A San Francisco landlord’s bold move to restrict an apartment open house to “MAGA voters and Israel supporters” has ignited a firestorm of debate.
Fox News reported that Alexander Baran, a 48-year-old property owner, posted the eyebrow-raising listing for his two-bedroom Sunnyside apartment on Zillow. The city’s cutthroat housing market, already squeezed by the AI boom, makes this restriction a bitter pill for renters.
Baran listed the apartment on August 5, 2025, explicitly inviting only those who align with his political views to the open house.
The San Francisco Standard broke the story on August 12, and by August 17, the listing vanished from Zillow. This stunt, while legal, underscores the desperation of a city where renters line up 20 deep for a single unit.
Joseph Tobener, a tenant rights lawyer with 30 years of experience, told Fox News Digital that California and federal law don’t protect political orientation as a class.
“From the tenant perspective, there isn’t a violation here,” he said. But let’s be real: legality doesn’t erase the sting of exclusion in a housing market this brutal.
San Francisco’s housing crisis, fueled by the AI industry’s explosive growth, has landlords holding all the cards. Tobener noted, “Landlords have a lot of power right now.” When demand outstrips supply, quirky restrictions like Baran’s feel like a slap to renters already fighting for scraps.
The Zumper National Rent Report paints a grim picture: San Francisco leads the nation with one-bedroom rents up 13.3% and two-bedroom rents soaring 16.3%.
Units are snatched up before most renters can even schedule a viewing. Baran’s political litmus test only deepens the frustration for those priced out or turned away.
Tobener called this the city’s third tech boom, following the dot-com and social media surges. “I’ve been doing tenant rights law for 30 years,” he said, noting San Francisco’s boom-and-bust cycles since the Gold Rush. Yet this AI-driven frenzy seems to embolden landlords to flex their muscle in ways that test fairness.
Baran’s listing, while divisive, skirts protected categories like ethnicity or religion, according to Tobener. “So things that it might touch upon that are protected classes would be ethnicity, source of income, religion,” he explained. The landlord’s focus on political orientation cleverly dodges California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act.
Amending that act to include political affiliation would be a legislative uphill battle, likely landing in the Supreme Court.
Tobener’s analysis suggests Baran is within his rights, but the optics are awful. In a city starving for rentals, cherry-picking tenants by politics feels like a power trip.
When the San Francisco Standard approached Baran, he reportedly snapped, “Get the f--- away from here. Don’t make me repeat myself.” His hostility mirrors the tension of a housing market where landlords call the shots. It’s a stark reminder that desperation breeds bold, sometimes ugly, moves.
San Francisco’s AI boom has drawn droves of tech workers, intensifying the housing crunch. “About a month into a major housing crisis where people are lining up 20 deep,” Tobener said.
Renters face a gauntlet where even getting a viewing feels like winning the lottery. Tobener warned that landlords’ unchecked power risks unfair exclusion.
“Everyone should get a fair shake regardless of their political orientation,” he argued. But in a market this tight, Baran’s stunt highlights how easily personal biases can gatekeep a basic need like housing.
The city’s history of tech-driven booms—dot-com, social media, now AI—shows a pattern of landlords wielding outsized influence.
“First it was the dot-com boom, then it was a social media boom, and now it’s the AI boom,” Tobener said. Each wave leaves renters scrambling while property owners set the terms.
Tobener’s plea for fairness resonates: “Housing is a fundamental right.” Yet Baran’s listing suggests some see it as a privilege to be gatekept by political loyalty. This isn’t just about one apartment—it’s a symptom of a market where renters are at the mercy of landlords’ whims.
While Baran’s restriction may be legal, it rubs salt in the wound of a city where affordability is a pipe dream. “Everyone needs a roof over their heads,” Tobener stressed. His words clash with a reality where political tests could dictate who gets a home.
