Is this the smallest flat ever? Man lives in a 40 square foot cubbyhole

A windowless space in the ceiling of a music venue might not be everyone's ideal home but it's perfect for pop composer Jack Leahy. It's also the latest entry on the internet's list of bizarrely small flats.

It's 9.5ft long, 4.5ft wide and 5ft high (2.9m x 1.4mx 1.5m) and you have to climb up a ladder to get in. But the rent is just $450 (£346) a month and Leahy says, "it's kind of awesome. It's like 'The Phantom of the Opera' — how much did that guy pay?"

"You can get some good sleep in here. And I think it matches my life in some ways. I tend to run into odd situations."

The unusual Brooklyn flat, which was featured in the New York Times' Renters series, comes with a share of a kitchen and "one and a half bathrooms".

If there is a downside, it's that there is a door directly behind the double futon that Leahy uses as a bed, which opens onto a sheer drop into the performance space below the flat.

"Too much moving around up here doesn't feel safe," he said.

The terms of the rental agreement mean that Leahy must also keep quiet whenever rehearsals are taking place downstairs, which can be anytime between 9am and 10pm, seven days a week.

Leahy saw off fierce competition to bag his spot in the ceiling and won over his landlords with a "very long email" detailing his storage and cooking requirements.

"Ideally, I would like to have access to a refrigerator to keep yoghurt, milk, ice coffee, eggs, cheese, spinach, carrots, bell peppers, bread and an onion in. I also would like to have cabinet space for granola, potatoes, peanut butter, apples and bananas," his email read

"It would be nice if I could use the stove to cook eggs and potatoes on. Everything else I can eat without cooking. I assure you, the items listed are the extent of my limited diet."

Online reaction to the flat has been mixed:

The Village Voice described it as "an obvious death trap" and Jezebel posed the question "Would you have sex with someone who lives in a crawlspace?"