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1585-1589 Waller St

Cole Valley/Parnassus Heights, SF 94117 1252048 13 units · 3 fl · 1906

This building has far more open problems than almost any other in the neighborhood. A handful of unresolved issues. Worth a careful walk-through and pointed questions.

NOVs (7y) vs. neighborhood
Compared to a typical building in Cole Valley/Parnassus Heights
Above average
avg 0.9
6
FewerMore

This building has 6 novs (7y), above the Cole Valley/Parnassus Heights average of 0.9.

Rent & eviction protection

Is 1585-1589 Waller 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 1906
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.

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 1906
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
Units13
Floors3
Year built1906
Total area9,405 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot1252048
Ownership

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

Owner name
Mailing address
268 Bush St #1688 San Francisco CA 94104
Last sale
050820

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.

1587 Waller St, San Francisco, CA 94117
1585 Waller St, San Francisco, CA 94117
1589 Waller St, San Francisco, CA 94117
Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

The 13-unit, three-story apartment building at 1585-1589 Waller Street, built in 1906, has undergone several significant structural and safety improvements in recent years. Most notably, in 2023, the building received comprehensive foundation strengthening work in the crawl space, followed by additional voluntary structural revisions later that year, totaling $50,000 in foundation work. The building has demonstrated a commitment to safety upgrades, completing a $25,000 fire alarm system modernization in 2021 to comply with current codes, which included the installation of wireless low-frequency sounders in sleeping areas and replacement of smoke detection equipment. Recent improvements also include the installation of four tankless hot water boilers in March 2023, and ongoing maintenance such as re-roofing work completed in 2019.

The building's history shows a pattern of addressing both maintenance needs and resident improvements, with recent improvements including laundry facility additions in multiple units (notably Unit 5 in 2022-2023) and various unit upgrades. However, there have been several concerning patterns in the building's recent history, particularly in 2018-2019, when multiple complaints were filed regarding unpermitted work, exposed wiring, and construction-related safety issues, including blocked fire extinguishers and construction materials obstructing egress paths. The building's fire safety systems have experienced periodic issues, with violations noted for alarm system maintenance in 2017 and 2023, though these have been subsequently abated. The most recent tenant buyout record from February 2024 shows a payment of $5,498.55 to one tenant at Unit 1587, representing the building's ongoing tenant transition activity.

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

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Risk rating

How 1585-1589 Waller 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
8th percentile

Out of 526 buildings in this neighborhood, 484 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
33%
No DBI
violation
67%
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.

NOV rate, owner's portfolio

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

12-Month severity forecast
No violation 21.9%
Moderate concern 44.7%
Severe concern 33.4%
Estimated probability of receiving a DBI Notice of Violation in the next 12 months at each severity level. Model: full_hgb_balanced.
Apartment reviews

1585-1589 Waller St apartment reviews

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The story over time

1585-1589 Waller St event timeline

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

2026
311 Request Jul 13
General maintenance not in list above
Residential Building
311 RequestJul 04
Not offensive

See all 38 events

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

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Every record we have

Full data for 1585-1589 Waller 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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