Free SF apartment background check

555 Buena Vista Ave

Buena Vista Park/Ashbury Heights, SF 94117 2616050 41 units · 1929

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 Buena Vista Park/Ashbury Heights
Above average
avg 1.6
6
FewerMore

This building has 6 novs (7y), above the Buena Vista Park/Ashbury Heights average of 1.6.

Rent & eviction protection

Is 555 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 1929
2 or more units
41 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
Units41
Floors
Year built1929
Total area39,040 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot2616050
Ownership

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

Owner name
Sf Multifamily Jv Ii Proper
Mailing address
49 Powell St Fl 4 San Francisco CA 94102
Last sale
040319

Landlord portfolio

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

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Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

The 41-unit, 1929 multi-family residential building at 555 Buena Vista Avenue, currently managed by SF Multifamily JV II Proper, has undergone extensive renovation work over the past few years, focusing primarily on unit upgrades. Between 2022 and 2024, multiple apartments have received significant improvements, including kitchen and bathroom renovations, new appliances, and electrical upgrades, with recent work including a kitchen renovation in Unit #105 (April 2024, $20,000) and a comprehensive plumbing upgrade replacing three steam boilers (November 2023). However, the building has faced serious maintenance challenges, particularly in 2023-2024, with multiple complaints regarding heating issues, including a complete heat outage affecting all floors in September 2023, as well as persistent water infiltration and mold problems reported in early 2024. The property has an established history of fire safety concerns, with multiple violations recorded between 2016 and 2024 relating to sprinkler systems, alarm systems, and other safety equipment, though most have been addressed through corrective actions.

Recent building maintenance issues have raised significant concerns about tenant comfort and safety. Between late 2023 and 2024, there have been multiple complaints regarding mold, water leaks, and heating problems, including a notable incident of heating failure lasting over nine days in September 2023. The building's infrastructure work has included necessary updates to fire alarm systems and electrical panels, with a current open violation regarding the highrise sprinkler system compliance schedule issued in December 2024. While the property has seen substantial investment in unit improvements and systems upgrades totaling over $500,000 in the past two years, the recurring nature of some maintenance issues suggests ongoing challenges in fully addressing building-wide systems and individual unit needs. The building's management has generally responded to violations and complaints, with many issues being marked as resolved through corrective action, though some recent complaints remain under investigation or pending resolution.

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

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Risk rating

How 555 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
0th percentile

Out of 351 buildings in this neighborhood, 351 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
8%
No DBI
violation
92%
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.

NOV rate, owner's portfolio

Per-building NOV rate across everything this owner manages — high rates signal pattern neglect.

Building size

Total floor area — a proxy for building scale and the number of systems (plumbing, electrical, HVAC) that can fail.

12-Month severity forecast
No violation 5.4%
Moderate concern 48.1%
Severe concern 46.4%
Estimated probability of receiving a DBI Notice of Violation in the next 12 months at each severity level. Model: full_hgb_balanced.
Apartment reviews

555 Buena Vista Ave apartment reviews

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The story over time

555 Buena Vista Ave event timeline

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

2026
DBI Complaint May 11
Complaint generated routine inspection initiated by complaint number 202654828
Housing Inspection Services
DBI ComplaintApr 21
Date last observed: 12-apr-26; time last observed: 12:07 pm; floor: 6; unit: 603; exact location: main bldg; building type: residence/dwelling water intrusion; work beyond scope of permit; structural problems; work being done in dangerous manner; ; additional information: my ceiling caved in due to the heavy rains. the building is poorly maintained. the ceiling in unit 503 caved in 2 months ago. the building changed owners about 7 years ago. ever since then, the new owners have been renovating units. the are tearing down walls and restructuring the units. they are banging on the building constantly. it is a 100 year old building. i'm concerned that they are doing structural damage to the building. ;

See all 36 events

Full history back to 2021 — violations, complaints, permits, buyouts, and fire incidents.

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Every record we have

Full data for 555 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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Cancel anytime · Data sourced from SF Open Data, DBI, SFFD, SF Rent Board & Planning

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