Australia’s rental crisis was thought to have reached a new low when a tent pitched in a living room went on the market, but new listings prove it can always go lower.
The tent has started to look cosy after a rundown boat was offered for $200 a week and, keeping the nautical theme, a shipping container has also been listed.
The boat, which is moored in Western Australia, tried to drum up trade by offering ‘Living on 38ft yacht $200pw’ in its online ad.
‘One of the most beautiful spots in the Swan River near Fremantle,’ it added. ‘Hot water shower, storage space, kitchen … Couples accepted.’
The boat, located 18kilometres south-west of Perth CBD, even comes with a small dinghy so the happy couple can get to dry land without swimming ashore.
A rundown boat (pictured) has been offered for rent on the Swan River for $200 a week
A shipping container (pictured) and a caravan parking spot (but no caravan) have also been listed for rent
The tenant or tenants will need to get their sea legs fairly quickly as the boat does not look the most comfortable, with the bed being a mattress on the floor in the boat’s windowless bow.
One old sailor, Luke, likes the idea of living on a boat as a year of rate rises has left him an $1,100 a week mortgage bill.
The retiree told The West that ‘Rather than downsize, my go-to is a boat … I’d be quite happy doing that.’
He warned, though, that not every land lubber can automatically take to a life on the high seas, or even moored on the Swan River.
‘It’s romantic … but there’s a reality to living on a boat,’ he said. ‘They’re small, they’re cramped.’
The Real Estate Institute of WA (REIWA) said Perth is in the midst of the worst rental crisis since the institute began keeping such records 43 years ago.
The bed is a mattress on the floor (pictured) up a couple of steps in the boat’s windowless bow
The boat (pictured) comes with a dinghy so you can get to dry land without getting wet
The city’s vacancy rate is at 0.7 per cent, though it was even worse, at 0.6 per cent, last December.
Other unusual rental offerings in WA include $200 to rent a caravan parking spot in the backyard of a Yanchep home – caravan not included, but the spot did come with access to water and sewerage.
Several people have offered to let people pitch a tent in their backyards, but for those who like the idea of a tent but not the outdoorsy vibe, the solution came with one pitched in a family’s apartment.
The downside was that the husband, wife and two children would also still be living in the unit, but the upside was you got your own bathroom.
Unlike the Swan River boat which was advertised as being suitable for a couple, the Melbourne tent was single occupancy only.
If that sounded up your street, the cost was quite a bit steeper than riverboat living at $350 a week for the tent, which is $18,200 a year.
A family of four in Melbourne is offering a tent (pictured) pitched in their apartment to a single person for $350 a week, which is $18,200 a year
The ad gave others ideas about how they could monetise their own properties.
I might rent out my driveway to a caravan, backyard to tents, double bunk beds in my 4 bedrooms,’ one posted.
Another said they were going to start living in their two-man tent and rent the second space in it.
It wasn’t until a few days later, and 3,418kilometres away, that someone thought of renting out their boat.
