In London, a seven square meter apartment is to be auctioned off at a starting price of 50,000 pounds (a good 60,000 euros). However, the one-bedroom apartment is expected to go under the hammer for a much higher sum, having already bought the flat in 2017 for £103,500 (more than €124,000), the Guardian reported this week.
The micro-apartment includes just space for a bed with some storage underneath, a microwave, a fold-out table, toilet and shower. There is no room for visitors, extensive cooking or hobbies.
Currently, the recently refurbished flat in East London’s Lower Clapton is used by a commuter just one or two days a week, for which the report says she pays around £800 (around €960) a month in rent.
The sellers assume that it is the smallest apartment in the British capital’s competitive market. Julia Rugg, a housing expert at the University of York, described the offer as a symbol of a “worrying development” in the “Guardian”. Micro-apartments should not be seen as a way out of the housing crisis because they are not a sustainable place to live. For example, people there are increasingly dependent on disposable products because there is no kitchen equipment.