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1521-1523 Lake St

Lake Street, SF 94118 1376048 2 units · 2 fl · 1914

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 1521-1523 Lake 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 1914
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 built1914
Total area2,924 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot1376048
Ownership

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

Owner name
Kong Frank L
Mailing address
18 Marvel Ct San Francisco CA 94121
Last sale
101518

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.

1523 Lake St, San Francisco, CA 94118
1521 Lake St, San Francisco, CA 94118
Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

The property at 1521-1523 Lake Street is a two-unit, two-story multi-family residential building constructed in 1914, currently owned by Frank L. Kong. The building's maintenance and upgrade history includes several completed permits between 1985 and 2003, such as a non-seismic upgrade, plaster wall repairs, kitchen modifications, and an underground electrical service conversion to 200A with two meters. However, recent concerns have emerged regarding potential unauthorized modifications, with two complaints filed in March 2023 alleging the presence of an unauthorized ground floor unit (1521A) and unauthorized construction work in the basement, with supporting video evidence of three advertised units. These complaints are of particular significance given their recent nature and implications for building code compliance.

The property's maintenance record shows various infrastructure issues over the years, including flooding problems in 2017, sidewalk defects in 2022, and two instances of driveway blocking by vehicles in 2018. A tree maintenance matter was documented and referenced the city's StreetTreeSF program in 2019. There was also an unauthorized construction complaint in 2004 regarding basement work, though this was eventually closed. The building has undergone several legitimate improvements over the decades, including basement alterations and bathroom modifications, and appears to have received proper electrical system upgrades with the 2003 conversion. The most pressing concerns currently revolve around the potential existence of unauthorized units and recent construction work, which have generated the latest complaints to Housing Inspection Services.

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

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Risk rating

How 1521-1523 Lake 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
14th percentile

Out of 660 buildings in this neighborhood, 568 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
59%
No DBI
violation
41%
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 complaint rate, owner's portfolio

Per-building complaint rate across the owner's portfolio.

Building age

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

DBI tenant complaints (past 7 years)

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

12-Month severity forecast
No violation 49.8%
Moderate concern 38.8%
Severe concern 11.4%
Estimated probability of receiving a DBI Notice of Violation in the next 12 months at each severity level. Model: full_hgb_balanced.
Apartment reviews

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The story over time

1521-1523 Lake St event timeline

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

2023
DBI Complaint Mar 08
Date last observed: 06-mar-23; time last observed: 12:15; identity of person performing the work: unknown; floor: 0; unit: a; exact location: garage; building type: residence/dwelling illegal unit; work w/o permit; work beyond scope of permit; illegal change of use; ; additional information: i would like to ammend a complaint i filed yesterday, with added information. here are three videos advertising the three seperate units: 1521a (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6hqfnyfrb0), 1521 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2caqqktreu), and 1523 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzjrj91pshs).;
Housing Inspection Services
DBI ComplaintMar 07
Date last observed: 05-mar-23; time last observed: 12:15; floor: 0; unit: a; exact location: garage; building type: residence/dwelling illegal unit; work w/o permit; illegal change of use; ; additional information: parcel 1376048 is listed as 2 units, however "rentalsinsf" aka jackie tom are advertising a 'newly remodeled' unit on the ground floor. there are two other units above, and i suspect 1521 a lake st is illegal and was built without permits based on my research.;

See all 2 events

Full history back to 2023 — violations, complaints, permits, buyouts, and fire incidents.

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Every record we have

Full data for 1521-1523 Lake 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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