Free SF apartment background check

229 Duncan St

Noe Valley, SF 94131 6600037D 4 units · 2 fl · 1953

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 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 229 Duncan 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 1953
2 or more units
4 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
Units4
Floors2
Year built1953
Total area3,238 sq ft
Property typeMulti-Family Residential
Tax statusNone
Blocklot6600037D
Ownership

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

Owner name
Tong Howard & Cindy
Mailing address
100 Westgate Dr San Francisco CA 94127
Last sale
050506

Landlord portfolio

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

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Augrented Insights
Initial analysis

The two-story multi-family residential building at 229 Duncan St in Noe Valley, owned by Howard & Cindy Tong, was constructed in 1953 and contains 4 units. The building's maintenance history includes a 2003 permit for installation of fiber cement siding shingles at a cost of $12,000, though this permit has since expired. A significant cluster of fire safety violations was documented in October 2010, including issues with fire proofing materials, fire extinguisher maintenance, smoke enclosure door hardware, combustible storage, and smoke detector installation—all of which were resolved by November 24, 2010 through a routine inspection process. More recent concerns include a 2021 complaint about construction noise after hours, though this was related to the adjacent property at 227 Duncan. The building has undergone several routine inspections over the years, including in 1999, 2009, and the aforementioned 2010 inspection.

Recent activity around the property (2020-2024) has primarily involved external issues such as parking violations, sidewalk blockages, and noise complaints, which are not directly related to the building's condition or safety systems. The property's most recent safety-related incident was documented as a cooking fire confined to a container, with no civilian injuries reported. The building's documented history suggests that while there have been periods requiring attention to fire safety systems, these issues have generally been addressed through proper channels, and there have been no recent pattern of similar violations. The property has maintained its multi-family residential classification throughout its history.

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

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Risk rating

How 229 Duncan 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
11th percentile

Out of 1879 buildings in this neighborhood, 1672 are predicted to be safer.

RiskiestSafest
Predicted 12-month outcome
49%
No DBI
violation
51%
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.

Estimated permit spend (past 7 years)

Dollar value of permits pulled at this address — large recent spend can signal deferred-maintenance catch-up.

12-Month severity forecast
No violation 40.8%
Moderate concern 33.2%
Severe concern 25.9%
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

229 Duncan St event timeline

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

2021
DBI Complaint Nov 02
Next door at 227 duncan --- private property construction noise after 8pm this has happened a couple times since they have been working (311 sr 14558913)
Building Inspection Division

See all 1 events

Full history back to 2021 — violations, complaints, permits, buyouts, and fire incidents.

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Every record we have

Full data for 229 Duncan 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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