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5642-5644 California St

Lake Street, SF 94121 1378018 4 units · 2 fl · 1923

This building has more problems than most buildings in this neighborhood. 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 5642-5644 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 1923
2 or more units
4 units
Property type
Multi-Family Residential
Zoning
RM1
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
Units4
Floors2
Year built1923
Total area3,154 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot1378018
Ownership

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

Owner name
Louie Eric
Mailing address
945 Taraval St # 182 San Francisco CA 94116
Last sale
050516

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.

5642 California St, San Francisco, CA 94121
5644 California St, San Francisco, CA 94121
Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

The 5642-5644 California Street property is a two-story, four-unit multi-family residential building constructed in 1923, currently owned by Eric Louie. The building has experienced several significant events, most notably a structure fire in October 2013 that rendered it unsafe and required major repairs costing $247,000 to address fire damage, including rear stair repair and kitchen cabinet replacement. Following the fire, substantial renovations were undertaken, including the installation of new central furnaces for all units (2014), complete rewiring of units 1, 2, 3, and 4 with an upgraded 400-amp service (2014), and bathroom & kitchen plumbing work (2014). The property has faced multiple compliance issues, most seriously regarding an unauthorized fifth unit behind the garage that was removed in 2003, which had triggered numerous safety violations including inadequate fire safety features and ventilation problems.

Recent concerns have focused on construction compliance, particularly regarding the rear deck replacement work in 2015-2016, which generated complaints about work being performed beyond the permitted scope. The building underwent significant improvements between 2013-2015, including structural repairs, electrical upgrades, and plumbing improvements, though several permits from this period show as expired. Historical violations from 2003 included plumbing and electrical issues, safety concerns such as inadequate smoke detectors and fire extinguishers, and sanitation problems, though these were all marked as abated within two months. The most recent activities recorded at the property (2020-2023) primarily involve typical urban maintenance issues such as street cleaning and parking enforcement, with no major building-related complaints or violations noted in the past several years.

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

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Risk rating

How 5642-5644 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
21th percentile

Out of 660 buildings in this neighborhood, 521 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
71%
No DBI
violation
29%
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.

Estimated permit spend (past 7 years)

Dollar value of permits pulled at this address — large recent spend can signal deferred-maintenance catch-up.

DBI complaint rate, owner's portfolio

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

12-Month severity forecast
No violation 63.9%
Moderate concern 21.9%
Severe concern 14.1%
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

5642-5644 California St event timeline

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

2025
311 Request Sep 10
Sidewalk defect
collapsed sidewalk

See all 1 events

Full history back to 2025 — violations, complaints, permits, buyouts, and fire incidents.

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Every record we have

Full data for 5642-5644 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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