Free SF apartment background check

251 Ashbury St

North Panhandle, SF 94117 1210008 13 units · 3 fl · 1916

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 251 Ashbury 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 1916
2 or more units
13 units
Property type
Multi-Family Residential
Zoning
RH3
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
Units13
Floors3
Year built1916
Total area14,651 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot1210008
Ownership

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

Owner name
Nelson/Noyon Living Trust
Mailing address
Joel G Nelson & Dorothy Noy 81 Whitney St San Francisco CA 94131
Last sale
052199

Landlord portfolio

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

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Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

The 13-unit apartment building at 251 Ashbury St in Park North, owned by the Nelson/noyon Living Trust, has a history dating back to its 1916 construction. The three-story multi-family residential building has undergone several significant maintenance and improvement projects over the years, including reroofing in 1999 and converting one garage door to create four spaces in the same year. Recent building permits in 2019 indicated some street space work, though these were minimal at a cost of $1 each. The building faced several challenges in the early 2000s, with multiple security-related violations recorded in 2002 that required the installation of proper deadlatch locks and self-closing devices at exterior doors, along with a window pane replacement violation from 2000 - all of which were abated by September 2002.

More recent history shows routine safety inspections in 2017 and multiple fire safety complaints between 2007 and 2022, though most were resolved promptly with conditions corrected. Two notable complaints from 2017 regarding inadequate heat and possible lead paint contamination during window sanding were investigated, though no violations were ultimately recorded. The building's recent history includes several 311 calls in late 2024 regarding encampments and garbage issues near the property, and three structural maintenance calls in January 2025 concerning recreation equipment. The building class is designated as "Apartment 5 to 14 Units," and while the property has faced various issues over its history, most violations and complaints have been addressed in a timely manner, with no active violations or complaints currently on record as of October 2023.

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

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Risk rating

How 251 Ashbury 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
11th percentile

Out of 797 buildings in this neighborhood, 709 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
42%
No DBI
violation
58%
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.

Neighborhood location

Precise location is a proxy for neighborhood-level risk — some SF blocks have systematically higher DBI activity.

12-Month severity forecast
No violation 14.5%
Moderate concern 27.9%
Severe concern 57.6%
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

251 Ashbury St event timeline

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

2026
Fire Complaint Apr 13
Alarm Systems
Violation Issued
311 RequestJan 23
Garbage and debris

See all 10 events

Full history back to 2022 — violations, complaints, permits, buyouts, and fire incidents.

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Every record we have

Full data for 251 Ashbury 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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