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3655-3657 20Th St

Eureka Valley/Dolores Heights, SF 94110 3608064 5 units · 2 fl · 1905

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 Eureka Valley/Dolores Heights
At or below average
avg 1.3
1
FewerMore

This building has 1 novs (7y), at or below the Eureka Valley/Dolores Heights average of 1.3.

Rent & eviction protection

Is 3655-3657 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 1905
2 or more units
5 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
Units5
Floors2
Year built1905
Total area3,956 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot3608064
Ownership

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

Owner name
Knowles John F & Daphne
Mailing address
6000 Margarido Dr Oakland CA 94618
Last sale
052109

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.

3657 20th St, San Francisco, CA 94110
3655 20th St, San Francisco, CA 94110
Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

The property at 3655-3657 20th Street is a two-story, five-unit multi-family residential building constructed in 1905, currently owned by John F. & Daphne Knowles. The building has experienced several significant structural issues in recent years, most notably concerning its retaining walls. In November 2022, an emergency permit was issued for the removal of a 4-foot section of a 3-foot high retaining wall due to collapse risk, followed by September 2023 revisions to address additional problems with the rear yard retaining walls, including repairs to steps and the construction of new planters. An active Notice of Violation from September 2022 remains regarding deteriorating perimeter retaining walls.

The building's historical records show a cluster of violations in January 2002 related to safety systems, including fire escape maintenance, fire alarm systems, stairs repairs, and emergency egress requirements, all of which were abated by June 2002. More recent concerns include a 2011 complaint about a hall window repair, and multiple complaints about retaining wall conditions in 2022-2023. The property has also faced parking-related challenges, with numerous complaints about driveway blocking in 2024, though these are external to the building itself.

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

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Risk rating

How 3655-3657 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
6th percentile

Out of 1278 buildings in this neighborhood, 1201 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.

DBI tenant complaints (past 7 years)

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

Director's hearing rate, owner's portfolio

Per-building rate of director's hearings across the owner's portfolio.

12-Month severity forecast
No violation 28.8%
Moderate concern 44.9%
Severe concern 26.2%
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

3655-3657 20Th St event timeline

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

2025
311 Request Sep 24
Garbage and debris
refrigerator appliance

See all 7 events

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

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Every record we have

Full data for 3655-3657 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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