The London room you could rent for £1 a month
This room can be yours, but only if you have the right skills.
A double room in London could be yours for just £1 a month.
But there is quite the catch... you need to be an IT expert.
Adam Mughal (32) posted the room on Easyroommate, rolling a flat and job advert right into one. He is looking for a male IT or business student, aged between 23 and 37 years old, who holds a UK driving licence.
The ‘large clean double room’ is in a five-bedroom property in Stratford, East London, with a garden and unlimited internet.
That’s just as well: you’d be working for the landlord part-time, helping him develop an app. That's because as part of the deal, you need to do one or two days’ work a week. He hopes the arrangement will be long-term, with the tenant staying on as a permanent employee if the project is successful.
It appears to be working, as over 1,200 people have registered their interest since the ad was posted two weeks ago.
Quoted in a number of newspapers, Mughal said: "I have been bombarded with emails, it has just been crazy. Maybe this has opened a Pandora's Box for people to offer accommodation in exchange for skills."
He’s not wrong. The past few years have seen more and more landlords exchanging rooms for skills like language lessons, carpentry and care for the elderly.
I am the walrus?
Getting your rent reduced isn’t always as easy as using your skills or doing a bit of extra housework.
Back in 2013, someone in Brighton posted a free room on Gumtree. The catch? The successful tenant would have to wear a handmade walrus costume and play the part for a couple of hours a day.
Of course, not everyone makes a convincing walrus, meaning that applicants had to audition to see if they were worthy.
Unsurprisingly it was a fake, but the story has since inspired a film, Tusk, from cult director Kevin Smith.
Looking to buy instead? Have a look at these top mortgage deals
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