Micro home deals ruled illegal

Four six-square meter apartments sold this weekend in Shenzhen made a splash in the media, but the sales were later declared illegal due to unauthorized modifications made to the properties.

Nicknamed "pigeonholes", these mini studios are located in a 15-story building called Qiaocheng Shangyu, which offers 11 apartments at sizes ranging from 5.73 to 7.48 square meters, and 160 other units of 35 to 45 square meters.

But the Urban Planning, Land and Resources Commission in the city's Nanshan district on Monday said the actual size of these four apartments ranged from 12 to 20 square meters after illegal changes were made to public shared areas.