After years of alleged neglect, their Mission building caught fire. Will suing help them return?

"The Victorian-style, six-unit building had numerous reported code violations - faulty smoke detectors, no heat, blocked fire exits, unsanitary conditions - and last year a resident in the building was reported to the police for wielding a machete in public. Months later, that same man got into a fight inside the building. Next his curtains caught fire. Then, on May 3, 2025, another fire broke out in his apartment."

"Now, three of them are suing, hoping to prod the landlord of 2782 Folsom St. into getting a move on with repairs. The tenants also want compensation for Duarte and the other tenants for what they say are years of negligence that resulted in them being forced to leave their homes. "I've lost all my belongings because they never took care of us or the building," said Duarte, who is living in a friend's basement in the Bayview, in Spanish."

Gloria Duarte, 65, lived at 24th and Folsom for 33 years in a Victorian-style, six-unit building with repeated code violations, including faulty smoke detectors, no heat, blocked fire exits, and unsanitary conditions. A resident previously reported for wielding a machete later fought inside the building and set curtains on fire; on May 3, 2025, a separate fire in the same resident's apartment caused smoke and water damage that rendered the entire building uninhabitable. All four tenants were displaced. Three tenants sued the landlord of 2782 Folsom St. seeking expedited repairs and compensation for years of alleged negligence. Local agencies lack data on how many tenants return after fires.

Read at Mission Local