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421-435 Buena Vista Ave

Buena Vista Park/Ashbury Heights, SF 94117 2607067 11 units · 2 fl · 1942

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 Buena Vista Park/Ashbury Heights
At or below average
avg 1.6
0
FewerMore

This building has 0 novs (7y), at or below the Buena Vista Park/Ashbury Heights average of 1.6.

Rent & eviction protection

Is 421-435 Buena Vista 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 1942
2 or more units
11 units
Property type
Multi-Family Residential
Zoning
RH3
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
Floors2
Year built1942
Total area8,000 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusHome Owners
Blocklot2607067
Ownership

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

Owner name
Dawson Timothy & Kendrick C
Mailing address
Kevin Kneafsey Po Box 330395 San Francisco CA 94133
Last sale
032421

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.

433 Buena Vista Ave East, San Francisco, CA 94117
429 A Buena Vista Ave East, San Francisco, CA 94117
427 A Buena Vista Ave East, San Francisco, CA 94117
431 Buena Vista Ave East, San Francisco, CA 94117
435 Buena Vista Ave East, San Francisco, CA 94117
427 Buena Vista Ave East, San Francisco, CA 94117
433 A Buena Vista Ave East, San Francisco, CA 94117
429 Buena Vista Ave East, San Francisco, CA 94117
425 Buena Vista Ave East, San Francisco, CA 94117
431 A Buena Vista Ave East, San Francisco, CA 94117
421 Buena Vista Ave East, San Francisco, CA 94117
423 Buena Vista Ave East, San Francisco, CA 94117
Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

This 11-unit, single-story multi-family residential building located at 421-435 Buena Vista Avenue in the Buena Vista Park neighborhood was built in 1942 and has undergone several significant improvements and maintenance work over the past few years. Most notably, the building has been actively maintained with recent work including the installation of a mini-split system in 2025 (cost: $9,000), repair of a collapsed facade and awning due to dry rot in 2023 ($4,250), and multiple reroofing projects between 2019-2021 totaling over $60,000. The property has also seen substantial system upgrades, including electrical improvements with the installation of solar PV, EV charger, and 100-amp service upgrade in 2021, along with plumbing upgrades including replacement of galvanized water lines with copper and installation of a tankless water heater in 2019.

The building has a history of addressing various maintenance and compliance issues, including a complete soft-story retrofit for seismic safety, which is now complete. Past violations from 2002 related to fire safety equipment and other building maintenance issues were resolved promptly, and there was a deck replacement compliance issue in 2004 that was also addressed. Recent complaints and service calls have primarily involved external issues such as graffiti removal and park-related concerns, rather than structural or safety problems with the building itself. The property has undergone several cosmetic and functional improvements over the years, including kitchen and bathroom remodels, window replacements, and the conversion of one bedroom into two compliant bedrooms with proper egress, demonstrating ongoing investment in maintaining and upgrading the building's systems and living spaces.

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

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Risk rating

How 421-435 Buena Vista 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 351 buildings in this neighborhood, 330 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
32%
No DBI
violation
68%
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.

DBI tenant complaints (past 7 years)

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

12-Month severity forecast
No violation 32.5%
Moderate concern 46.5%
Severe concern 21.0%
Estimated probability of receiving a DBI Notice of Violation in the next 12 months at each severity level. Model: full_hgb_balanced.
Apartment reviews

421-435 Buena Vista Ave apartment reviews

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The story over time

421-435 Buena Vista Ave event timeline

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

2025
Planning Record Mar 14
3/14/2025: approved: replacing glass windscreen with wood and metal on the roof. [email protected]
Closed
Building PermitFeb 28
Scope of work includes installing a new wood guardrail at the (e) roof deck after the collapse of a glass windscreen

See all 19 events

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

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Every record we have

Full data for 421-435 Buena Vista Ave apartments

13 SF public datasets for this parcel — permits, violations, complaints, fire records, 311 calls, planning records, and buyouts.

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