Free SF apartment background check

1280 15Th Ave

Inner Sunset, SF 94122 1736041 30 units · 3 fl · 1963

This building has far more open problems than almost any other in the neighborhood. Renters here report frequent, slow-to-fix problems. Get repair promises in writing and check the unit before signing.

NOVs (7y) vs. neighborhood
Compared to a typical building in Inner Sunset
Above average
avg 1.1
9
FewerMore

This building has 9 novs (7y), above the Inner Sunset average of 1.1.

Rent & eviction protection

Is 1280 15Th 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
30 units
Property type
Multi-Family Residential
Zoning
RH2
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
Units30
Floors3
Year built1963
Total area19,854 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot1736041
Ownership

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

Owner name
Franklin Tower Llc
Mailing address
Po Box 476 Hillsboro OR 97123
Last sale
042402

Landlord portfolio

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

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Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

The three-story, 30-unit apartment building at 1280 15th Ave in the Inner Sunset neighborhood, owned by Franklin Tower LLC, was constructed in 1963 and has undergone several significant maintenance and safety improvement projects over the years. Most notably, the building completed a mandatory soft-story retrofit in 2016 at a cost of $150,000, followed by various structural repairs including framing reconfigurations in 2017 and water damage remediation in 2019, which addressed issues previously documented in multiple resident complaints about water intrusion and mold in late 2016 and early 2017. The building has faced recurring maintenance challenges, including heating system failures in 2011 and 2019, electrical system updates in 2020, and plumbing issues including sewer line replacement in 2010 and backflow device replacement in 2020.

Recent concerns include an open fire violation from October 2023 regarding sleeping area requirements, while previous fire safety issues from 2021 related to exit maintenance and extinguishers were resolved by May 2022. The property has experienced intermittent plumbing and maintenance issues, with the most recent concerns involving sewage backup in December 2023 and various service requests in 2024 related to building maintenance and parking violations. Historical records show consistent attention to building envelope maintenance, including roofing work in 2002 and stucco repairs, though there have been documented challenges with exterior weatherproofing and paint management as noted in a 2018 complaint. The building's extensive permit history demonstrates ongoing efforts to maintain compliance with building codes and address resident concerns, though occasional violations and resident complaints suggest some persistent maintenance challenges.

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

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Risk rating

How 1280 15Th 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
2th percentile

Out of 1493 buildings in this neighborhood, 1463 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
21%
No DBI
violation
79%
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 9.9%
Moderate concern 38.3%
Severe concern 51.8%
Estimated probability of receiving a DBI Notice of Violation in the next 12 months at each severity level. Model: full_hgb_balanced.
Apartment reviews

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The story over time

1280 15Th Ave event timeline

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

2026
Electrical Permit May 21
Unit 105 . replace outdated sub panel in unit with a siemens sub panel.
Complete
Electrical PermitMay 21
Unit 109 . replace outdated sub panel in unit with a siemens sub panel.

See all 12 events

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

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Every record we have

Full data for 1280 15Th 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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