A hopeful tenant searching for a home in Glasgow’s fashionable West End was left alarmed after a landlord offered him a bathroom to sleep in for £450 per month.
Danny Andrews, 32, replied to an advertisement for a “small but cosy living space” on Pride Flatmates, a website that sources gay-friendly accommodation.
The advert stated that the two-metre by two-metre room was “unconventional” and “needing some TLC”, but did not admit that the space is actually a bathroom.
When Andrews went to view the property, the landlord led him into the run-down bathroom, informing him that he was expected to sleep in the bath.
On Twitter, Andrews expressed his horror: “A nutter tried to rent me a bathroom in Glasgow for £450 a month. He even suggested I sleep in the bath!”
The advert said that the landlord plans “to put new flooring down and buy furniture as soon as I get confirmation that someone would like to rent”.
He explained that the “property has two toilets, and I have an en suite bathroom, you will have access to your own personal facilities” but that “viewing is advised”1.
Although Andrews could laugh off the viewing, the advert highlights the awful state of the private rental market in the UK, as prices are surging for small spaces.
In London, the average rent on a flat or house hit £1,500 per month last summer, with the typical rent outside of the capital reaching £751 a month.
Prices are usually cheaper in Glasgow, with some homes advertised on SpareRoom.co.uk for as little as £500 per month.
Pride Flatmates, which is free to users, responds to the advert: “We do our best to make sure that they are genuine, but we will explore other options to see if it is possible for us to make improvements to this process.
“We would like to take this opportunity to apologise for any inconvenience that the recent issue has caused and we will do our very best to make further improvements to the website.”1
1 http://www.prideflatmates.com/listing/living-space-glasgow