Looking for a cheap place to live in San Jose? For just $250 a month and some “light chores” you could rent a small space under the stairs in a one-bedroom apartment.
A recent viral Craigslist ad offered up the small 3-by-10 foot area that “fits a cot perfectly” and evokes Harry Potter’s cupboard under the stairs.
The Bay Area News Group recently checked out the cubby — it’s real — and spoke to the ad’s poster, Jason, who requested that only his first name be used, because adding a roommate would violate his lease.
Contrary to what some commenters on a viral Reddit post have implied, Jason says he’s not looking for a “house elf.”
The way he sees it, he’s offering to share his space at a high discount to the right person willing to put up with a cramped sleeping nook and a lack of privacy.
“I just wanted to rent enough of the space so I could afford the apartment and not have to eat Cup Noodles all the time,” the 43-year-old said.
Spend enough time scrolling through the “Rooms/Shares” section of Craigslist and you’ll find plenty of less-than-ideal living arrangements, often driven by a desperation for cheap housing in one of the most expensive housing markets in the country. The average one-bedroom apartment goes for $2,894 in the San Jose metro and $2,410 in the San Francisco-Oakland metro, according to Redfin data.
At UC Berkeley’s campus, it’s not uncommon for students to spend close to $1,000 for a bunk in a shared room. In San Francisco, techies are paying $700 a month for a “sleep pod.” Around the region, desperate tenants are paying ‘vanlords’ $2,500 a month to live in an RV.
The Bay Area’s chronic housing shortage forces many renters to double up to afford rent. A 2023 Stanford study found that as Bay Area neighborhoods have become wealthier and more expensive, overcrowding amongst lower-income residents has increased.
When Jason first signed a lease for his 725-square-foot, one-bedroom three years ago, he paid $1,525 per month. But each year his landlord has increased the rent, upping it to $1,795 from $1,625 this year — a 9% increase.
For Jason, a handyman making $80,000 a year, it was more than he could afford.
“With the rent increase and car payments and gas and food, everything is adding up to a monolith of doom,” he said.
He looked for a new apartment around the South Bay but found few options in his budget.
“I looked high and low,” he said. “I even applied to rent a yurt in the Santa Cruz mountains at a nudist colony for $1,000 a month, but later I decided that I didn’t want to walk through the forest naked to go to the bathroom.”
So he figured he had two options: live in his car or suck it up and find a roommate. He liked the second option more. Craigslist it was.
The ad was specific: For the right “nice nerdy gamer … male or female,” Jason would be willing to share many of the things that roommates do. “Use my plates and silverware. Enjoy my TV and Xbox! Paint your 40k minis at my table, with my paints (not my brushes though :p)!” he wrote, referring to the miniature figurines some gamers collect. He was even willing to share his cooking and the occasional Dungeons and Dragons game.
There were a few rules: “No guests, ever (sorry bout that, but seriously, who’d want to come visit this place?)” he wrote. There would be chores involved — well, one chore in particular.
“I have a passionate hatred for doing the dishes,” Jason said. He offered to take on the other household drudgery.
So, how’s the response been?
“I’ve gotten at least a dozen non-freakish replies,” Jason said. “I’ve also gotten a dozen freakish responses.”
Falling into the former category is a fellow gamer moving to San Jose from Southern California. The two plan to meet next week and see if they’re a good fit.
When Jason’s ad went viral on Reddit, some accused him of trying to take advantage of his prospective subtenant. But Jason doesn’t see it that way.
“If I had the chance to save a buttload of money and just do some dishes, I would jump at the chance,” he said. “I don’t want to be the kind of landlord I hate. I’m not in it for a profit. I just want to be able to live somewhere that is not a tent.”
He’s also having second thoughts about his wording on the ad.
“I regret the metaphor,” Jason said. “I enjoy Lord of the Rings much more than Harry Potter, anyway.”
Nollyanne Delacruz contributed to this report.
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