Free SF apartment background check

654 Central Ave

North Panhandle, SF 94117 1185025 7 units · 3 fl · 1907

This building has significantly more problems than most nearby buildings. A handful of unresolved issues. Worth a careful walk-through and pointed questions.

NOVs (7y) vs. neighborhood
Compared to a typical building in North Panhandle
At or below average
avg 1.7
0
FewerMore

This building has 0 novs (7y), at or below the North Panhandle average of 1.7.

Rent & eviction protection

Is 654 Central 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 1907
2 or more units
7 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
Units7
Floors3
Year built1907
Total area6,314 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot1185025
Ownership

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

Owner name
Nelson/Noyon Living Tr
Mailing address
Joel G Nelson & Dorothy Noy 81 Whitney St San Francisco CA 94131
Last sale
062716

Landlord portfolio

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

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Multiple entrances & addresses

Included addresses

All street addresses sharing this blocklot that are covered by this report.

1689 Fulton St, San Francisco, CA 94117
654 Central Ave, San Francisco, CA 94117
1691 Fulton St, San Francisco, CA 94117
1697 Fulton St, San Francisco, CA 94117
1699 Fulton St, San Francisco, CA 94117
1695 Fulton St, San Francisco, CA 94117
1693 Fulton St, San Francisco, CA 94117
Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

At 654 Central Avenue, a three-story multi-family residential building built in 1907, significant structural work was completed in 2012 with a $100,000 foundation strengthening project at the garage and storage levels, following earlier foundation replacements in 2006 and 1995. Recent maintenance includes an issued permit for reroofing work valued at $19,200 scheduled for 2024-2025. The building has experienced several notable issues over the years, including a 2009 incident involving flooding, water damage, mold, and reports of rats, though these complaints were subsequently addressed. More recent concerns include a 2013 violation related to unauthorized cell site installation, which was resolved, and a routine safety inspection in 2016. The property has undergone various renovations to individual units, particularly Unit 1695 (formerly 654 Central, now 1695 Fulton Street), with significant upgrades to kitchens, baths, and electrical systems between 2008-2009, though some permits were withdrawn or cancelled.

The building's utilities have seen regular upgrades, including a steam boiler replacement in 2015, electrical improvements such as Ufer grounding installations in 2012 and 2015, and various plumbing updates. A minor fire-related incident occurred in 2021 regarding blocked exits, but was deemed to have no merit upon investigation. While recent 311 calls from late 2024 to early 2025 primarily relate to street-level issues like debris and encampments outside the building, these are external neighborhood concerns rather than building-specific problems. The property has maintained active compliance with routine inspections and has resolved past violations and complaints, with no current active building violations on record.

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

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Risk rating

How 654 Central 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
15th percentile

Out of 797 buildings in this neighborhood, 677 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
47%
No DBI
violation
53%
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 41.5%
Moderate concern 36.5%
Severe concern 22.0%
Estimated probability of receiving a DBI Notice of Violation in the next 12 months at each severity level. Model: full_hgb_balanced.
Apartment reviews

654 Central Ave apartment reviews

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The story over time

654 Central Ave event timeline

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

2026
311 Request May 25
Public works
bses complaint

See all 10 events

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

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Every record we have

Full data for 654 Central 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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