People are saying this £192 cubby under the stairs ‘sounds like a great deal’
From sky-high prices to rooms with barely enough space to breathe in, the rental market can be absolutely brutal.
But how would you feel about moving into a cupboard under the stairs – much like Harry Potter – for less than £200 per month?
This isn’t a theoretical scenario: it’s an actual CraigsList listing in San Jose, California, where the current tenant is looking for the company of a ‘nice nerdy gamer’ to live under his stairs for £192 ($250). Minecraft stans, assemble.
Measuring just 3ft by 10ft, the advertised area is currently without a door. However, the listing says the nook ‘can be blocked off with some jury-rigging’ – doesn’t exactly scream privacy.
The cupboard is tucked inside a one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment, with the current tenant desperate to sublet so he can cut down on his recently increased rent.
Metro doesn’t have a reporter on the ground in San Jose, but the Bay Area News Group recently checked out the listing and confirmed it’s real.
The ad poster, who asked to be named only as Jason because his lease does not allow subletting, said he doesn’t ‘care if [the new housemate is] male or female.’
He does, however, draw the line at a ‘criminal record, any addictions, or pets’.
And if you were planning on having a few pals round, forget it: the ‘lucky’ roommate is not allowed any guests — ‘ever.’
‘Sorry bout that, but seriously, who’d want to come visit this place?’ Jason wrote, before noting that there are, thankfully, no restrictions on cooking, internet, kitchen or bathroom use.
‘My appliances and utilities are your appliances and utilities. Use my plates and silverware. Enjoy my TV and Xbox! Paint your 40k minis at my table, with my paints (not my brushes though),’ he added.
Interested in applying? You’ll need to ‘put the title of your current favourite video game as the email subject or your first text,’ otherwise you won’t receive a reply.
If you’re successful, you’ll be expected to help out with the household chores twice a week – but only downstairs, which Jason assures only takes 30 minutes to clean.
He also offers to run a Dungeons and Dragons game for his chosen applicant to sweeten the deal.
A grim reality
Some might call the listing unique, others might call it a nightmare. But say what you will, it’s considerably cheaper than almost any other rental in San Francisco.
Statistically, the average monthly rent in the Californian city comes in at $3,323 (£2,558.89), so it’s little wonder tenants are looking for alternative options.
San Francisco rents are much higher than the average for the rest of the US, which according to data from Forbes, is $1,372 (£1,056.81) nationally.
In this case, our creatively minded tenant Jason says he had his hand forced after his rent was increased from $1,625 (£1,252.56) to $1,795 (£1,383.59).
‘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, who works as a handyman and makes $80,000 (£61,664.40) per year, told Silicon Valley.
Naturally, Reddit was ablaze after the listing made it onto the Bay Area thread.
‘Spot opened up after Harry got accepted into Hogwarts,’ @likwitsnake joked, while @_BlueNightSky_ laughed at the ‘unrestricted use of the bathroom.’
‘”I live under my homie’s stairs”,’ @xKINGxRCCx said, as @Potential_Bee_3033 argued that ‘in Hong Kong, a spot like that has a 15-year waiting list.’
However, not everyone agreed that the listing was a bad deal – as some gaming enthusiasts noted that it could be an opportunity to build a lasting friendship.
‘It doesn’t sound like a bad deal if you’re in a jam. A built-in nerd bromance is underrated. I’d rather live under this guy’s stairs for $200 (£154.04) than pay $1200 (£924.25) and f***in hate my roommates,’ @tugboatnavy penned.
‘This is an ad for a man to bromance,’ @DigbyChickenZone wrote, adding that ‘no woman wants to do this.’
‘I’m married in my own home and this looks good to me. I wish I had time to paint miniatures again,’ @PrivilegeCheckmate wrote.
Meanwhile, others shared their experiences of renting in the Bay Area of San Francisco, many of whom were also squeezed into a tiny space.
‘When I first moved to the Bay Area I rented out a corner of a living room. In total there were 3 people living in a 1 bedroom apartment in Berkeley,’ @Horror_Literature958 shared.
‘The tenant on the lease was pretty greedy and was asking a decent amount for the space. I think I was paying $600 (£462.12) a month.’
@theineffablebob argued that the rent at this Harry Potter-style cubby was ‘not bad,’ recalling their days renting in San Jose ‘for a bedroom in a shared house with the owner, his daughter, and his father,’ where the rent was ‘only $400’ (£308.08).
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