Room for rent with alfresco kitchen

For rent: a $220 a week room on Auckland's North Shore complete with a "summer kitchen".

The room on Salisbury Rd, Birkdale, is advertised on Trade Me as a large, cosy room with insulation and new carpet in a quiet and friendly neighbourhood. It also boasts a summer kitchen - revealed in the accompanying pictures as sink and benchtop outside.

The owner, who would only identify himself as Toni, said the outdoor area was an asset.

"I called it a summer kitchen because it has a covered area," he said. "It is my most favourite spot, it's always sunny."

Photographs posted on the advertisement showed the summer kitchen as a red benchtop with a tin sink and single tap in an enclosed outdoor area.

The area was sectioned off from the garden with gravel underfoot.

The listing said the room also has a bathroom and room for off-street parking, storage space in a shed and the opportunity to grow vegetables in the fully fenced backyard. Pets are welcome.

"It's a big 24-squared metre room, it's a big studio with a bathroom and toilet," said Toni.

It also came furnished with a double bed that pulled down from the wall.

He said four people had come to look at the room but were unsuitable tenants. He was looking for a long-term tenant with good references.

A $440 bond payment was required.

The house was close to the Birkenhead and Glenfield shopping areas and local schools.

The room had had 1849 views on Trade Me last night.

There are nearly 230 other listings on Trade Me for rentals under $250, 26 of which are on the North Shore.

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