A LONDONER has decided to beat the bonkers house prices in the capital by moving into a renovated rubbish skip.
Harrison Marshall, 28 moved into the ‘Skip House’ on a patch of grass in Bermondsey, a stone’s throw from Tower Bridge in south-east London.
Marshall returned to London after years abroad and found it impossible to afford a property.
He explained to news agency Reuters: “As was the case with thousands of people across the city and across the country, the prices had gone crazy.
“Rent was mad and even if I found somewhere that was in my price zone, then there’d be 100 others or so looking for that room.”
Marshall devised an ingenious solution to the problem by spending ยฃ4,000 on constructing a wooden hood with an arched roof, which he fixed to the skip.
Inside this unconventional creation, there’s a compact kitchen and a cozy mezzanine bed area. The exterior proudly displays the words ‘Skip House’ in bold black lettering on the iconic yellow container typically reserved for building sites.
He uses a portable toilet on the corner of the site, and showers at work or in the gym.
“The skip provided me the kind of opportunity to make my own tiny little house,” he said.
Marshall, who has been lent the patch of ground by a local arts charity, said: “All the neighbours are amazing, actually. Everyone’s very supportive. I’ve got neighbours coming and bringing homemade meals.
“That’s a massive bonus to the whole project, that this area seems to have a really good community.”
Marshall, an artist himself, plans on living in the skip for a year to highlight the ‘crazy’ price of rent in the capital during the cost of living crisis.
