Free SF apartment background check

190 21St Ave

Lake Street, SF 94121 1380022 8 units · 3 fl · 1960

This building has far more open problems than almost any other in the neighborhood. A handful of unresolved issues. Worth a careful walk-through and pointed questions.

NOVs (7y) vs. neighborhood
Compared to a typical building in Lake Street
Above average
avg 0.6
1
FewerMore

This building has 1 novs (7y), above the Lake Street average of 0.6.

Rent & eviction protection

Is 190 21St Ave 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 1960
2 or more units
8 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
Units8
Floors3
Year built1960
Total area6,045 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot1380022
Ownership

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

Owner name
Nisce Ramon M & Natividad P
Mailing address
Bank Of The Orient (attn M 233 Sansome St Fl 12 San Francisco CA 94104
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 three-story, 8-unit multi-family residential building at 190 21st Avenue, owned by Ramon M & Natividad P. Nisce, has experienced several significant maintenance and safety issues over the past decades, with particular attention required to its current non-compliant status as a Tier 3 soft-story building. The most recent fire safety violation was issued in July 2024 regarding the alarm system, with a required upgrade to the fire alarm system currently permitted at a cost of $45,600 to meet 2022 building codes, including smoke detectors, horn/strobes, and low-frequency sounders. The building underwent substantial work in 2018, including the conversion of 4th-level units and a soft-story retrofit, while historical inspection records show recurring water-related issues, with a notable cluster of violations in 2016 related to water damage, mold, and interior surface problems that were eventually abated in July 2017.

Recent years have shown persistent concern about building conditions, with tenant complaints in 2018 reporting plumbing issues and unhealthy water, along with concerns about windows and exposed fiberglass in common areas. The property has also been subject to multiple recent 311 calls regarding garbage and debris issues, particularly in late 2024. A tenant buyout occurred in September 2017 for $250,000, and there are current proposals under consideration to replace garage spaces with three new Accessory Dwelling Units, though this project is currently on hold. The building's maintenance history includes various improvements such as reroofing work completed in 2016, but the ongoing fire safety violation and historical soft-story compliance issues indicate areas requiring continued attention.

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

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Risk rating

How 190 21St Ave'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
7th percentile

Out of 660 buildings in this neighborhood, 614 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
44%
No DBI
violation
56%
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.

Director's hearing rate, owner's portfolio

Per-building rate of director's hearings across the owner's portfolio.

DBI tenant complaints (past 7 years)

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

12-Month severity forecast
No violation 27.6%
Moderate concern 61.0%
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

190 21St Ave event timeline

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

2026
Building Permit May 29
Revision to 202605131204: scope to state in kind removal and replacement of stucco 4 levels, street facing of north south and west sides of bldg. in kind dryrot repairs behind stucco. board replacements.
$1 · Issued
Electrical PermitMay 27
Witness test for electrical permit #e202605271164

See all 26 events

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

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Every record we have

Full data for 190 21St Ave 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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