If you’ve been lamenting the average monthly rental fee for an apartment in the Cape Town CBD, it might do you good to get some perspective.

In spite of its rapidly ageing population, Japan still struggles with urban density, which means that affordable housing has become a problem for young professionals.

For many, it’s hard to find rentals for anything under 80 000 yen (roughly R10 000) per month.

That’s why many of them are choosing to live in tiny loft apartments.

Here’s the BBC:

But targeting 20 and 30-somethings on a budget with cramped living quarters is precisely the business model for one property company in the Japanese capital. Watch the video to find out how it could be a creative (if claustrophobic) housing solution for many young workers.

Creativity is key. Take a look:

Would you live in this cupboard-sized flat? #Japan #Tokyo #cityliving pic.twitter.com/sC3ILSENkY

— BBC Worklife (@BBC_Worklife) July 23, 2019

To put that into perspective, here’s a fully furnished studio apartment currently up for grabs in the Cape Town city centre, going for R10 500 a month.

You can find the listing for that here.

Tokyo isn’t the only city in the world where young professionals are living in tiny spaces to save money and be closer to work.

In the States, there’s a service that allows you to rent bunk beds in a communal home for $1 200 a month.

Great in theory, but I wouldn’t want to live there.

[source:bbc]