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531-533 Balboa St

Inner Richmond, SF 94118 1638031 4 units · 2 fl · 1908

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 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 531-533 Balboa 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 1908
2 or more units
4 units
Property type
Multi-Family Residential
Zoning
NC2
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
Units4
Floors2
Year built1908
Total area3,967 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot1638031
Ownership

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

Owner name
So Ling Lee Fmly Revoc Trus
Mailing address
So Ling Lee, Ttee 783 11Th Ave San Francisco CA 94118
Last sale
012699

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.

531 Balboa St, San Francisco, CA 94118
533 Balboa St, San Francisco, CA 94118
533 A Balboa St, San Francisco, CA 94118
Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

The two-story multi-family residential building at 531-533 Balboa Street in the Inner Richmond district, owned by the So Ling Lee Family Revocable Trust, was constructed in 1908 and contains four residential units plus a commercial storefront. The property has experienced several maintenance and safety issues over recent years, with the most concerning being a mold complaint filed in January 2022 that had not been resolved at the time of the inspection. The building has undergone various improvements and repairs since the 1980s, including window replacements, foundation strengthening, and dry rot repairs. Multiple violations were documented in a 2015 routine inspection, including the need for fire extinguishers, structural maintenance documentation, and various safety improvements, though these were marked as abated by January 2016.

The property has a history of other notable issues, including a vacant commercial storefront violation in 2018 and multiple building code violations in 2008 related to exterior doors, security, handrails, and egress obstruction, all of which were subsequently addressed. Recent concerns primarily center around exterior maintenance, with nine reports of garbage and debris issues documented between April and December 2024, including multiple instances of abandoned furniture, electronics, and overflowing city garbage cans. A sidewalk defect was also reported in December 2024. The building's commercial space is currently approved for use as a fortune teller service, permitted under the Planning Code Section 735 within the Inner Balboa Street Neighborhood Commercial District.

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

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Risk rating

How 531-533 Balboa 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
8th percentile

Out of 1723 buildings in this neighborhood, 1585 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
50%
No DBI
violation
50%
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.

DBI tenant complaints (past 7 years)

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

Property class: apartment building

Apartment building — this property classification influences expected violation rates.

12-Month severity forecast
No violation 45.3%
Moderate concern 35.5%
Severe concern 19.2%
Estimated probability of receiving a DBI Notice of Violation in the next 12 months at each severity level. Model: full_hgb_balanced.
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The story over time

531-533 Balboa St event timeline

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

2022
DBI Complaint Jan 24
Date last observed: 21-jan-22; time last observed: 5:45pm; floor: 3; exact location: main bldg; building type: residence/dwelling mold; ; additional information: we identified mold issues a month ago and it hasnt been fixed yet;
Housing Inspection Services

See all 1 events

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

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Every record we have

Full data for 531-533 Balboa 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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