A landlord has been branded a ‘nutcase’ after renting out a tiny room for $300 a week while banning tenants from using their phones or having guests over as Australia’s rental crisis reaches new heights.
The owner of the property made the listing to Facebook on Thursday saying a room was up for rent at a house in Frankston, just outside Melbourne.
The landlord advertised for tenants to move in immediately for the ‘conveniently’ located property.
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.
The images highlight the tough reality facing tenants who have been hit with increases to rent rises and forced to wait hours in queue to inspect properties and compete with other renters.
A Melbourne landlord has been 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
Photos show the landlord’s belongings left scattered across the small room that was enclosed by unfurnished and exposed wooden walls.
The landlord also promised the tenant would be able to use a dirty spa bath tub, but they would only be given access to it on weekends.
‘Strictly no visitors to the property on weekdays, spa available for use on Saturday and Sunday,’ the post reads.
‘BBQ facilities for cooking next to room in undercover area. No drugs/pet or 5G phone.’
Renters were quick to comment on the room, saying they were shocked by the listing.
‘No 5G phones lol. The dude’s a nutcase,’ one person wrote.
This photo of a crowded open inspection in Bondi (pictured) sums up Sydney’s dire rental crisis, where desperate tenants are competing for properties
‘Fully furnished?! Pity it’s not fully a room,’ another said.
‘Can only use the bath on weekends?’ a third questioned.
Despite apparent universal contempt for the room, the landlord claims three people have already scheduled to view the room.
‘I have set rules as I don’t want my privacy or lifestyle interfered with. My house, my rules,’ the landlord told Yahoo.
Disgusted Australians claimed the dire state of the house was reflective of the country’s crumbling rental market as prices continued to soar.
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 capital 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.
A long line of would-be renters snakes down the side-path of a Sydney street waiting to see a $700 per week two-bedroom rental property in the eastern suburb of Clovelly
Linda Thompson lives in a caravan with her two youngest daughters, Alannah and Imogen (pictured together)
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.
The national rental vacancy rate is at a record low 0.9 per cent, according to Domain research data.
A recent photo taken in Bondi, in Sydney’s east, showed applicants queuing outside a home to inspect it.
In one chilling example, a family-of-three were left living in an old, leaking caravan after being priced out of the insane Sydney rental market and evicted from their home of 16 years.
Linda Thompson, 49, and her daughters Alannah and Imogen, 16 and 11, were forced to leave their home in Bradford, in the city’s west, three weeks ago following a dispute with the landlord.
But with rents soaring and a shortage of supply, Ms Thompson has been unable to find a new place to live despite submitting dozens of applications.
In the meantime, the family are hopping between relatives’ front yards and powered campsites, which cost $530 per week – significantly more than the $430/week three-bedroom home they had to leave behind.
