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3939 20Th St

Eureka Valley/Dolores Heights, SF 94114 3605072 10 units · 2 fl · 1959

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 Eureka Valley/Dolores Heights
Above average
avg 1.3
9
FewerMore

This building has 9 novs (7y), above the Eureka Valley/Dolores Heights average of 1.3.

Rent & eviction protection

Is 3939 20Th 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 1959
2 or more units
10 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
Units10
Floors2
Year built1959
Total area7,072 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot3605072
Ownership

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

Owner name
Swig Louise
Mailing address
34 Castro St San Francisco CA 94114
Last sale
082411

Landlord portfolio

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

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Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

The 10-unit, 2-story multi-family residential building at 3939 20th Street, owned by Swig Louise and constructed in 1959, has undergone several significant improvements and faced multiple challenges over its history. Most notably, the building completed a mandatory soft-story seismic upgrade in 2014 at a cost of $60,000, achieving Tier 3 status with Certificate of Final Completion (CFC) issued. Recent maintenance work includes a reroofing project completed in 2017, although this work initially generated complaints about unpermitted construction and dust issues from neighbors. The building has experienced periodic maintenance and safety inspections, with the most recent complaint filed in December 2022 addressing multiple issues such as peeling paint, improper storage, and various building code violations, which were subsequently abated by March 2023. Fire safety has been a recurring focus, with recent inspections in 2024 and 2022 noting issues with fire extinguishers and alarm systems respectively, though both were promptly corrected. Historical records show various maintenance activities including termite work in 1991, pest damage repair, and the installation of a steel roof fence in 2004 to prevent roof access. The property has faced occasional enforcement actions, including multiple building violations in 2004 related to fire safety and emergency preparedness, all of which were abated. Recent 311 calls suggest ongoing attention to external conditions, with reports of sidewalk defects, graffiti, and hazardous materials being addressed by city departments over the past three years.

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

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Risk rating

How 3939 20Th 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
13th percentile

Out of 1278 buildings in this neighborhood, 1112 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
48%
No DBI
violation
52%
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.

NOV rate, owner's portfolio

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

12-Month severity forecast
No violation 30.5%
Moderate concern 38.1%
Severe concern 31.4%
Estimated probability of receiving a DBI Notice of Violation in the next 12 months at each severity level. Model: full_hgb_balanced.
Apartment reviews

3939 20Th St apartment reviews

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The story over time

3939 20Th St event timeline

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

2024
Fire Complaint Feb 29
Extinguishers
Condition Corrected

See all 8 events

Full history back to 2022 — violations, complaints, permits, buyouts, and fire incidents.

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Every record we have

Full data for 3939 20Th 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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