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909 Buena Vista Ave

Buena Vista Park/Ashbury Heights, SF 94117 1242005 6 units · 3 fl · 1904

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 Buena Vista Park/Ashbury Heights
At or below average
avg 1.6
1
FewerMore

This building has 1 novs (7y), at or below the Buena Vista Park/Ashbury Heights average of 1.6.

Rent & eviction protection

Is 909 Buena Vista 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 1904
2 or more units
6 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.

Statewide backstop · AB 1482

California Tenant Protection Act of 2019

Even when a building isn't covered by local rent stabilization, the statewide Tenant Protection Act (AB 1482) may still apply. It caps annual rent increases and requires the landlord to state a legal reason to end most tenancies.

15+ years since occupancy
Built 1904
Annual rent increase cap
5% + CPI, max 10%
Just-cause eviction
After 12 months
Local rent control likely takes priority. This building appears to fall under the local ordinance above, which is stronger than AB 1482. Where a local just-cause ordinance applies, its rules govern instead of the state cap.

AB 1482 does not apply to single-family homes and condos unless owned by a corporation, REIT, or an LLC with a corporate member; to owner-occupied duplexes; or to deed-restricted affordable housing. The Act is in effect until January 1, 2030. Not legal advice — see the California landlord–tenant guide.

Building characteristics
Units6
Floors3
Year built1904
Total area4,950 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot1242005
Ownership

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

Owner name
Mailing address
447 Day St San Francisco CA 94131
Last sale
000000

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.

58 Central Ave, San Francisco, CA 94117
909 Buena Vista Ave West, San Francisco, CA 94117
Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

909 Buena Vista Avenue is a three-story, six-unit residential building constructed in 1904, located in the Buena Vista Park/Ashbury Heights neighborhood of San Francisco. The building has experienced several significant regulatory and safety events in recent years, most notably concerning seismic retrofit compliance. In February 2021, the Department of Building Inspection (DBI) issued violations related to the building's failure to complete mandatory soft-story seismic retrofit work required by San Francisco Building Code Section 505e, including the need for final signoff and a certificate of completion. This situation continued through a final warning in November 2022 and a director hearing in August 2023, although records show a permit was finally obtained in December 2022 to secure final inspections related to multiple prior permit approvals, suggesting the completion of previously required work.

The building's recent history includes a notable frequency of 311 service requests, with a total of 117 recorded over the past seven years, though most recent complaints from 2024-2026 relate to garbage and debris issues outside the building rather than internal conditions. Five fire incidents have been recorded in the past seven years, though without specifying locations or impacts. The property also shows one DBI complaint and one Notice of Violation from 2021 that were both resolved by November 2023, suggesting recent improvements in compliance and response to regulatory requirements. While the building continues to maintain a significant number of service requests through 2026, these appear primarily related to street-level issues rather than structural or internal building concerns, with the recent completion of the soft-story retrofit permitting process indicating progress in addressing major safety requirements.

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

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Risk rating

How 909 Buena Vista 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 351 buildings in this neighborhood, 298 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
50%
No DBI
violation
50%
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.

DBI tenant complaints (past 7 years)

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

Number of units

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

Director's hearing rate, owner's portfolio

Per-building rate of director's hearings across the owner's portfolio.

12-Month severity forecast
No violation 36.2%
Moderate concern 48.1%
Severe concern 15.7%
Estimated probability of receiving a DBI Notice of Violation in the next 12 months at each severity level. Model: full_hgb_balanced.
Apartment reviews

909 Buena Vista Ave apartment reviews

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On the map

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The story over time

909 Buena Vista Ave event timeline

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

2026
311 Request Jul 30
Garbage and debris
other bagged boxed contained garbage

See all 6 events

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

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Every record we have

Full data for 909 Buena Vista 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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