Published Aug. 8, 2026at6:00am
When Vy found out that her landlord was going to raise the rent on her studio apartment in SoMa by 30%, she gave notice on the apartment where she’d lived for two years and ventured out into San Francisco’s rental market.
What she found was rental hell.
Open houses full of tech bros offering to bid up prices, countless ghostings after emails and inquiries, and a general expectation to come to every viewing armed with an application and a credit score.
“Every hour of the day, I was on Craigslist and Zillow,” said Vy, who works in the construction industry. “It was the worst time of my life, probably.”