Are you "fragrance free"? Do you have daytime employment outside the house? Do you like to meditate with cats?
Then congratulations, you could live in this fucking shed on Paseo de la Conquistadora for only $575 a month this summer.
We know the city has a 2,500 rental unit deficit, much of it concentrated near downtown. The low stock pushes rental prices up, and if you live around here, you know how quick landlords are to push people out because they know they'll easily be able to find another renter.
Enter whoever decided to post this ad to Craigslist looking for people to rent a "little house" in their backyard this summer. Casitas are a regular feature of Santa Fe's landscape, but they're usually not this small. This is a shed. In the photographs, it appears they put blankets on the floor instead of any sort of mattress, which possibly would not have fit inside the shed.
For the privilege of paying far too much to live in a shed, you'll get to share your kitchen and bathroom with the owners of the "main home," though you can't cook red meat, and you'll probably have to mostly stick to vegetables in this primarily vegetarian household.
In addition, you have to be a "minimum drinker," and you should practice "meditation/mindfulness/contemplative" daily. Obviously you can't smoke.
The ad has been posted for about a month, so we're thinking the owners may not be having the easiest time finding a tenant who meets their scrupulous standards.
While the ad is clearly catering to a particular audience, or person, we're not sure if it violates any housing discrimination laws. Our guess is probably not, based on how strict the standard to prove discriminatory intent can be.
But even if the ad is totally legal, it's still shitty, and whoever posted it can still be shamed in the court of public opinion.
We've reached out to the owners and will update this story when and if we hear from them.
