Free SF apartment background check

404 20Th Ave

Central Richmond, SF 94121 1525040B 10 units · 3 fl · 1915

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 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 404 20Th 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 1915
2 or more units
10 units
Property type
Multi-Family Residential
Zoning
NC3
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
Units10
Floors3
Year built1915
Total area9,050 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot1525040B
Ownership

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

Owner name
Mak Family Living Trust
Mailing address
Ping Fun & Lai Yee Mak, Tte 115 Yerba Buena Ave San Francisco CA 94127
Last sale
122917

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.

5541 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94121
5545 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94121
404 20th Ave, San Francisco, CA 94121
5549 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94121
5547 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94121
Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

The 10-unit, 3-story multi-family residential building at 404 20th Avenue in the Central Richmond neighborhood, owned by the Mak Family Living Trust, was constructed in 1915 and has undergone significant updates in recent years to maintain safety and compliance standards. Most notably, in 2023, the building received a fire alarm system upgrade to comply with San Francisco Fire Code requirements, including the installation of low-frequency sounders in sleeping areas and a new fire panel. The property has maintained its soft-story compliance with Tier 4 status showing completed work. Other recent improvements include the installation of a new pizza oven and range with proper ventilation in 2018, and multiple plumbing upgrades including replacement of the main water supply line and water heater duct improvements.

The building has experienced some challenges, particularly in 2002 when it received multiple fire safety violations related to fire escapes, extinguishers, combustible storage, and sprinkler requirements, though these were all abated by May 2003. In recent years, there have been various complaints and service requests regarding sidewalk conditions and debris in front of the building, with multiple reports in early 2025. The commercial portion of the property has faced routine inspection issues, including several vacant storefront complaints between 2018-2019, and a 2022 complaint regarding an unpermitted awning installation. The building's fire safety record shows occasional alarm activations, one carbon monoxide incident, and two instances of smoke detector activation, though no significant fire incidents or civilian injuries have been reported. The property has also undergone various routine maintenance and safety improvements over the years, including guardrail repairs, seismic retrofitting, and electrical system updates.

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

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Risk rating

How 404 20Th 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
4th percentile

Out of 2250 buildings in this neighborhood, 2160 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
37%
No DBI
violation
63%
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.

DBI tenant complaints (past 7 years)

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

12-Month severity forecast
No violation 28.1%
Moderate concern 55.1%
Severe concern 16.8%
Estimated probability of receiving a DBI Notice of Violation in the next 12 months at each severity level. Model: full_hgb_balanced.
Apartment reviews

404 20Th Ave apartment reviews

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The story over time

404 20Th Ave event timeline

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

2026
311 Request May 27
Encampment
Encampment
311 RequestMay 25
311 service request

See all 15 events

Full history back to 2021 — violations, complaints, permits, buyouts, and fire incidents.

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Every record we have

Full data for 404 20Th 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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