Hives thrive
DESPITE the City Council implying that they are illegal, the newest batch of “hive housing” has opened in Madrid this week. Similar to the capsule rooms popular in places such as Tokyo, hives are not much more than rooms of a few square metres, installed by Haibu 4.0. The attraction is, of course, the price which is between 200 and 315 euros per month in a city where the average rent is well over three times that and scarce even then.
There are a number of “house rules” that Haibu have including no pets, no criminal record and a regular income. All tenants must also be aged between 25 and 45 years old. While some will be used as nothing more than city centre crash pads after a night out or late shift in the office, Madrid Council has said that the hives do not conform to Urban Development regulations, primarily due to their size. Haibu disagrees saying that 60% have an official licence and the rest are in the pipeline.
