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Home / Business

NZ flat on list of world's worst rentals

By Gemma Hartley
NZ Herald·
22 May, 2016 11:40 PM2 mins to read

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A sofa for $480 a month has been named and shamed on a list of the world's worst rooms to rent. Photo / Worstroom.com

A sofa for $480 a month has been named and shamed on a list of the world's worst rooms to rent. Photo / Worstroom.com

A New Zealand apartment has made it on to a list of the world's worst rooms to rent.

The Auckland listing offers potential renters nothing more than a spot on the sofa - for $480 a month.

The owner made sure to include the warning: "Please read carefully I would like to rent my couch in my living room." Adding that the offer is "for one person only who doesn't mind sleeping in (sic) the couch".

A picture accompanying the listing shows a dark red, three-seater sofa with five brown cushions and a white throw.

The listing appears on the Tumblr site The Worst Room, which showcases the most awful flats, rooms and even couches available for rent in some of the world's biggest cities.

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It was posted last year, and is definitely up there with the worst.

Multi-task in this Sydney apartment where the toilet is in the kitchen  and there's no door. Photo / Worstroom.com
Multi-task in this Sydney apartment where the toilet is in the kitchen and there's no door. Photo / Worstroom.com

The list also includes a Sydney apartment where the toilet is in the kitchen and there's no door.

Owners listed the apartment, in the elite eastern suburb of Darlinghurst, for A$350 a week. Claiming it is "perfect for the keen multi-tasker", the toliet and shower recess sits adjacent to the kitchen.

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The Darlinghurst Art Deco apartment was even referred to as "city living at its best" but some other less-than-flattering descriptions popped up on the blog site.

In London, a tiny storage cabinet metres above the ground doubles as a home away from home if you have a ladder. The site stated that the room in the suburb of Paddington "would suit someone with no history of claustrophobia".

In London, a tiny storage cabinet metres above the ground doubles as a Harry Potter home. Photo / Worstroom.com
In London, a tiny storage cabinet metres above the ground doubles as a Harry Potter home. Photo / Worstroom.com

With the average weekly rent in London at $649, the A$78 a week might seem like a bargain.

A cramped bathroom in a Canadian home forces you to sit on the toliet sideways with your feet out of the door.

But the owner was a little bit sheepish when it came to revealing just how much you pay for the cramped privilege.

In a Brooklyn basement there is never any issue with the cold as the folding bed is up against a boiler and furnace, for about A$290 a week.

"A very unique basement opportunity is available immediately," the description states on worstrooms.com

A unique basement opportunity is ready to be snapped up in Brooklyn. Photo / Worstroom.com
A unique basement opportunity is ready to be snapped up in Brooklyn. Photo / Worstroom.com

"There is a boiler and furnace in the basement, which does make noise. We're really flexible about making the place right for you."

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