 and owned by SF Multifamily 1 LLC, has experienced significant recent challenges with electrical and water systems. Most concerning are active complaints from December 2024 through January 2025 regarding potentially hazardous electrical conditions, including dangerous rewiring, burning wires in the main breaker box, and meter issues, particularly affecting unit 606. The building has also suffered repeated hot water system failures, with multiple complaints in August 2024 and December 2024 about lack of hot water affecting all units. These recent issues come on top of a documented history of problems, including fire safety violations in 2023 regarding sleeping area requirements and historical violations related to blocked exits and alarm systems.

The building is undergoing substantial modifications, including the addition of four new units (units #37-40) at the ground floor, with permits issued in 2020 for conversion of storage and garage space to dwelling units. Recent improvements include a $25,000 lobby improvement project in 2023 focusing on accessibility upgrades. Plumbing works in 2024-2023 involved installation of new water heating systems, though concerns remain about system reliability given the recent hot water complaints. The building's electrical system has been the subject of multiple recent complaints, suggesting possible systematic issues since most units underwent extensive renovations between 2018-2022, including kitchen and bathroom updates in multiple units, upgrade to 600A service in 2019, and various electrical improvements.

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

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Risk rating

How 1290 Grove 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
0th percentile

Out of 305 buildings in this neighborhood, 305 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
8%
No DBI
violation
92%
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.

NOV rate, owner's portfolio

Per-building NOV rate across everything this owner manages — high rates signal pattern neglect.

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 10.3%
Moderate concern 62.8%
Severe concern 26.9%
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

1290 Grove St event timeline

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

2026
Building Permit May 22
Install soil voc vapor intrusion mitigation system per prepared plans & specifications. includes: installation of vapor barrier and vent piping, vent risers/roof terminations, and related components as shown on submitted plans. not visible from street
$40,000 · Issued
Plumbing PermitMar 20
Work category: 8p; remove existing on-demand hot water heater and strike from sfdbi. furnish and install navien on-demand hot water heater and connect to existing piping.

See all 37 events

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

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Every record we have

Full data for 1290 Grove 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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