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Tiny 53-sq-ft Shanghai flat with bed behind toilet for US$40 a month snapped up quickly after video advert in China

  • Food delivery driver rents flat on same day it was listed
  • Advertisement strikes chord in expensive first-tier city real estate market

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Tiny flat with bed behind toilet rented for US$40 in China

Tiny flat with bed behind toilet rented for US$40 in China

A tiny flat in Shanghai with a bed right behind the toilet which rents for 300 yuan (US$40) a month went viral because it was snapped up immediately, highlighting the housing woes faced in the metropolitan hub.

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The flat measured only 53 sq ft and was actually under the stairs. It featured a bedroom with a toilet and a washbasin in front of the mattress, with the slope of the stairs overhead.

“What a dream home!” said the real estate agent in a video advertisement, implying that, in the Shanghai property market, it was too good an opportunity to pass up.

The male agent said that US$40 a month for a “whole unit rental” that included “a bedroom, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a living room” was a great deal.

The flat was snapped up by a driver from Didi, an Uber-like ridesharing platform, the same day the listing agency published the advertisement.

The entrance to the miniscule flat in Shanghai can be seen beneath a set of stairs. Photo: Douyin
The entrance to the miniscule flat in Shanghai can be seen beneath a set of stairs. Photo: Douyin

In a video tour, the door opens to a “living room” with space for only one person to stand, and a plank of wood acting as a wall, separating this flat from the neighbour’s.

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