a day ago
San Francisco landlord says only MAGA voters and Israel supporters can apply to rent his bargain apartment
A San Francisco landlord has sparked outrage for listing his spacious two bedroom apartment as available only to tenants who are MAGA voters and Israel supporters.
Alexander Baran, 48, shared his 1,100 square foot listing in Sunnyside on Zillow this month.
He was advertising the apartment for $3,500 per month, which also came with two bathrooms, a private deck, in-unit laundry and sweeping city views.
At a time when the AI boom has caused a sudden influx of new residents, prices are soaring and housing is in short supply, Baran's listing seemed like a great deal.
But in the fine print of the Zillow advertisement, under a subheading reading 'What's Special', Baran injected a very specific clause.
'Only MAGA voters and Israel supporters are invited,' the Zillow listing read.
But in the fine print of the Zillow advertisement, under a subheading reading 'What's Special', Baran injected a very specific clause
The listing was deactivated on Sunday, despite having two open homes scheduled for Sunday and Monday.
It is unclear if the unit has now been leased to a tenant of Baran's choosing.
The landlord declined to comment when approached at his home by The San Francisco Standard.
'Get the f--- away from here,' he said. 'Don't make me repeat myself.'
David Blosser, the director of leasing at RentSFNow, told the Standard that the rental market in the region is the best it's been in years.
He cited the AI boom for luring in tech industry workers.
'June was really the pivotal moment where the market shifted,' he said.
'Suddenly we were having back-to-back applicants for units across our portfolio, and really we hadn't seen that since before the pandemic.'
Baran has faced mass criticism for his listing on social media.
'As if apartment hunting is SF isn't difficult enough already,' one critic wrote.
'So now the neighbors know anyone who ends up living there is a maga, have fun,' another wrote, while a third quipped: 'I'd say im maga and then move in and put up a Make America Gay Again flag.'
