Free SF apartment background check

1252 4Th Ave

Inner Sunset, SF 94122 1752022 5 units · 1912

This building has significantly more problems than most nearby buildings. 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 Sunset
At or below average
avg 1.1
0
FewerMore

This building has 0 novs (7y), at or below the Inner Sunset average of 1.1.

Rent & eviction protection

Is 1252 4Th 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 1912
2 or more units
5 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
Units5
Floors
Year built1912
Total area6,696 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot1752022
Ownership

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

Owner name
Mak Chris & Tam Renee
Mailing address
1798 15th Ave San Francisco CA 94122
Last sale
080918

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.

239 Hugo St, San Francisco, CA 94122
253 Hugo St, San Francisco, CA 94122
241 Hugo St, San Francisco, CA 94122
243 Hugo St, San Francisco, CA 94122
1252 04th Ave, San Francisco, CA 94122
Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

The property at 1252 4th Avenue is a five-unit multi-family residential building located in the Inner Sunset neighborhood, owned by Chris Mak and Renee Tam. Built in 1912, this flat and store building has undergone several significant improvements over the past decade. Most notably, in 2018, a major conversion project transformed a ground-floor commercial space into a new dwelling unit, adding a bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen facilities, with structural work planned under a separate permit. The building has received regular maintenance and upgrades, including a complete reroofing in 2020 ($11,000), kitchen and bathroom remodels with modern fixtures and appliances in 2018 ($35,000), and replacement of heating systems with a new furnace in 2012 and console heater in 2014. Electrical systems have also been updated, including installation of new lighting, switches, and safety features such as smoke detectors during the 2018 renovations.

The property has maintained compliance with housing inspections, with records showing only routine inspections in 2003 and 2009 that were promptly resolved. Recent activity at the property has primarily involved external maintenance and neighborhood issues, including multiple parking enforcement actions for sidewalk parking and driveway blocking in 2024, though these do not directly reflect on the building's condition or management. There have been several reports of general cleaning issues on the street and sidewalk in 2024, most of which were either resolved or resulted in nothing being found. The most recent building-related activity was a parking enforcement citation in October 2024. Overall, the building's records indicate consistent maintenance and upgrading of systems, with no significant safety or compliance issues reported in recent years.

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

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Risk rating

How 1252 4Th 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
13th percentile

Out of 1493 buildings in this neighborhood, 1299 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
57%
No DBI
violation
43%
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 67.8%
Moderate concern 21.0%
Severe concern 11.2%
Estimated probability of receiving a DBI Notice of Violation in the next 12 months at each severity level. Model: full_hgb_balanced.
Apartment reviews

1252 4Th Ave apartment reviews

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The story over time

1252 4Th Ave event timeline

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

2026
311 Request May 29
Parking on sidewalk
Parking Enforcement
311 RequestMay 27
Garbage and debris

See all 7 events

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

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Every record we have

Full data for 1252 4Th 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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