Free SF apartment background check

3554 17Th St

Mission Dolores, SF 94110 3567020 10 units · 3 fl · 1916

This building has significantly more problems than most nearby buildings. A handful of unresolved issues. Worth a careful walk-through and pointed questions.

NOVs (7y) vs. neighborhood
Compared to a typical building in Mission Dolores
Above average
avg 2.9
25
FewerMore

This building has 25 novs (7y), above the Mission Dolores average of 2.9.

Rent & eviction protection

Is 3554 17Th 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 1916
2 or more units
10 units
Property type
Multi-Family Residential
Zoning
RM1
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
Units10
Floors3
Year built1916
Total area7,025 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusWelfare
Blocklot3567020
Ownership

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

Owner name
Bernal Heights Housing Corp
Mailing address
515 Cortland Ave San Francisco CA 94110
Last sale
070500

Landlord portfolio

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

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Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

The 10-unit, 3-story multi-family residential building at 3554 17th Street, currently owned by Bernal Heights Housing Corp, has experienced significant maintenance and safety issues in recent years. Most notably, there are active plumbing problems as of late 2024, with multiple complaints about water quality and sewer issues, including brown water discharge and mold problems. The building's elevator system has been a persistent concern, with multiple complaints about breakdowns and inadequate maintenance, particularly affecting disabled residents who rely on the lift for access. The building's soft-story compliance status is Non-Compliant (Tier 3), and there is an active violation regarding failure to comply with soft-story Tier III requirements as of 2019.

The property has undergone various safety-related improvements over the years, including fire alarm system upgrades, sprinkler system additions, and a soft-story upgrade attempt in 2017 (valued at $70,000). However, recent complaints indicate recurring infrastructure issues, particularly with plumbing and building systems. A significant cluster of building violations was documented in January 2019, including issues with emergency lights, self-close doors, and smoke alarms, though these were reportedly abated by March 2019. Historical records show the building has experienced multiple fire safety system activations, though none resulted in civilian injuries. Recent inspections have documented various maintenance issues, and the property is currently under scrutiny for both plumbing and elevator system problems as of 2024.

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

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Risk rating

How 3554 17Th 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
16th percentile

Out of 799 buildings in this neighborhood, 671 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
36%
No DBI
violation
64%
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.

Building size

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

Number of units

The number of units affects how the model reads complaint and violation totals — more units means more potential sources.

DBI tenant complaints (past 7 years)

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

12-Month severity forecast
No violation 20.8%
Moderate concern 68.5%
Severe concern 10.7%
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

3554 17Th St event timeline

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

2026
Electrical Permit Mar 24
Ref: witness test fee for e202603139595
Complete
Electrical PermitMar 13
Online electrical permit: 120 of buildings of 7-12 dwelling units. modification of an existing fire alarm system by upgrading the fire panel, update all existing devices to be compatible with new facp and provide low frequency sounders in all sleeping areas to meet 75db

See all 21 events

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

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Every record we have

Full data for 3554 17Th 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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