How do I negotiate lower rent on an apartment?

Use StreetSmart to find building violations and landlord history, then leverage that data in rent negotiations. Buildings with open violations, pest issues, or maintenance problems give you leverage to negotiate 10-20% lower rent. Our free tool shows you exactly what issues exist so you can ask for fair pricing.

Can building violations help me lower my rent?

Yes! Open violations are powerful negotiation leverage. If a building has unresolved code violations, pest complaints, or safety issues, you can use this official data to negotiate lower rent or ask for repairs before signing. Many renters save $100-500/month using this approach.

Is StreetSmart free to use?

Yes, StreetSmart is 100% free with no credit card or sign-up required. You can instantly view building violations, landlord ratings, and use our rent negotiation tools for millions of apartments across 10 major US cities.

What cities does StreetSmart cover?

StreetSmart covers 10 major US cities: New York City (787K+ buildings), Los Angeles (2.2M+ buildings), Chicago (700K+ buildings), San Francisco (200K+ buildings), San Diego (330K+ buildings), Boston (183K+ buildings), Philadelphia (547K+ buildings), Seattle (172K+ buildings), Miami (500K+ buildings), and Austin (33K+ buildings).

How can I tell if my rent is too high?

Search your building on StreetSmart to see violation history, landlord ratings, and compare to similar buildings. If your building has significant issues but charges premium rent, you have grounds to negotiate. Our tools help you make data-backed requests for fair pricing.

Is Visitacion Valley or Excelsior better to live in?

Visitacion Valley and Excelsior are very similar in building quality, with average scores of 81 and 79 respectively. Your choice should depend on specific preferences like commute, lifestyle, and budget.

Which has more rent controlled apartments: Visitacion Valley or Excelsior?

Visitacion Valley has more likely rent controlled buildings (94%) compared to Excelsior (89%). SF rent control applies to buildings built before 1979.

StreetSmart/SF/Compare/Visitacion Valley vs Excelsior

Visitacion Valley vs Excelsior

Data-driven neighborhood comparison based on 737 buildings

Visitacion Valley

avg score (217 buildings)

Excelsior

avg score (520 buildings)

Side-by-Side Comparison

Metric

Visitacion Valley

Excelsior

⭐Average Score

81✓

📊Median Score

82.283✓

80.397

🏠Rent Controlled (Pre-1979)

94%✓

89%

🏛️Victorian/Edwardian (Pre-1945)

46%

67%✓

⚠️Avg Open Violations

0.3

0.2✓

🪳Avg Pest Violations

0.2✓

0.3

🔥Avg Heat Violations

0.2

🏢Total Buildings (2+ units)

217

520✓

🏆 Best in Visitacion Valley

See all Visitacion Valley buildings →

🏆 Best in Excelsior

See all Excelsior buildings →

📋 The Verdict

Visitacion Valley and Excelsior are very evenly matched in terms of overall building quality. Both neighborhoods have average scores within a few points of each other. Your decision should come down to other factors like commute time, lifestyle preferences, and specific buildings you find.

Choose Visitacion Valley if you want: