Ever wonder what it feels like living in a room the size of a grave?

KUALA LUMPUR - Oftentimes, we hear stories from people about rental rooms that did not live up to their expectations.

Among them was one shared by a teenager who was taken aback to find a single air conditioner divided between two rooms for a price of RM350 per month in Klang Valley.

On top of that, there was also a balcony of a house turned into a rental room with only a sliding door used as a dividing wall throwing tenants' comfort and safety right out of the window.

Who would have thought that a room that could only fit a single bed, a small table, a wall fan and a lamp could be rented for RM700 for such reason that tenants could take in beautiful scenery from the balcony?

Recently, another rental room only as big as a grave on the outskirts of the city had gone viral for its ridiculous price.

The room could only accommodate a single mattress and a wall fan.

Located on the second floor of a shophouse, the room was offered at a rate of RM300 per month.

The reason given was that it comes with convenient access to public services. The room was also said to be only a five-minute-walk away from a large supermarket.

As soon as the Sinar’s reporter stepped into 21 metre x 6 metre premises which house 38 capsule-like rooms, an extremely narrow and foul space inevitably filled in their sight.

Every step in the space felt sticky on the feet as if there was some sweet drink spilled over the floor.

Far more shocking was the fact that the room that only extended as wide as an arm long turned out to be disturbingly narrow and poorly accommodated that it did not make any sense for anybody to spend even a single night in there.

In order to earn a true insight into those who had been struggling to find a home for the sake of work, the reporters had however braved one night in the unliveable shelter.

Imagine finding no comfort to last even 10 minutes in such a confined space which had sparked a tonne of stress as if being kept in a cage.

Most pathetically, tenants cannot even stand up straight and have to duck to get into the room. It could literally be used only to rest and sleep.

Dwellers could do nothing else except lie down and spread their legs out.

At night, the reporters had found themselves struggling to fall asleep due to the exceptionally uncomfortable condition.

While there was already hardly any space left around, a number of unsolicited bed bugs had come over flew in and started biting around.

As the walls between the rooms were only made of partition boards instead of concrete, Sinar Premium members were endlessly snapped back out of their poor sleep thanks to noises from all around.

With nothing else besides a padlock, safety was undeniably something that would keep any renter up at night.

Waking up was no picnic as everybody had to rush over or wait in line to use the only two toilets and two bathrooms available on the premises.

The writers also had to change their clothes right away after showering in the bathroom since the rented room was not even big enough to be able to get the job done. Even for just a single day, it was a hell of a nightmare.

Notably, Sinar Premium had run into a chat with one of the tenants who would like to be known only as Alif.

The man in his 20s revealed that the cheap rent compared to a regular house besides the commute distance to work being less than two kilometres had made him care less about the challenges of living there.

"I have been living here for five months. It's hard to find a room to rent for as cheap as this in the city especially since I only have an ordinary job, so this is the only option available.

"However, I do have a plan to find a better room if I earned more," the East Coast native said.

Meanwhile, in another house in SHAH ALAM, Sinar’s reporters managed to find an apartment converted into seven units of narrow rental rooms that allowed couples of different sexes to live together, but with more expensive rent.

The original price of a rented room that could only accommodate a single bed was RM300 per person.

However, if there were tenants who wanted to live with a mix of men and women, whether married or not mahram, then the landlord would charge a higher fee of up to RM400.

It was obvious, renters could not expect comfort at the maximum level as the room for rent restricted its occupants from moving freely.

One Muslim tenant shared that since the room was so small and narrow, he had to pray on the bed.

"The narrow room means that when I want to pray, I have to lift the mattress and pray on the bed.

"If you want to pray on the floor, it will not fit as you will bump into the cupboard. You can only fit a bed and a table in the small room," he told Sinar.

He also said that the residents there were made up of various nationalities, including foreigners, and some brought in alcohol into the premises.

"If you want to stay in the room for a month or two, it should not be a problem but it is not suitable for long-time rental.

"However, I understand that most people want houses that can be rented and are close to work or study. Therefore, they had to put aside comfort," he said.