Claire Reid
A woman is renting out a tent on her balcony for £400 per month - who needs a roof, eh?
The 27-year-old wants a roommate to help split the costs of her flat in Zurich, Switzerland, but is offering the unusual set up of a two-man tent on her balcony with ‘a view of the starry sky’.
The tent is waterproof and is set up on an insulating mat, and mattresses and pillows are also available.
According to the advert online, the rental - if you can even really call it that - also comes with use of the kitchen, living room and bathroom, which is handy because otherwise you’d be left peeing off the balcony.
And the bizarre rental will set you back CHF 500 (£402) a month.
The woman, who has only been identified as Sandra, said she ‘would like to live with someone else and reduce my rent a bit’.
She said: "That's why I came up with the idea of the tent."
Sandra said she’d like to offer somebody the opportunity to live in Zurich for cheap.
She explained: "In this city, the situation for those looking for a flat is very difficult. Finding an affordable room to rent is almost impossible."
And - believe it or not - she’s already received interest from several people.
"It's mostly students who think the idea is cool,” she said. “Many have written that it is something different."
But never mind ‘cool’, there’s a good chance it’ll be bloody freezing - something Sandra is aware of. She added: "I realise that it might be a bit difficult to find a tenant in the middle of winter. Especially since the balcony is not covered.
"If someone doesn't want to move in until spring, that's fine with me too."
Lawyer Beat Rohrer told local media that it is not possible to simply offer a tent on the balcony as a living space, although in principle, it is not strictly forbidden.
But first, some basic conditions that are regulated by Swiss law need to be met.
There is a right to lighting as well as a right to protection from noise and fire, and if the tent remains in place for a longer period of time, approval from the local building permit authority would also be required.
The lawyer also stated that the landlord's consent is also required. It is currently unclear if Sandra has taken all of these measures into consideration. It is also unclear if the advert is being investigated by the local authorities.