'Space shuttle' sleeper pods big enough for one bed are going for $600 a month in Melbourne, highlighting the city's record-low lack of housing

• There are six spacepods that fit a single bed for $600 a month.

• An expert told the Guardian that the rate of vacancies in the city is at a record low.

• Sleeping Pods are supposed to be a solution to housing shortages.

A landlord in Australia has taken a unique approach to housing by renting out capsule that fit a single bed.

Frank Chan told the Guardian that the six "space shuttles" cost around $171 a week or $617 a month. There are three bedrooms upstairs for rent at a cost of $1500 a month.

The white, futuristicpods are stacked on top of each other and can sleep up to 12 people. Tenants don't have to pay for electricity or furniture, and they don't need to sign a lease. They have a maid.

After traveling through Asia, Chan was inspired to install the "futuristic and fascinating" Pod.

Since I have a boarding house with a license to accommodate up to 12 people, I decided to install them to fill the gap in the market.

A mirror, ventilating fan, digital control panels, and a locker are included in the price of each capsule Pod.

The Pods were meant for short-term stays, but could also help the rental market by providing extra beds at a low cost and driving down rental prices. Chan is the only person in the city who rents a Pod.

Tim Lawless, a research director at CoreLogic, told the Guardian that Melbourne is experiencing a vacancies rate of 1.3%, which he described as a record low.

Cities like Beijing, China, and Kyoto, Japan, have offered capsule rentals for years.

Pods are seen as a solution to housing shortages and soaring rents.

In San Francisco, real estate developers want to build bunk bed-stylepods that can sleep dozens of people in a basement. Up to 14 people can live in a house in Palo Alto and Bakersfield. The rent is not deductible.

Chan told Insider that he was happy with the attention that hispods were getting, but that there were some mixed reactions to the housing solution that he had created. The landlord was accused of exploiting desperate people.

The experience with his tenants has been good so far.

When more people are familiar and comfortable with the capsule concept, and have explored the regulatory feasibility behind it, we should see more capsule popping up in Melbourne, as they have done in other parts of Australia.

You can read the original article.