
There may be a housing crisis facing the UK - but it would take a seriously desperate tenant to part with their money for any of these properties.

The shockingly bad rental flats, based mainly in Britain and the US, repeatedly appear online among lists of the world's worst homes available to rent.

In one photo, an admittedly spacious but filthy room comes free with a pig asleep in the corner, while another offers tenants a £160-a-month cupboard to rent, though they will need their own ladder to climb up to their cramped lodgings.

One particularly tiny space offers tenants the convenience of being able to shower and use the toilet while cooking at the stove.

Taking the multi-purpose room concept even further, one flat sees a kitchen double up as a bedroom in a space too small to swing a cat.

Another poky kitchen is bizarrely decked out with garden furniture, complete with an open parasol - perhaps offering protection from a leaky ceiling.

While some of the flats appear to have potential, the pictures that have appeared online offer a lesson in how not to rent out a room.

Perhaps the most haunting image is the spacious property which features the blurred image of a child at the window of the room.

Breathe in: Last year, estate agents marketed this £730-a-month cramped Islington flat (north London) as 'modern' and 'fully contained'

Roomy cupboard to rent: This £40-a-week space in Paddington, west London, may not be spacious but it works perfectly for people with few possessions

Tricky entrance: The only problem is that climbing up to the cupboard door, or 'front door', may require your own ladder

Camping lovers, pay attention! A tent for rent in San Francisco is a steep £458-a-month, advertised as 'limited to one person'

Convenient: Lucky tenants, paying £169 per month, can go the toilet and even take a shower while they cook dinner in this flat in France

The downstairs: The cramped flat is situated in the French town of Reims and was being advertised for £169-a-month

Need a pig? This peculiar room's main resident appears to be a huge pig, which rests its head on the sofa and lies across a rug while washing is suspended from the middle of the ceiling on an iron bar

The kids will love it: One advert features a delapidated school bus which can be rented as a home in Hawaii at a modest £130-a-month

Prepared for the worst: This pokey flat appeared online with garden furniture decked out in the kitchen, including an open parasol

At least the bed is big! A pokey attic with a slanted roof in Paddington, London, is available to rent for £160 a month

The previous tenant? A child stands by the window of an otherwise appealing flat, giving it a mysterious and haunting feel

Horrified: Joe Peduzzi, 22, turned up for a viewing at flat in Bethnal Green, east London, only to find the 'room to let' was in fact a £530-a-month mattress in a wooden shack (circled in the picture)

Odd living arrangements: To make matters worse, the shed was in the corner of a communal lounge (pictured)

Now that's cosy: With a shower crammed in next to the kitchen sink, this studio flat in west Kensington was advertised for £80-per-week

At least you won't get cold feet: This bathroom comes carpeted with a boiler directly above the sink in and a slightly out of place toilet

Snug: This flat costs £780 a month in the exclusive west London enclave of Chelsea. Location is everything, as it has two hobs and the kitchen and bed almost touch

Sleek: This north London flat's modern design will make it far more appealing, but it comes at a cost - £1,083 per month - and the kitchen is still shaped around the bed

Fancy breakfast in bed? The tenant of this flat in Hammersmith, west London, would only have to take two steps to the hob - for the princely sum of £563 a month

Lofty: Numbering at least six steps - or one giant leap - the occupant of this £607-a-month flat in Harringey, north London, would face a long walk to the fridge