San Francisco man forced to vacate box in friend's apartment

The sky-high cost of housing in San Francisco isn't a new story, but it got a new twist this week as a man has been told it's illegal for him to rent a 32-square-foot plywood box in his friend's living room. 

Peter Berkowitz, who built the pod in a friend's living room and rented the space for $400 a month, became the new face of San Francisco's housing insanity when his story hit the Internet. 

It led to an editorial in which Berkowitz called the box a "pod" and added, "I have all the essentials and then some; privacy, a comfortable place to work due to a fold down desk, perfect light for reading and a tastefully calm place to be in."

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

He even harbored hopes, apparently, of helping others design their own custom pods.

Those hopes have been dashed, though, as San Francisco officials have confirmed what most people already suspected: the pod is illegal. 

Speaking to local website Hoodline, Rosemary Bosque, from the city's Department of Building Inspection, said, "He would have to completely open it up or look at something different, such as a bed with a frame, with curtains, something that was open to the room. This would be the case for anywhere in the country with respect to building and inhabitability codes."

After the news was relayed to Berkowitz, he told The Guardian, he decided to vacate and break down the pod. (For what it's worth, the San Francisco Chronicle reports Berkowitz can afford to pay more in rent, he just wants to save money.)

Adding insult to injury: a new report that says the three biggest cities in the Bay Area -- San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose -- are also three of the five most expensive cities for rent in the nation. 

Maybe Berkowitz can examine the living-in-a-moving-truck market next.

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