Free SF apartment background check

5010 California St

Lake Street, SF 94118 1372020 6 units · 3 fl · 1926

This building has significantly more problems than most nearby buildings. Few open issues; problems get fixed quickly. A reasonable bet for a smooth tenancy.

NOVs (7y) vs. neighborhood
Compared to a typical building in Lake Street
At or below average
avg 0.6
0
FewerMore

This building has 0 novs (7y), at or below the Lake Street average of 0.6.

Rent & eviction protection

Is 5010 California 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 1926
2 or more units
6 units
Property type
Multi-Family Residential
Zoning
RM3
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
Units6
Floors3
Year built1926
Total area5,895 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot1372020
Ownership

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

Owner name
Sang & Wai Fong Tom 1990 Re
Mailing address
Sang & Wai Fong Tom, Truste 454 22Nd Ave Apt 4 San Francisco CA 94121
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 6-unit, 3-story apartment building at 5010 California Street in the Lake-Presidio neighborhood, owned by Sang & Wai Fong Tom 1990 Re, was constructed in 1926 and has undergone several significant improvements over the years. Most notably, in 2014, the building completed mandatory soft-story retrofitting work valued at $29,850, which included the installation of plywood walls in the basement, a new steel beam, and new footings, along with the relocation and proper installation of two 50-gallon gas water heaters in the garage. The building has a documented history of fire safety issues, particularly in 2003 when multiple violations were identified regarding the fire escape drop ladder maintenance and central alarm system functionality, though all these violations were resolved by July 2003. Other important maintenance work includes roof replacement in 2008 ($7,000) and window replacements in 2005 (units 1, 3 & 5). The building's recent history shows relatively few internal issues, with only routine inspections recorded in 1996, 2003, and 2008, all of which were promptly resolved.

The property has experienced several exterior issues noted through 311 calls, including illegal postings (2020), graffiti (2018), and loose garbage (2020), though these were primarily related to building surroundings and not internal conditions. The most recent concerns include a noise complaint from November 2023 and a parking enforcement call from January 2025, neither of which directly impacts building safety or habitability. The building's soft-story retrofit was completed and certified, placing it in Tier 3 status with "Work Complete, CFC Issued," indicating compliance with San Francisco's earthquake safety requirements. The property has maintained its active status under the Re new ownership since 1990, with no recent building or fire violations reported, suggesting improved maintenance standards in recent years.

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

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Risk rating

How 5010 California 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
12th percentile

Out of 660 buildings in this neighborhood, 581 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
57%
No DBI
violation
43%
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.

Neighborhood location

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

12-Month severity forecast
No violation 61.7%
Moderate concern 26.4%
Severe concern 11.9%
Estimated probability of receiving a DBI Notice of Violation in the next 12 months at each severity level. Model: full_hgb_balanced.
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The story over time

5010 California St event timeline

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

No dated public records on file yet.
Every record we have

Full data for 5010 California 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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