Cheap rentals but at what cost

SHOEBOX, bird’s nest, capsules – call it what you want, but the practice of dividing, sub-dividing and partitioning small spaces that are then rented out as rooms has been going on for quite some time.

The recent expose of a three-storey shoplot in Taman Maluri, Cheras, that had been partitioned into 78 shoebox rooms should not come as a surprise because unscrupulous landlords have been acting with impunity right under the noses of the local authorities.