A Sydney landlord has advertised his balcony as a room available to rent for $300 in the latest example of Australia’s out-of-control housing market.
The tiny room, which is barely big enough to hold a single bed, has generated ‘a lot of interest’ according to the landlord, who specified the tenant must be ‘one boy’ and must list their nationality.
The strange ad reads: ‘New, quiet and clean apartment. Next to World Square, only five minutes walk to Town Hall Station, China Town, UTS, Paddy’s Market, Coles and Woolworths.
‘All bills included, fast NBN WiFi and rice, basic cleaning stuffs and cooking stuffs.’
The landlord then states the tenant must stay in the cramped room at least four months, give an $800 deposit and a ‘$200 bond key’.
Photos of the room show the landlord has DIY’ed the room’s creation using curtains and tarps to separate it from the rest of the apartment.
A landlord in Sydney asked $300 a week for balcony he’s turned into a makeshift ‘room’ (pictured, the Facebook advert for the room)
Photos show the landlord roughly constructed the room using curtains and tarps to separate it from the rest of the apartment (pictured, the balcony before it was made into a room)
The saga is only the latest development in Sydney’s spiralling rental market.
Rents have soared 6.7 per cent to a median of $495 per week across Australia in 2022, but the issue is much worse in major cities.
In Melbourne and Sydney, higher post-Covid demand for fewer properties saw unit rents up by 9.3 per cent, while houses went up 8.3 per cent.
The annual Rental Affordability Index released in October revealed the low-income renters such as single parents, pensioners, and job seekers are most vulnerable and require more active and immediate support.
Anthony Albanese’s government is under increasing pressure to act on the nationwide housing shortage, with one major charity demanding it be declared a ‘national emergency’.
Housing experts say official records show no comparable shortage of available tenancies since the Great Depression in the 1930s.
The outlook for next year appears to be even more dire, recent data shows, with double-digit rental price rises now predicted for 2023 and investor landlords set to rake it in while tenants deal with sky-high bills.
The landlord said the room (above) will be available for ‘one boy’ and asked for an $800 bond
Emma Greenhalgh, the CEO of housing charity Shelter said Australia is in a national emergency by ‘every available measure’.
‘It’s not just capital cities and major metropolitan areas that are in crisis,’ she explained to Daily Mail Australia.
‘It’s in regional and rural areas too. The whole country is facing the issue of house prices and vacancies rates.
‘There’s a massive issue of competition which is putting people at risk of homelessness.’
She said increasing numbers of people are forced into overcrowded rentals with several people to a room, and even to living in tents or cars.
She added the National Housing and Homelessness Plan, which committed to building more homes for low and middle-income earners was desperately needed, helping to get housing supply closer to matching demand and thereby stabilising prices.
‘It’s a good start about social and affordable housing. We need significant and sustained investment,’ she said.
‘Overall housing supply is lower, that’s an issue across the whole housing system. The Commonwealth government is looking to address that.
‘For private renters, tenancy reform is critical.
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‘We need no forced evictions, and capping rent increases so it’s more realistic. It’s unrealistic for households to sustain increases.
‘This isn’t just a problem in cities. In regional areas we have incredibly low vacancies rates.’
The strange ad for the room (above) said the $300 weekly rent payments include ‘all bills’
Sydney renters have been struggling to get their hands on a property in the city’s limited market (pictured, would-be tenants queued to view a rental)
The housing expert added that a lower supply of housing has been compounded by the pandemic moving people to regions, meaning the crisis isn’t going to get better ‘any time soon’.
‘It takes time for that to be developed and brought online, we don’t expect there to be a solution quickly.’
Rents have soared an average 10.3 per cent in Australia since the start of 2022, and the national rental vacancy rate is at a record low 0.9 per cent, according to recent Domain research.
A major part of the problem is more people are being forced to rent rather than buy due to the exorbitant cost of houses in major cities.
The current cycle of interest rate rises has exacerbated the unaffordability, and even once the rate hikes abate or reverse, that will only result in asking prices again going up.
Sydney house prices are expected to rise by 8 to 12 per cent next year when interest rate rises are paused, with Melbourne tipped to see up to 6 per cent increases and Perth up to 13 per cent.
Chief executive officer of the Tenants’ Union of New South Wales, Leo Patterson Ross, previously said while the broader economic circumstances of 90 years ago were vastly different, the Great Depression reference was applicable as rental prices spiral.
The report found people living in both capital cities and regional areas were struggling to find affordable rentals, as rents are escalating faster than incomes across the country.
Low vacancy rates, interstate migration and global supply chain issues were also contributing to increased rents.
A Melbourne landlord was recently branded a ‘nutcase’ after putting up a filthy, tiny room (above) to rent for $300 a week
A Perth home (above) that was so run down buyers ran out and retched during inspections was sold for the upper end of its asking price – between $450,000 and $500,000
The national rental vacancy rate is at a record low 0.9 per cent, according to Domain research data.
A Melbourne landlord was recently branded a ‘nutcase’ after putting up a tiny room to rent for $300 a week, with would-be tenants not allowed to use their phones or have guests over.
Alongside the room, which also had an unfurnished and exposed wooden wall, the tenant would also be able to use a dirty spa bath tub – but they would only be given access on weekends.
Prospective tenants were left shocked by photos of the room that revealed a cluttered and dirty area barely big enough to fit in a single bed.
A recent photo taken in Bondi, in Sydney’s east, showed applicants queuing outside a home to inspect it.
Meanwhile, a Perth home that was so run down buyers ran out and retched during inspections has reportedly drawn plenty of offers.
The Perth property, which has been described by its agent as the ‘worst he’s ever seen’ has sold after getting 13 offers from buyers desperate to get on the housing ladder
Despite being covered in so much dirt the buyers can’t see the colour of the tiles or carpet, the three-bedroom home sold for the upper end of its asking price – between $450,000 and $500,000.
Housing experts say official records show no comparable shortage of available tenancies since the Great Depression in the 1930s.
