San Francisco landlord can legally limit open house to 'MAGA voters and Israel supporters', says lawyer

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA: A tenant rights attorney says a San Francisco landlord broke no laws by inviting only "MAGA voters and Israel supporters" to attend an open house.

The controversy emerges as San Francisco faces a deepening housing crisis, with rents soaring, one-bedroom units up 13.3% and two-bedrooms jumping 16.3%, according to the Zumper National Rent Report.

Landlord posts listing saying 'only MAGA voters and Israel supporters are invited'

The San Francisco Standard reported on Tuesday, August 19, that Alexander Baran, 48, who owns a two-bedroom apartment in Sunnyside, listed it on Zillow before taking it down.

The listing, posted on August 5 and removed on August 17, stated that “only MAGA voters and Israel supporters are invited” to the open house.

When reporters from the San Francisco Standard approached Baran to discuss the listing, he reportedly told them, “Get the f**k away from here. Don’t make me repeat myself.” This incident highlights concerns that some landlords may be rejecting prospective tenants based on their political views.

What did tenant rights lawyer Joseph Tobener say about the listing?

Tenant rights lawyer Joseph Tobener, a partner at Tobener Ravenscroft, told Fox News Digital on Thursday that a landlord is within their legal rights to allow only "MAGA voters and Israel supporters" to an open house. 

“From the tenant perspective, there isn't a violation here of California or federal law because political orientation is not a protected class,” Tobener explained. "So things that it might touch upon that are protected class would be ethnicity, source of income, religion."

“So there's some things that skirts around, but the words were such that they are all political orientation, which isn't a protected class and not a violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act in California," he noted.

Tobener also pointed to a deeper issue fueling public frustration, saying, "Now, with that said, I think what rubs people the wrong way is that we have a new housing shortage in San Francisco because of the AI boom."

Joseph Tobener talks about the significance of housing

Joseph Tobener explained that San Francisco is about a month into a “major housing crisis,” where people line up 20 deep just to try for a single rental, only to find the unit already taken.

He emphasized the power landlords hold in this market and expressed concern from the tenant’s perspective.

Tobener noted, “Everybody should get a fair shake regardless of their political orientation. Everyone should be able to get access to housing.”

He stressed the importance of housing as a basic human right, saying, "Housing is a fundamental right. Everyone needs housing. Everyone needs a roof over their heads. And so are we gonna start down this road where only certain people from certain political leanings can get access to certain housing."

Joseph Tobener dubs San Francisco a 'boom and bust' city

Joseph Tobener further said that for political affiliation to become a protected class, the California state legislature would need to amend the Fair Employment and Housing Act to include it. He warned that such a change would likely face legal challenges and could end up before the Supreme Court.

With 30 years of experience in tenant rights law, Tobener described San Francisco as a “boom and bust” city, having gone through multiple tech booms. “First it was the dot-com boom, then it was a social media boom, and now it's the AI boom, and you're getting this circumstance where landlords have a lot of power,” he stated.

Tobener noted that during these booms, landlords gain significant power, explaining, “There are a lot of people clamoring for one unit and, you know, we want to make sure that landlords don't, you know, step across the line. And housing is accessible to everyone regardless of, you know, what they think about the political climate.”