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1156 South Van Ness Ave

Inner Mission, SF 94110 3637011 3 units · 2 fl · 1900

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 Inner Mission
Above average
avg 2.6
4
FewerMore

This building has 4 novs (7y), above the Inner Mission average of 2.6.

Rent & eviction protection

Is 1156 South Van Ness Ave 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 1900
2 or more units
3 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
Units3
Floors2
Year built1900
Total area3,520 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusHome Owners
Blocklot3637011
Ownership

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

Owner name
Vu, Thang M & Potter Jan R
Mailing address
825 Head St San Francisco CA 94132
Last sale
050500

Landlord portfolio

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

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Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

The three-unit, two-story multi-family residential building at 1156 South Van Ness Avenue in the Inner Mission, constructed in 1900 and currently owned by Thang M Vu and Jan R Potter, has experienced several maintenance and safety issues over the past few years, with the most significant events occurring between late 2020 and early 2021. The property faced multiple serious complaints from a tenant in unit B regarding unsafe stairways, heating system problems, electrical issues, and plumbing leaks during late 2020, which led to building code violations filed in February 2021 concerning stair repairs and structural maintenance compliance. These violations were addressed by April 2021, with the completion of repair work including replacement of exterior front stairs in March 2021 at a cost of $300.

The building's maintenance history shows recurring issues with stair safety and handrail compliance, with a similar violation recorded in 2009, and earlier repairs to front stairs and handrails documented in 1992 and 2021. Other significant maintenance work includes reroofing in 1989 and various permit requests for backyard improvements and plumbing modifications in the late 1980s. Periodic routine inspections have been conducted, with records showing some compliance issues in areas such as fire safety (fire extinguisher recharging in 2007) and handrail installation (2009) that were subsequently addressed. The building's exterior maintenance has been attended to with sidewalk repairs noted in 2004, and recent activity regarding a missing side sewer vent cover reported in March 2022 is still open as of the latest records. Recent 311 calls from 2019-2023 primarily relate to street cleaning and parking issues in the vicinity of the building, rather than the property itself.

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

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Risk rating

How 1156 South Van Ness Ave'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
17th percentile

Out of 2380 buildings in this neighborhood, 1975 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
39%
No DBI
violation
61%
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.

DBI tenant complaints (past 7 years)

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

DBI complaint rate, owner's portfolio

Per-building complaint rate across the owner's portfolio.

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 34.1%
Moderate concern 41.0%
Severe concern 24.9%
Estimated probability of receiving a DBI Notice of Violation in the next 12 months at each severity level. Model: full_hgb_balanced.
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The story over time

1156 South Van Ness Ave event timeline

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

2023
311 Request Oct 06
Request for service
scooters - request for service
311 RequestSep 28
Bulky items

See all 13 events

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

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Every record we have

Full data for 1156 South Van Ness Ave apartments

13 SF public datasets for this parcel — permits, violations, complaints, fire records, 311 calls, planning records, and buyouts.

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