"Closed, no action" is the stat every renter should watch

We read 1,000 closure notes so you don't have to. The stamps aren't what they look like.

Vanessa Ramirez · Aug 30, 2026 · 6 min read

The 1200 block of Capp has a sidewalk crack that's been filed three times in two years. Twice it came back "closed." Once it came back "closed — no action." The crack is still there. I walked the block; it hasn't moved.

"Closed — no action" is the quietest status in the whole 311 system, and it is the one every renter should learn first. The data shows why: in the last 12 months, 31% of San Francisco property-condition requests that reached closure were closed with no action taken — no repair, no inspection finding, no referral. Just a stamp.

The city's own numbers separate this from a plain "closed." A case that gets work done closes as "completed." A case that gets inspected and found okay closes as "no action required." But the notes tell a different story than the stamps: of the 1,000 closure notes I read for this piece, 214 contained language like "unable to locate," "no access," or "referred" — none of which mean the problem is gone.

This matters most for renters because of what it does to the paper trail. When you report a habitability issue, the city's response becomes part of the property record. A "closed — no action" stamp can look, on a landlord's copy, like the city reviewed the issue and moved on. That's technically true. It is not the same as the issue being resolved — and a lease renewal is a bad time to discover the difference.

The rent board's own petition data (DataSF 6swy-cmkq) shows a related pattern: rent increase petitions citing repair conditions spiked 18% in the same window. The complaints aren't getting louder because buildings got better.

What you can do this week: when you file, ask for the case number. When it closes, check the status and the note — not just the stamp. If it says "no action" and the problem is real, re-file with the case number, the date, and a photo. The record is the only thing you control, así que guárdalo — so keep it.