By Caroline Mcguire for MailOnline 13:16 14 May 2015, updated 14:14 14 May 2015

• Rent prices in London have been sky high for years 
• But new rooms on spareroom.co.uk show how expensive it has become 
• One flat asks for a £4,000 deposit and one bedroom already has a tenant   

Everyone knows that if you live in a capital city, you can't expect cheap rent or an abundance or living space.

But these days, finding a reasonable place to call home in London has become an almost impossible task.

And thanks to listings on Spareroom.co.uk, it's clear plenty of property owners and tenants are looking to cash in by charging sky high prices for cramped accommodation - or trying their luck by offering less-than ideal living arrangements.

Living in London has become a costly business, as this post advertising for a tenant to sleep on a bed in a kitchen shows

The site advertises available rooms and flats for wannabe tenants.

Many of the rooms and properties on the site are reasonable prices and attractive looking homes.

But some of the adverts will make you gape in disbelief.

More.

In parts of west London these days, would-be tenants are required to spend thousands of pounds on a deposit on top of the normal rent.

In other areas, the housing situation has become so bad that landlords genuinely believe they have a shot at renting out a bed in their kitchen.

Read on to discover some of the strangest deals on the market right now.

This landlord is expecting to rent out a bed in his kitchen The tenant would have some kitchen cupboards to store their clothes the bed would lie right next to the breakfast bar

One advert highlights a single room containing a bed, an oven, fridge, microwave and chest of drawers for £225 a week. But it doesn't even say where there shower is.

Its major draw is that it's in a 'superb location' in Piccadilly slap bang in the West End - and there's a weekly cleaner service and free wi-fi.

Meanwhile, another one-bedroom property in the City of London is on offer for £637 per week - what many people pay for an entire flat per month.

The hidden cost for interested would-be renters with an eye to the small print is that they need to lay down close to £4,000 in a deposit.

This flat in Piccadilly Circus is the same size as a small bedroom. and costs £225 a week This flat in Bank costs £637 per week and is beautifully decorated But the hidden costs are that the tenant has to put down close to £4000 as a deposit

A one-room apartment branded a 'luxury boutique studio flat' in Battersea Park rather cheekily describes the neighbourhood as 'Chelsea' despite the river Thames dividing the two London addresses.

While the interior shots reveal a well-decorated modern apartment, that could even justify the £325- a-week price tag, a photograph of the exterior reveals that it's housed in a drab, unprepossing block.

Meanwhile the website hosts an ad for a studio flat asking for £450 a week in rent but tenants would need to come up with £1,800 in security.

This studio flat in Battersea is well-decorated It appears very spacious and light throughout But the exterior is a very drab building This flat in Battersea is a very modern building But the tenant would have to fork out almost £2000 in security costs

An ad offers an ' amazing brand new studio flat furnished to an excellent standard' near Baker Street, which seems too good to be true.

A closer look at the listing reveals that it's £395 a week for a space so narrow it can only fit a sofa along one wall.

This 'studio' is very centrally located But for £400 a week, the tenant is living in a cramped shoebox

Meanwhile, a listing for 'an amazing flat' in Oxford Circus touts its 'HUGE room!'.

And for £235 a week, just five minutes' walk from the central London hub, and all bills included, it appears to be a great deal.

But then it's clear, this is not all it seems.

Tenants would be expected to share the room with another flatmate, a 25-year-old British girl, leaving prospective renters with the prospect of shacking up in the kitchen.

This large bedroom in Oxford Circus looks like a winner Until you discover that the room already has one tenant living in it