A US startup has devised a snug solution for those priced out of the California rental market, but would you pay for it?
Sometimes it’s easy to feel like you’re getting a dud deal when it comes to renting, with increasingly ridiculous listings coming to light.
We thought this offering of a shared bunk bed in a private room for £400 per month was pretty steep, but it has nothing on a new deal being offered on America's West Coast.
For $1200 per month (around £965), city dwellers in Los Angeles and San Francisco can rent one half of a bunk bed in a shared dorm.
According to PodShare, the company behind the idea, the venture offers affordable co-living accommodation within California's steepest real estate markets.
In a statement from founder Elvina Beck on their website, the startup says that the model offers a solution to homelessness.
Elvina explains: “While traditionally people think of long term housing as a single apartment with a roommate or a house, these models are constricting both in cost and in mandatory year-long leases.
"There is a reason homelessness is on the rise, and a large part of that is very strict regulations that make it almost impossible to provide affordable housing.”
So what do tenants get? Each hand-built pod (or bunk) comes with a flatscreen TV, nightlight and plug sockets, while all residents can use the communal kitchens, work stations, living rooms and bathrooms. Ramen noodles and toilet paper are included in the rental price too.
Despite the seemingly high cost, the scheme is proving attractive to millennials who can’t afford rising local rents.
No deposit is required, residents don’t have to commit to a fixed-term tenancy, and compared with the average monthly rent of $4,400 (£3,500) for a two-bed property in San Francisco, perhaps it isn't so bad.
We can see how it could be a viable option for some young ambitious folk trying to catch their big break on the West Coast, but what about privacy?
Well, there isn't any. This is communal living in the truest sense. Almost every space, aside from the bathroom cubicles, is shared, and there's a noise curfew in place between the hours of 10pm-10am.
California is not on its own when it comes to finding radical new ways to combat the housing crisis. Step inside the microflats, nano flats and horrifying ‘coffin’ flats of Hong Kong.
Top image: PodShare