From dozens of eager tenants lining up around the block every weekend, to Aussies trading comfort and privacy for a roof over their head, the country’s rental crisis seems like it’s only getting worse. It was again placed in the spotlight this week when a $430-per-week listing in Sydney’s outer suburbs was slammed for its “ridiculous” requirements.
The 60m² granny flat in Heathcote, on Sydney’s southern outskirts, which is described as a “three-room garden studio”, was called out online by renters for the private landlord’s request that the new tenant “be quiet, private, and drug and alcohol-free”.
The property is “ideal for a retiree, single mother or student”, the ad states.
Also, they must not smoke, and are “preferably single”.
The latter tipped Aussies over the edge, with some pondering if owners are even allowed to make such demands.
“What happens if the single person gets a partner after moving in? Termination of lease for breach?” one person asked.
“This is Australia. What’s the point of owning property if you can’t use your position to make other people grovel,” another added, while others argued the owner may be reacting to a previous “bad experience”.
The 60m² studio in Heathcote was called out online. Source: Domain
Potentially unlawful rental listing demonstrates ‘unfair power’
In an interview with Yahoo News, CEO of the NSW Tenants’ Union Leo Patterson Ross explained that “seeking a single person, or a single mother, is a potentially unlawful form of discrimination”.
“You cannot discriminate on the basis of a person’s marital status, gender, or age,” he said.
While the other requests are not unlawful, they “demonstrate the unfair power landlords can wield over another person’s housing”.
“We don’t require people to be quiet in order to meet their needs for water, electricity or healthcare. Housing is no different,” Patterson Ross told Yahoo.
The union boss also pointed out that the listing asserts rent is $430pw, but there’s an additional charge of $120pw for electricity, water, sewerage, garbage and a Starling package”.
“This appears likely to be an unlawful charge — tenants are not liable to pay for sewerage or garbage charges, and water supply and electricity need to be separately metered to be passed on,” Patterson Ross said.
Renters also can’t be forced to use a particular service provider, he added.
Yahoo News has contacted the owner of the granny flat for comment.
Rental markets remain tough right around the country. Source: TikTok
More secondary dwellings popping up on Aussie properties
The “unreasonable demands and the unlawful charges” highlight why it is important landlords are made accountable for ensuring their investment is compliant with the rules, the union boss told Yahoo.
“We think a simple registration process is the first step here so that tenants and the government know who they are dealing with and can address issues more easily,” Patterson Ross suggested.
The listing is “enabled” by planning rules that allow secondary dwellings, but do not “seriously consider the difference between expanding a dwelling to enable other members of the family to live in a place, and renting it out to another person”.
“We have seen more secondary dwellings being installed and rented out by people without thinking about this, and it causes personal conflict as well as contractual breaches,” Patterson Ross said.
Sadly, given the dire state of the rental market, Aussies may not have any other choice but to move into homes and apartments that “are poorly managed and potentially unlawful”, he added.
“This shouldn’t be mistaken as a choice that indicates a desire to live in this type of accommodation.”
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.