Free SF apartment background check

17 Montcalm St

Bernal Heights, SF 94110 5531012 2 units · 2 fl · 1902

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 Bernal Heights
At or below average
avg 1.2
1
FewerMore

This building has 1 novs (7y), at or below the Bernal Heights average of 1.2.

Rent & eviction protection

Is 17 Montcalm 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 1902
2 or more units
2 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
Units2
Floors2
Year built1902
Total area1,150 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusHome Owners
Blocklot5531012
Ownership

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

Owner name
Holden Joan
Mailing address
1219 S Van Ness Ave Apt 2 San Francisco CA 94110
Last sale
091696

Landlord portfolio

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

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Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

The property at 17 Montcalm Street in Bernal Heights is a two-unit, two-story multi-family residential building constructed in 1902, currently owned by Joan Holden. The building experienced several significant maintenance and compliance issues over the past two decades, with the most notable being a contentious deck installation at the ground level that led to multiple violations and complaints in 2020. This unauthorized deck construction resulted in a Notice of Violation (NOV) under San Francisco Building Code sections 103A and 102A.3, with concerns about guardrail safety. The issue was ultimately resolved in April 2022 through a permit obtained to replace the railing to code and install a one-hour fire-rated wall at the property line, though the deck's original permit history remains questionable.

Earlier building improvements include a substantial foundation repair project completed in 2004, costing $25,000. The property has also faced some plumbing challenges, notably a sewage backup issue in 2006 involving tree roots, though this was reportedly resolved relatively swiftly. Recent maintenance has been relatively minimal, with only routine reports of abandoned vehicles in the vicinity (most recently in 2023) and one isolated flooding incident in January 2023, which occurred on the street rather than the property itself. While there have been various municipal service calls recorded at this address, including street cleaning and fire department requests, these seem to relate more to general neighborhood issues rather than specific building concerns. The property's documented history shows a pattern of addressing code compliance issues, though the initial unauthorized deck construction raised significant safety and regulatory questions that took approximately 18 months to fully resolve.

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

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Risk rating

How 17 Montcalm 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 1276 buildings in this neighborhood, 1199 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 complaint rate, owner's portfolio

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

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 40.8%
Moderate concern 42.8%
Severe concern 16.4%
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

17 Montcalm St event timeline

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

2025
311 Request Feb 18
Garbage and debris
other loose garbage debris yard waste

See all 5 events

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

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Every record we have

Full data for 17 Montcalm St apartments

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

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