In what may be the first example ever of a discount in rent based on what a tenant agrees to eat (or not eat), Jinesh Varia is hoping to find a vegetarian or vegan lessee for his “luxury townhome” in Bethel, Washington.
Varia—a self-described “technology evangelist for Amazon Web Services”—is not a zealot for technology alone. His Twitter account claims he has a “Passion for IoT, Cloud, Mobile, Distributed Systems and Architectures.” But he also seems to have a pretty strong love of plant-based eating.
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“Ethically and morally, it’s extremely important to be vegetarian,” Varia says. In addition to being a member of a group called Vegetarians of Washington, Varia is willing to put his money where his mouth is. He has come up with a novel way to promote the vegetarian lifestyle: instead of charging renters $2,200 for the three-bedroom townhouse he owns, he will charge them $2,000—if they are committed to a no-meat lifestyle.
That’s right, the townhouse—with its fireplace, spacious backyard, jacuzzi tub, modern kitchen, and nearby park—can be yours for a discount of 200 bucks if you swear off animal products. “I really believe, just like the no-smoking policy that all landlords have today, that we can promote this as a way to spread awareness,” Varia told local station King5. He says he would like to “see if I can create a trend.”
In short, Varia is on a mission. “It’s extremely important to be vegetarian,” he added. Ok, sir, we’re pretty sure we get the picture.
Is this really the first instance and only instance in which non-meat-eaters are getting a discount on rent thanks to their eating preferences? Who knows?
We do know that in 2004, a vegan landlord made the news when he advertised for renters who shared his vegan lifestyle. At the time, landlord Michael Sosner told the BBC, “It struck me the social element of having vegans and vegetarians together was quite nice. Generally there is [a] good feeling for me dealing with vegetarians and generally I think they make good tenants.”
Varia seems to agree. His family of three—including his wife and nine-month old baby—came to the decision to move when the little one started to crawl. And while Varia seems to have altruistic intentions—to promote a healthy diet that is kind to the earth, too—he certainly doesn’t seem to mind the attention his novel approach is drawing. After being featured on local TV, Varia proudly tweeted, “Look mom, I am king5 TV! #goveggie.”
Well, Mr. Varia, congrats: your campaign to promote the vegetarian lifestyle has now gone national. But how in the hell are you going to police the eating habits of your prospective tenants?
According to King 5 TV, Varia says he promises to use the honor code—and won’t spy on his tenants or check their trash.
That’s good. Because, as we recently reported, one-third of vegetarians eat meat when drunk.
And if you are Jinesh Varia’s tenant, that could be a costly drink, indeed.
