Free SF apartment background check

588-596 28Th Ave

Central Richmond, SF 94121 1517019 5 units · 3 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 Central Richmond
At or below average
avg 0.5
0
FewerMore

This building has 0 novs (7y), at or below the Central Richmond average of 0.5.

Rent & eviction protection

Is 588-596 28Th 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 1923
2 or more units
5 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
Units5
Floors3
Year built1923
Total area5,860 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot1517019
Ownership

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

Owner name
Chin Peter & Lai Susan
Mailing address
318 Tara St San Francisco CA 94112
Last sale
053117

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.

588 28th Ave, San Francisco, CA 94121
596 28th Ave, San Francisco, CA 94121
592 28th Ave, San Francisco, CA 94121
Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

The three-story, five-unit apartment building at 588-596 28th Avenue in San Francisco's Central Richmond neighborhood, owned by Peter Chin and Susan Lai, has undergone several significant safety improvements since its construction in 1923. Most notably, the building completed a mandatory seismic retrofit in 2018, which included the installation of a Ufer ground system, following a violation notice in late 2017. The property has maintained good overall safety compliance, with no active building violations since 2000, when issues related to fire safety equipment and fire-proofing materials were resolved within three weeks. Historical records from 2008 show a completed resolution of egress obstruction and fire extinguisher compliance issues.

Recent maintenance and compliance activities include multiple street space permits over the years, a reroofing project completed in 2013, and no active housing complaints on file for several years. The building's fire safety record shows three incidents between 2020-2022, all of which were either false alarms or non-injury electrical-related issues, and most importantly, all building systems are now retrofitted to meet current earthquake safety standards (classified as Soft Story Tier 3 with work completed and CFC issued). Recent 311 calls regarding the property (from 2022-2024) have primarily concerned external issues such as street cleaning, parking enforcement, and debris management, which are municipal service matters rather than building-specific concerns. The most recent building permit activity was a street space use permit issued in 2020.

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

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Risk rating

How 588-596 28Th 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
25th percentile

Out of 2250 buildings in this neighborhood, 1688 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
76%
No DBI
violation
24%
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.

Estimated permit spend (past 7 years)

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

12-Month severity forecast
No violation 62.1%
Moderate concern 24.7%
Severe concern 13.2%
Estimated probability of receiving a DBI Notice of Violation in the next 12 months at each severity level. Model: full_hgb_balanced.
Apartment reviews

588-596 28Th Ave apartment reviews

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The story over time

588-596 28Th Ave event timeline

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

2025
311 Request Oct 16
Other reallocate
Noise
DBI ComplaintJul 16
Date last observed: 10-jul-25; time last observed: 1411; identity of person performing the work: na; floor: 1st; unit: 596; exact location: main bldg; building type: residence/dwelling plumbing leak; mold; leaking ceiling; water entering building; ; additional information: many issues within the building including exterior walls, front gate, leaking windows, mold, leaking pipes and walls, water damage;

See all 5 events

Full history back to 2020 — violations, complaints, permits, buyouts, and fire incidents.

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Every record we have

Full data for 588-596 28Th 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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