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684 48Th Ave

Outer Richmond, SF 94121 1593034 11 units · 3 fl · 1963

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 Outer Richmond
Above average
avg 0.7
5
FewerMore

This building has 5 novs (7y), above the Outer Richmond average of 0.7.

Rent & eviction protection

Is 684 48Th 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 1963
2 or more units
11 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
Units11
Floors3
Year built1963
Total area9,870 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot1593034
Ownership

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

Owner name
Kwok C Wong & Har Kwan Luk
Mailing address
Luk Har Kwan, Ttee 684 48Th Ave San Francisco CA 94121
Last sale
102904

Landlord portfolio

Other SF properties this owner holds, with risk grades for each.

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Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

The 11-unit, 3-story multi-family residential building at 684 48th Avenue in the Outer Richmond, owned by Kwok C Wong & Har Kwan Luk, was built in 1963 and has undergone several significant improvements and faced various challenges over the past decade. Most notably, the building completed a mandatory soft-story retrofit in 2017 at a cost of $80,000, and has also improved its structural integrity through various maintenance work, including skylight replacement in 2023, retaining wall repair in 2019, and fire escape maintenance in 2019. The building's systems have seen substantial upgrades, with the installation of a new 400-amp electrical service in 2016 and various plumbing improvements, including a complete water line replacement from the meter to the building in 2017.

Recent years have revealed continuing concerns regarding maintenance and safety. As of 2024, there are active complaints about insect/rodent issues and building maintenance, particularly regarding fire safety concerns such as smoke alarms and fire extinguishers. The building has faced multiple fire safety-related violations between 2019 and 2024, though most have been corrected. There were significant tenant complaints in 2019 regarding no heat and work being done without proper permits, along with concerns about asbestos removal. Multiple water-related issues have been documented, including sewer problems in 2015 and garage water intrusion in 2024. While the property owner has made various improvements, including the creation of an accessory dwelling unit in 2019 and multiple unit-specific renovations, the building has experienced recurring maintenance issues, particularly related to fire safety systems and plumbing.

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

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Risk rating

How 684 48Th 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
6th percentile

Out of 1040 buildings in this neighborhood, 978 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
38%
No DBI
violation
62%
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.

Neighborhood location

Precise location is a proxy for neighborhood-level risk — some SF blocks have systematically higher DBI activity.

12-Month severity forecast
No violation 13.2%
Moderate concern 34.9%
Severe concern 52.0%
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

684 48Th Ave event timeline

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

2026
DBI Complaint Jun 04
Date last observed: 03-jun-26; time last observed: 11am; exact location: main bldg; building type: residence/dwelling work w/o permit; work beyond scope of permit; work being done in dangerous manner; disabled acc: entrance; ; additional information: construction workers are blocking access to the building without a street permit and have erected construction in a manner that blocks access to the front door.;
Code Enforcement Section
Fire ComplaintJun 04
Blocked Exits

See all 21 events

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

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Every record we have

Full data for 684 48Th 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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