Free SF apartment background check

159-163 Chattanooga St

Noe Valley, SF 94114 3630025 8 units · 4 fl · 1908

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 Noe Valley
At or below average
avg 1.2
0
FewerMore

This building has 0 novs (7y), at or below the Noe Valley average of 1.2.

Rent & eviction protection

Is 159-163 Chattanooga 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 1908
2 or more units
8 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
Units8
Floors4
Year built1908
Total area8,248 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot3630025
Ownership

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

Owner name
Muhawieh Isa J
Mailing address
416 Moraga Way Orinda CA 94563
Last sale
031121

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.

163 A Chattanooga St, San Francisco, CA 94114
163 Chattanooga St, San Francisco, CA 94114
178 Mersey St, San Francisco, CA 94114
161 A Chattanooga St, San Francisco, CA 94114
159 A Chattanooga St, San Francisco, CA 94114
176 Mersey St, San Francisco, CA 94114
161 Chattanooga St, San Francisco, CA 94114
159 Chattanooga St, San Francisco, CA 94114
Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

The three-story, six-unit multi-family residential building at 159-163 Chattanooga Street in Noe Valley, owned by Muhawieh Isa J, was constructed in 1908 and has undergone several significant renovations and faced multiple maintenance challenges over the past two decades. Most notably, the building experienced serious issues following a fire in September 2000 that resulted in extensive water damage and delayed repairs, particularly affecting electrical systems and heating infrastructure. In recent years, there have been recurring maintenance problems, including multiple tenant complaints in 2023 regarding a broken back door allowing rodent access and inadequate fire safety measures, such as a malfunctioning smoke detector and meter access issues. The building has completed its mandatory soft-story seismic retrofit under San Francisco's Tier 3 requirements, though the associated permits were filed as far back as 2019. Significant improvements were made between 2018-2019, including the installation of a new fire sprinkler system, complete electrical service upgrade to 400 amps, and the construction of additional dwelling units (ADUs) with new plumbing systems.

Recent tenant complaints from late 2023 suggest ongoing maintenance challenges, particularly regarding security and safety features, with reports of an unfinished door replacement and waterproofing issues. The building's history includes numerous violations from 2001 related to security, electrical, and water damage issues, all of which were abated by September 2001. Periodic routine inspections and multiple repair attempts have occurred over the years, with varying degrees of success. External to the building itself, there have been several reports of street cleaning and maintenance issues in the vicinity, as documented in 311 calls, though these are not directly related to the building's condition or management.

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

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Risk rating

How 159-163 Chattanooga 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 1879 buildings in this neighborhood, 1766 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
40%
No DBI
violation
60%
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.

DBI tenant complaints (past 7 years)

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

Neighborhood location

Precise location is a proxy for neighborhood-level risk — some SF blocks have systematically higher DBI activity.

12-Month severity forecast
No violation 25.2%
Moderate concern 60.0%
Severe concern 14.8%
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

159-163 Chattanooga St event timeline

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

2025
311 Request Aug 13
Not offensive
sidewalk structure

See all 9 events

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

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Every record we have

Full data for 159-163 Chattanooga 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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