Tokyo Microrentals

[caption id="attachment_32100" align="alignleft" width="150" caption="Microrentals and dead space"][/caption]

Rental space in Tokyo is hard to find and it's pricey. Many low income people are forced to live in tiny plastic "capsule hotels" barely larger than a coffin. A Japanese real estate company has come up with a concept for microrentals in spaces that were previously not considered rentable.

Nokisaki.com seeks pockets of "dead space" around cities and converts them into short-term rental property.In Tokyo, where every sliver of land is at a premium, a few feet of unused private property near the front entrance of an apartment building can be used to sell muffins. A patch of storefront space transforms into an ad hoc vegetable stand for a farmer or a consulting space for a fortune-teller.

Those spaces can be reserved at Nokisaki for short periods of time—starting from three hours—and for as little as $15 total. The spots are granted on a first-come, first-served basis and the rental times and prices are set by landlords.

Link -via Good