Free SF apartment background check

131 Balboa St

Inner Richmond, SF 94118 1642051 4 units · 3 fl · 1984

This building has a higher-than-average number of open problems nearby. 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 131 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 1984
2 or more units
4 units
Property type
Multi-Family Residential
Zoning
RM2
Not rent-controlled. Buildings constructed after 1978 are generally exempt from SF rent increase limits under the Costa-Hawkins Act.

Based on SF Assessor records. Not legal advice — confirm with the SF Rent Board.

Building characteristics
Units4
Floors3
Year built1984
Total area4,257 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot1642051
Ownership

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

Owner name
Lee Stella W
Mailing address
85 Forest Side Ave San Francisco CA 94127
Last sale
101002

Landlord portfolio

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

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Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

131 Balboa Street is a three-story, four-unit multi-family residential building located in San Francisco's Inner Richmond neighborhood. Constructed in 1984, the building has undergone several significant safety and maintenance upgrades over its lifetime. Most notably, there is currently a permit filed (202404099656) for a comprehensive fire alarm system upgrade, including the installation of new monitoring equipment and safety features to comply with the latest fire codes. The building's historical records show completion of essential safety installations at the time of construction, including sprinklers and fire alarm systems, though some early permits such as a 1984 demolition and light court work are marked as expired.

The property has experienced some safety concerns in the past, particularly during a series of violations in September 2003 related to fire safety, including egress obstructions, combustible material storage in the garage, and issues with gas utility shutoff tools. All these violations were abated by September 29, 2003. Since then, there have been routine safety inspections (most recently in 2016) with no active violations on record. The building has had three minor water-related incidents reported to the fire department, but none resulted in civilian injuries. Recent activity at the property primarily consists of external maintenance issues such as sidewalk cleaning and parking enforcement matters, with multiple citations issued for driveway blocking between 2022-2024, suggesting ongoing challenges with street parking compliance in the area.

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

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Risk rating

How 131 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
92th percentile

Out of 1723 buildings in this neighborhood, 138 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
91%
No DBI
violation
9%
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.

Neighborhood location

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

Building permits, owner's portfolio

Permits pulled across all of this owner's buildings over 7 years.

12-Month severity forecast
No violation 84.9%
Moderate concern 7.5%
Severe concern 7.7%
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

131 Balboa St event timeline

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

2024
Building Permit Apr 09
Upgrade existing fire alarm system in partly sprinklered building to comply w/2022 cbc/cfc, nfpa 72 and sffc sec 1103.7.6.1. install new facu with new radio to monitor system. smokes in common areas and pulls each level and exit; horn/strobes in common areas and install low frequency sounders inside
$15,000 · Issued

See all 1 events

Full history back to 2024 — violations, complaints, permits, buyouts, and fire incidents.

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Every record we have

Full data for 131 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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