Free SF apartment background check

1970 Fell St

North Panhandle, SF 94117 1211018 12 units · 3 fl · 1924

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
1
FewerMore

This building has 1 novs (7y), at or below the North Panhandle average of 1.7.

Rent & eviction protection

Is 1970 Fell 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 1924
2 or more units
12 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
Units12
Floors3
Year built1924
Total area10,050 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot1211018
Ownership

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

Owner name
Lourdes Sainez 2014 Revocab
Mailing address
Sainez Lourdes Trustee 1091 York St San Francisco CA 94110
Last sale
122704

Landlord portfolio

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

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Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

Located in San Francisco's Park North neighborhood, 1970 Fell Street is a 12-unit, 3-story multi-family residential building constructed in 1924 and currently owned by Lourdes Sainez 2014 Revocab Trust. The property has undergone several significant improvements over the past decade, most notably completing a mandatory soft-story retrofit (Tier 3) in 2018, which included structural modifications such as shear wall and moment frame adjustments. Unit renovations have been carried out systematically, including comprehensive updates to Units 3 and 8 between 2016-2017, featuring kitchen remodels, bathroom renovations, and electrical upgrades. The building has experienced some maintenance issues and safety concerns over the years, with several complaints and violations recorded between 2009 and 2012 regarding fire safety, lead paint hazards, and common area maintenance, though these were subsequently resolved.

Recent activity at the property has included plumbing and HVAC system updates, including the removal of an old boiler (2018) and various unit-specific renovations. There is currently an active complaint (as of January 2024) regarding common areas, though most previous complaints have been marked as resolved. The building's maintenance history shows regular attention to both individual unit improvements and building-wide safety requirements, including fire safety inspections and repairs, though there have been occasional concerns about work being done without proper permits, as noted in complaints from 2019 and 2017. The property has maintained its compliance with major safety requirements, including the completion of its soft-story retrofit program and regular fire safety inspections, though some recent complaints about common area conditions remain open as of 2024.

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

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Risk rating

How 1970 Fell 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
10th percentile

Out of 797 buildings in this neighborhood, 717 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
41%
No DBI
violation
59%
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.

Building size

Total floor area — a proxy for building scale and the number of systems (plumbing, electrical, HVAC) that can fail.

Number of units

The number of units affects how the model reads complaint and violation totals — more units means more potential sources.

DBI tenant complaints (past 7 years)

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

12-Month severity forecast
No violation 20.0%
Moderate concern 62.1%
Severe concern 17.9%
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

1970 Fell St event timeline

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

2025
Fire Complaint Sep 04
Sprinkler/Standpipe Systems
No Merit
Fire ComplaintSep 04
Alarm Systems

See all 7 events

Full history back to 2021 — violations, complaints, permits, buyouts, and fire incidents.

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Every record we have

Full data for 1970 Fell 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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