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Young female tenants in a shared apartment in Osaka, Japan are being charged rents based on how much they weigh.
Lady Share House B&D in Osaka claims it is trying to help women achieve and maintain better bodies by implementing such a program.
Under the unconventional rental system, for every kilogram a resident loses or gains, the cost is adjusted by approximately 1,000 yen (approximately AU$11).
“Since the rent is lower if you lose weight, we thought overweight people would be coming to live here. Instead, we found that people who already have a great body come here and their goal is to maintain that physique,” administrator Mari Kataoka told the Associated Press.
The almost two dozen women who live in the apartment have access to gym equipment and discounted beauty products, and unlimited quantities of snacks and fizzy drinks.
Ms Kataoka said it was not a scam to increase rents.
“By having snacks at their disposal, we hope they will become more resistant to temptation,” she said. "In this share house the residents have the same goals to lose weight, so it's easier not to give up.”
Losing weight may be an incentive to lower the cost of renting, but it may not be a healthy initiative for a country where nearly 30 per cent of women in their 20s are underweight.
While Japan may be the first to implement a weight-based rental system, it isn't alone in charging people according to their weight. Samoa Air recently became the world's first airline to implement 'pay as you weigh' flights, which means overweight passengers will have to pay more for their seats.
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