Free SF apartment background check

150 Downey St

Buena Vista Park/Ashbury Heights, SF 94117 1269151 5 units · 3 fl · 1900

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 150 Downey 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 1900
2 or more units
5 units
Property type
Multi-Family Residential
Zoning
RH2
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
Units5
Floors3
Year built1900
Total area2,946 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot1269151
Ownership

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

Owner name
Carr Elmer R
Mailing address
150 Downey St Apt 1 San Francisco CA 94117
Last sale
032713

Landlord portfolio

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

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Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

The three-story, five-unit multi-family residential building at 150 Downey Street, owned by Elmer R Carr and constructed in 1900, has undergone significant seismic safety work in recent years. The building is currently listed as non-compliant with the mandatory soft story retrofit requirements, with the most recent permit (2023) showing revisions to previous work involving foundation details and shear wall replacements. The property has a history of unit improvements, including comprehensive renovations in units 1, 2, and 3 between 2007-2018, encompassing kitchen and bathroom remodels, electrical rewiring, and plumbing updates. Notable past issues include multiple building violations in 2003 related to fire safety, egress obstruction, stair repairs, weatherproofing, and lead paint concerns, all of which were abated by November 2005.

Recent complaints include a 2020 report regarding construction activity during shelter-in-place orders, and an active complaint from 2019 regarding non-compliance with soft story retrofit requirements. A significant tenant buyout occurred in January 2016 involving two tenants for $53,703.46. Historical maintenance issues from the 1990s and early 2000s included roof leaks affecting multiple units, plumbing problems, and ceiling damage, though these appear to have been addressed. The building's infrastructure improvements have included mandatory safety retrofits, with permits showing ongoing commitment to meet current building codes. Multiple street-space permits have been issued, and there have been various 311 calls regarding street cleaning and waste management in the vicinity of the property between 2016-2020.

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

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Risk rating

How 150 Downey 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
13th percentile

Out of 351 buildings in this neighborhood, 305 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
46%
No DBI
violation
54%
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.

DBI tenant complaints (past 7 years)

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

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 46.7%
Moderate concern 41.2%
Severe concern 12.1%
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

150 Downey St event timeline

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

2025
311 Request Jun 29
Not offensive
pole

See all 6 events

Full history back to 2019 — violations, complaints, permits, buyouts, and fire incidents.

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Every record we have

Full data for 150 Downey 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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