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4801 California St

Inner Richmond, SF 94118 1423001 6 units · 3 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 Inner Richmond
At or below average
avg 0.9
0
FewerMore

This building has 0 novs (7y), at or below the Inner Richmond average of 0.9.

Rent & eviction protection

Is 4801 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 1914
2 or more units
6 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
Units6
Floors3
Year built1914
Total area5,550 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot1423001
Ownership

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

Owner name
Louie Family Trust
Mailing address
Quon C & Jennie C Louie Tru 321 Fontana Dr Santa Clara CA 95051
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 multi-family residential building at 4801 California Street in the Inner Richmond, owned by the Louie Family Trust, has undergone several significant safety upgrades in recent years. Most notably, in 2023 the building completed fire alarm system upgrades to comply with San Francisco Fire Code requirements, including the installation of low-frequency sounders in sleeping areas and updating all existing devices (cost: $18,000). The building is also compliant with soft-story retrofit requirements (Tier 3) following a $50,000 seismic retrofit completed in 2014. Recent fire safety concerns were addressed in September 2024 when a violation was issued regarding the alarm system maintenance, though this was subsequently abated.

The building has a history of maintenance and safety improvements dating back to the 1980s, including reroofing in 1995 and re-stuccoing in 1989, with more recent plumbing work including a sewer line repair and replacement in 2010. While there was a cluster of building violations in 2003 related to fire safety, security, and plumbing/electrical issues, these were all abated by August 2003. A complaint from 2012 reported mold issues and electrical problems, though these were marked as not active within a few months. The property has experienced multiple fire alarm system activations and false alarms over the years, but notably, there have been no recorded civilian injuries from any incidents. Recently, there have been recurring issues with garbage and debris management on the property, with multiple Recology calls in 2025 reporting overflowing city garbage cans.

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

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Risk rating

How 4801 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
18th percentile

Out of 1723 buildings in this neighborhood, 1413 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
66%
No DBI
violation
34%
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.

Construction spend, owner's portfolio

Estimated permit value across all of this owner's buildings.

12-Month severity forecast
No violation 67.3%
Moderate concern 24.1%
Severe concern 8.6%
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

4801 California St event timeline

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

2026
311 Request Apr 20
Garbage and debris
furniture
311 RequestApr 09
Garbage and debris

See all 8 events

Full history back to 2022 — violations, complaints, permits, buyouts, and fire incidents.

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Every record we have

Full data for 4801 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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