Man avoids paying rent by living in giant sand castle for 22 years

"I do not have bills and here I have a good life.”

With the housing crisis in Britain meaning many of us under the age of 30 can barely scrape together enough money for rent, quite a few innovative solutions to the problem have emerged. In London, for instance, it’s now fairly common for cash strapped residents to live on boats instead of traditional houses. Others living in the city have had to sign-up to ‘live-in guardian’ schemes to stay afloat - these see free rent for anybody willing to protect a property from damage and squatters. But Rio de Janeiro’s Marcio Mizael Matolias has altogether different way of living cheaply. For the last 22 years the Brazilian man has lived in a giant sand castle, meaning he can avoid the cost extortionate of living in the city. He is known by locals as 'The King' due to his unique abode and combine passions of reading, golf and fishing. Speaking about his living arrangements, The Mirror reports that he said: “I grew up in the Bay of Guanabara, I always lived on the beach. People pay exorbitant rents to live in front of the andea, I do not have bills and here I have a good life.” Although it may sound like he's living the good life, it turns out there is one problem with living as he does: the weather. He added: “The sand holds all the heat, so sometimes at night I can not sleep here, I'll spend the night at a friend's house, but I prefer it here even if I have to lie outside by the sea.” You would probably have the opposite if you tried it here in the UK. If you want to check out some pictures of his unique house, you can find them here.