House hunter offered shed in the lounge
A young man looking for a room in a shared flat was left stunned to be offered a shed in the corner of the living room.
Joe Peduzzi, 22, was planning to move from the Isle of Wight to London after landing a new job. He spotted the ad, for a flat-share in Bethnal Green, on SpareRoom.co.uk.
"The room is the biggest in the house and comes with a sofa which means sharing it with the rest of us sometimes," the listing read.
"We are on the search for a laid back happy-go-lucky type that's sociable, open minded and creative."
The room cost £480 a month, plus an extra £50 for bills.
But when Joe turned up for a viewing, he was bewildered by what he saw: a mattress inside a garden shed, in the corner of the living room.
"When I first walked in I sort of noticed the shed in the background but didn't really take it in. Then I scanned around the room and couldn't see a bed so I asked where it was and the guy just pointed to the corner," he tells the Mirror.
"I stuck my head in for a look but there was basically no room for movement. The mattress was right against the walls of this shed and the windows were blacked out. I had quite a hard time getting my head round it to be honest."
But as London rents soar - the average is now £1,900 a month, according to Barclays Mortgages - tenants are increasingly being offered living spaces that would have been unthinkable a generation ago.
We recently reported, for example, on the £400-a-month room in South London that had water dripping from the ceiling. 'Cheap Double Room With SMALL LEAK,' the listing read.
And last year, London landlord Yaakov Marom was fined £3,040 for letting a room which could only be accessed by crawling - and for which he was charging £420 a month.
Read more on AOL Money:
The most expensive places to live in Britain
Curry house workers found living in secret rooms
Private rent seeks massive hike: why?
