Given the housing market, $735 for a five room apartment is about $1000-2000 too cheap for San Franfreako. The owner was being abused.
More expensive than you say. My daughter and her husband were renting a two room apartment in SF for $1600 for the last few years. They moved out in early 2015 for a larger place for them and their two young kids. Owner hiked the rent on the new tenant to $3000. The apartment did come with a garage for their car; garages are in shorter supply than apartments. Rent control is the cause of higher rents, because it's causing landlords to pull housing off the rental market or stay out completely, causing lower supplies. In the meantime, you can't blame landlords for hiking it on new tenants to make up for held-down rents due to rent control.
Many of these California tourist towns presently can do short term rentals (1 week more or less) to tourists for huge amounts. This to a certain extent drives up regular rental costs.
Additionally the short term rental phenomenon does not take into account the exceedingly high rent in San Francisco real estate based on supply (short) and demand (high) as well as the very high wages made in the technology industry in the San Francisco area compared to the 'regular job' salaries. All of which drives up rental costs to limits--when compared to normal markets--that are atmospheric.
the video mentioned $1800.00 per square foot rental cost in San Francisco. This guy was comparably living there for pennies. :( Now he cries like it was owed to him.