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3809 20Th St

Eureka Valley/Dolores Heights, SF 94114 3606001 25 units · 3 fl · 1922

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 Eureka Valley/Dolores Heights
Above average
avg 1.3
11
FewerMore

This building has 11 novs (7y), above the Eureka Valley/Dolores Heights average of 1.3.

Rent & eviction protection

Is 3809 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 1922
2 or more units
25 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
Units25
Floors3
Year built1922
Total area17,552 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot3606001
Ownership

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

Owner name
Sf 3809 20Th Street Llc
Mailing address
Steven C. Thrower 1 Bush St Ste 900 San Francisco CA 94104
Last sale
020819

Landlord portfolio

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

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Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

The 25-unit apartment building at 3809 20th Street, owned by SF 3809 20th Street LLC, has undergone significant renovations and faced several maintenance challenges since its construction in 1922. Most recently, in 2025, Unit 304 received substantial improvements to its kitchen and bathroom, including washer and dryer installation, though this renovation triggered serious concerns about improper removal of asbestos and lead-based materials, according to complaints filed in December 2024. The building has shown consistent investment in unit improvements over the past several years, with multiple units receiving kitchen and bathroom upgrades along with laundry facility installations between 2018 and 2025, typically with permits totaling between $28,000 and $63,169.

The property has experienced various maintenance and safety issues, particularly in its fire safety systems. In 2023-2024, there were violations related to fire alarm maintenance and sleeping area requirements, with ongoing work to upgrade the fire alarm system to meet current codes. Past issues include multiple fire safety violations in 2016 regarding fire proofing, emergency lighting, and other fire-related concerns, all of which were abated. The building's history also includes some concerning incidents, such as a serious water and sewage leak in the garage in 2021, persistent mold issues in 2018, and a significant tenant buyout of $30,000 in October 2020. The property has maintained its basic safety requirements, being classified as Tier 2 soft-story compliant with work completed and a Certificate of Final Completion issued. Recent 311 calls have primarily concerned external factors like debris, graffiti, and lighting issues around the building's perimeter, rather than internal maintenance problems.

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

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Risk rating

How 3809 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
5th percentile

Out of 1278 buildings in this neighborhood, 1214 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
25%
No DBI
violation
75%
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 21.4%
Moderate concern 48.0%
Severe concern 30.6%
Estimated probability of receiving a DBI Notice of Violation in the next 12 months at each severity level. Model: full_hgb_balanced.
Apartment reviews

3809 20Th St apartment reviews

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On the map

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The story over time

3809 20Th St event timeline

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

2026
311 Request May 22
Not offensive
signal box
311 RequestMay 22
Offensive

See all 35 events

Full history back to 2019 — violations, complaints, permits, buyouts, and fire incidents.

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Every record we have

Full data for 3809 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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