San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu sued a Tenderloin landlord Thursday for allegedly letting tenants live in a fire-damaged building without power, electricity and other utilities, according to his office.

The filed lawsuit was against Golden Tiger LLC and its owner Adam La, the landlord of the six-story, 52-unit residential and commercial building at 155 Hyde St.

According to the City Attorney’s Office, La created a public nuisance that endangered safety at the property, which was deemed uninhabitable after a June 2025 fire. The lawsuit alleged that he violated various city and state laws and seeks to resolve the building’s persisting issues and recoup $650,000 in costs and penalties.

“Landlords have a responsibility to ensure that basic health and safety standards are met in their buildings.”

— San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu

“No one should be living in a red-tagged building or using camping stoves for heat,” Chiu said in a Thursday release. “Landlords have a responsibility to ensure that basic health and safety standards are met in their buildings. Following the fire, this landlord somehow thought it was acceptable for tenants to live in a fire-damaged building without heat or power. Our entire city family came together to support these tenants and keep the neighborhood safe. Now it’s time for this property owner to do his part.”

Allegations of safety hazards and violations

Nearly a year ago on June 11, 2025, a fire broke out, damaging the residential building’s electrical system and broiler. At the time of the blaze, at least 90 tenants lived in the building, most of them being immigrant families. The fire left residents without electricity, gas, hot water, a working elevator or fire alarms, creating a “hazardous situation for anyone in the building,” the city attorney’s release said.

Immediately after the fire, the city’s Department of Building Inspection issued several notices of violation and an abatement order, while the San Francisco Human Services Agency and American Red Cross temporarily relocated tenants.

However, just two months later in August 2025, a city task force inspection showed that La allowed residents to reoccupy the building without restored power or utilities. He allegedly supplied small butane-powered camping stoves to the tenants for cooking food and heating water. According to San Francisco Fire Department Chief Dean Crispen, this was a “significant hazard” that required notices of violation citing multiple fire code deficiencies and safety concerns.

The Fire Department required the property to be vacated within 96 hours and the relocation of 89 residents by September 2025. In total, San Francisco agencies issued nine notices of violation and eight abatement orders for various safety hazards that have yet to be resolved, according to Chiu.

Lawsuit filed and building listed for sale

While La was not immediately available for comment, the lawsuit comes at the same time as his listing of the building on various real estate websites. Estimated at $7.5 million, the listing says that a June 2025 fire damaged only the entryway, causing the building to lose power.

The listing also said, “the owner is working with PG&E to obtain permits to restore power, though plans have yet to be approved.”

Before the fire, the building was generating approximately $1.3 million in gross rent, according to the site, making it a “unique opportunity to reposition a stately corner building and significantly increase income.”

Whether the building gets sold or not, the lawsuit will proceed and is scheduled to go to trial this December.