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4645 17Th St

Cole Valley/Parnassus Heights, SF 94117 1292020 2 units · 2 fl · 1946

This building has a higher-than-average number of open problems nearby. Few open issues; problems get fixed quickly. A reasonable bet for a smooth tenancy.

NOVs (7y) vs. neighborhood
Compared to a typical building in Cole Valley/Parnassus Heights
At or below average
avg 0.9
0
FewerMore

This building has 0 novs (7y), at or below the Cole Valley/Parnassus Heights average of 0.9.

Rent & eviction protection

Is 4645 17Th 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 1946
2 or more units
2 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
Units2
Floors2
Year built1946
Total area2,250 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot1292020
Ownership

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

Owner name
Howells James A & Kwei H
Mailing address
Po Box 190441 San Francisco CA 94119
Last sale
000000

Landlord portfolio

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

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Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

The two-unit multi-family residential building at 4645 17th Street, located in the Parnassus/Ashbury Heights neighborhood, has undergone several notable improvements and faced some recent challenges. Most significantly, in February 2024, permits were issued for replacing 16 street-facing windows with wood aluminum-clad windows ($64,400 project cost), demonstrating the owners' commitment to building maintenance. The property has seen various upgrades over its history, including alum siding installation on the rear wall in 1996 and reroofing in 1989.

Recent issues have primarily centered around the building's surroundings rather than structural concerns. There was one complaint about a tree blocking a window (filed August 2024), though this was noted as "not active." The property has experienced several municipal service calls in 2024, including reports of street defects (regarding planned pavement renovation work), parking enforcement issues, and a sector-wide graffiti incident. Of particular note, in August 2024, there were complaints about broken or defective doors/windows and construction noise, though the resolution statuses indicate these issues were transferred to appropriate departments for handling.

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

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Risk rating

How 4645 17Th 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
97th percentile

Out of 526 buildings in this neighborhood, 16 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
93%
No DBI
violation
7%
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 permits, owner's portfolio

Permits pulled across all of this owner's buildings over 7 years.

Neighborhood location

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

Building age

Older buildings tend to have more maintenance challenges; SF's pre-1906 earthquake housing stock carries distinct risk.

12-Month severity forecast
No violation 89.4%
Moderate concern 7.8%
Severe concern 2.8%
Estimated probability of receiving a DBI Notice of Violation in the next 12 months at each severity level. Model: full_hgb_balanced.
Apartment reviews

4645 17Th St apartment reviews

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The story over time

4645 17Th St event timeline

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

2026
311 Request May 07
Blocking driveway cite only
Parking Enforcement

See all 11 events

Full history back to 2024 — violations, complaints, permits, buyouts, and fire incidents.

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Every record we have

Full data for 4645 17Th 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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