BLOK

What BLOK does

Blok Living is a privately held, vertically integrated apartment ownership and management firm operating exclusively in the San Francisco Bay Area. The company owns and operates a portfolio of 120+ rental units across approximately 13 neighborhoods — 12 in San Francisco (Hayes Valley, Lower Haight, Mission Dolores, Mission District, Twin Peaks, Panhandle, Noe Valley, Pacific Heights, Potrero Hill, Duboce Triangle, Nob Hill, and additional SF submarkets) and one in Berkeley near UC Berkeley. The firm markets and leases directly to residential consumers through its own website and an AppFolio-powered stack that handles online rental applications, background and credit checks, digital lease execution, tenant portal access for rent payment and maintenance requests, and ongoing resident communication. There is no third-party distribution or external property management; all leasing and property management is performed in-house.

Operationally, Blok Living is structured under the Blok Capital umbrella — a vertically integrated real estate platform founded by Ari Shpanya that combines acquisitions, in-house construction and renovation, project management, leasing, and property management under a single team of roughly six leaders. The in-house construction capability is a stated cost advantage, executing renovations at approximately 35% below market contractor rates, while the operations layer emphasizes responsive maintenance, transparent pricing, no hidden fees, and a 10-15 minute online application process. Monoline revenue is rental income from owned apartment units on monthly subscription-like terms; pricing varies by unit, bedroom count, neighborhood, and market conditions, and is quote-based rather than publicly listed. The customer base is geographically segmented residential renters in the Bay Area, with no enterprise or institutional tenant relationships.

Name

BLOK

Legal name

Blok Living

Website

https://blokliving.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Blok Living is a privately held, vertically integrated apartment owner-operator in the San Francisco Bay Area, managing 120+ rental units across 13 neighborhoods using AppFolio-powered leasing and an in-house construction team. It serves individual residential renters directly through its own website.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Residential Multifamily Property Management

NAICS

Residential Property Managers (531311), Lessors of Real Estate (5311)

SIC

Operators Of Apartment Buildings (6513), Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531)

akta.pro primary industry

Single-Family Rental (SFR) Property Management (BPAJAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Vacation & Short-Term Rental Management (BPAJAFAI)

Keywords

• Residential property management
• Multifamily apartment rentals
• Apartment leasing services
• Real estate operations
• Rental property management

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Apartment Rentals: Monthly rental income from owned and operated apartments across San Francisco and Berkeley neighborhoods. Tenants pay rent through the AppFolio tenant portal on a monthly basis.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

BLOK (Blok Living) owns and operates a portfolio of apartments across 13 neighborhoods in San Francisco and Berkeley, leasing them directly to individual tenants on monthly recurring rental agreements. The company is vertically integrated, handling acquisitions, in-house renovations, leasing, and 24/7 on-site property maintenance, and uses AppFolio for the application, lease-signing, tenant portal, and maintenance request workflow.

Product overview

Blok Living is a vertically integrated apartment living and property management platform operating exclusively in San Francisco and Berkeley. The company owns and operates apartments across 12 neighborhoods, offering a unified platform that combines online apartment listings and search, digital rental applications, tenant portal access for rent payment and maintenance requests, and on-site property management. The product suite includes apartment leasing services, a tenant portal powered by AppFolio, and direct maintenance operations managed by in-house teams.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Blok Capital: Vertically integrated real estate investment platform focused on San Francisco multifamily properties, managing a $140M AUM portfolio across 120+ units.

Products and services

• Blok Living Apartments (Residential Apartment Leasing) Direct lease of company-owned apartments across 13 San Francisco and Berkeley neighborhoods to individual tenants, with transparent leasing criteria, no hidden fees, modern finishes, pet-friendly options, shared outdoor amenities (BBQs, fitness areas), and 24/7 on-site maintenance.
• Resident Tenant Portal Service Secure tenant portal service for residents of Blok Living apartments to pay rent, submit maintenance requests, and communicate with the management team, powered by AppFolio.
• On-Site Property Maintenance Service 24/7 responsive property maintenance delivered by in-house on-site teams rather than third-party contractors, covering tenant-reported issues across the San Francisco portfolio.

Quantifiable outcome

• 120+ units under management
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• AppFoliocoreTechnology or IntegrationAppFolio is the property management platform powering Blok Living's tenant portal. Tenants use AppFolio for rent payments, maintenance requests, and communication with the management team. The platform also handles the application process including background and credit checks. Blok Living redirects tenants to the secure AppFolio tenant portal for all residential services.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Essex Property Trust: West Coast-focused apartment REIT with a large portfolio across the Bay Area, Seattle, and Southern California. Comparable as an institutional owner/operator of urban West Coast multifamily, with overlapping geographic exposure in the Bay Area.
• Greystar Real Estate Partners: Largest U.S. apartment property manager and developer with hundreds of thousands of units under management. Comparable as a residential property management platform, though much larger, multi-geography, and institutional.
• Lincoln Property Company: Major U.S. residential and commercial property manager with national multifamily management operations. Comparable as a residential property management provider with institutional scale, though operating across many geographies.
• Equity Residential: Large publicly-traded apartment REIT with a meaningful San Francisco and Bay Area portfolio (among the densest urban holdings in the U.S.). Comparable as an institutional owner/operator of urban multifamily in Blok's exact submarkets, though vastly larger and publicly traded.
• AvalonBay Communities: Nation's third-largest apartment REIT with significant urban and suburban multifamily holdings, including the Bay Area. Comparable as a large-scale multifamily operator with institutional capital, though more diversified nationally than Blok.

Emerging players

• Sonder: Tech-enabled operator of apartment-style accommodations for short and extended stays. Comparable as a furnished/flexible-stay apartment operator with similar customer profile and tech-led operating model, though now operating primarily through Marriott partnership.
• Kasa: Operator of furnished apartments and boutique hotels in major U.S. cities, targeting business travelers and extended-stay customers. Comparable as a tech-forward furnished apartment operator with overlapping target customer (entrepreneurs, remote workers).
• Blueground: Tech-enabled operator of furnished apartments for flexible-stay and corporate housing customers in major U.S. and global cities. Comparable as a furnished/flexible-stay apartment operator targeting similar 'explorer/entrepreneur' demographics as Blok's positioning.

Direct peers

• Veritas Investments: One of the largest owners and operators of multifamily and mixed-use properties in San Francisco, with a portfolio of thousands of units across similar SF neighborhoods. Directly comparable as a SF-focused multifamily owner/operator, though substantially larger and institutionally backed.
• Mosser Companies: Bay Area residential and commercial property owner/manager with a long-standing SF apartment portfolio. Comparable as a local multifamily operator competing for tenants in overlapping SF neighborhoods, with similar full-service management capabilities.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/bloklivinghq
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/blokliving

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about BLOK