Rental crisis: Adelaide landlord turns one bedroom unit into five bedroom share house, strata court
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Landlord who turned a one-bedroom apartment into a shared FIVE-bedroom house is being taken to court as Australia’s rent crisis reaches ridiculous heights
- Si Ren converted her one-bedroom apartment into a shared five-bedroom home
- She completed the work, including building walls, without layersapproval
- EEach bedroom has been rented out for between $150 and $165 per week since 2021
- The original single unit was leased for $450 before work was done
- The judge ruled that Ms. Ren’s works required approval from the strata Corporation
A landlord has been sued for converting her one-bedroom apartment into a five-bedroom shared house, with each room rented out separately.
The South Australian court ruled that Si Ren had broken the law by putting up new walls in her 82 square meter apartment in Adelaide’s CBD.
The work was all completed without approval from the building’s strata corporation.
Ms. Ren claimed that the council had approved the development and therefore no additional approval from the strata corporation was needed.
She rented out each bedroom for between $150 and $165 a week, dating back to March 2021.
The original single unit was rented for $450, according to records available online.
It comes at a time when average rents across Australia have risen 10.3 per cent since the start of 2022, with low housing supply, rising interest rates and the post-Covid reopening of borders contributing to the tightness.
Landlord Si Ren has been taken to court for turning their one-bedroom apartment into a five-bedroom shared house, with each room being rented out separately
The South Australian District Court ruled that Si Ren had broken the law by installing new walls in her 82 square meter apartment in Adelaide’s CBD
She rented out each bedroom for between $150 and $165 a week, dating back to March 2021. The original single unit (pictured) was rented for $450, according to data available online
Ms. Ren bought the CBD apartment in September 2018 and told the strata manager at the time that she planned to put up several walls to create five bedrooms in the unit.
After being informed by the strata company’s management committee that they were ‘strongly against’ the idea, Ms Ren sought approval for the development from Adelaide City Council, reported news.com.au
Work on the unit began in April 2019 without any form of approval, as the municipality did not give approval until October 2019.
In May 2019, the strata manager told the owner that strata approval was needed to make renovations, and demanded that Ms. Ren “stop working immediately and restore the unit to its original condition.”
In November 2019, the Strata Corporation noted, āThe owner has not received approval from the Strata Corporationā¦ before work was carried outā and initiated legal action in September 2022.ā
District Court Judge Michael Durrant ruled that the development was a prescribed work and therefore required strata corporation approval under the Strata Titles Act
The strata company told the work had to be approved by the court, which it did not, and renting part of the unit also required strata approval, which again was not given.
Ms Ren said the council’s approval of the development meant no additional layer approval was needed to rent rooms in the apartment separately.
District Court Judge Michael Durrant ruled that the development was a prescribed work and therefore required strata corporation approval under the Strata Titles Act.
“I think that putting in interior walls is the transformation of a building and the erection of a structure,” he said.
‘Defendant could prescribed work in connection with [the unit] unless authorized by special resolution of the strata corporation.ā
A decision has yet to be made on whether or not to return Ms. Ren’s apartment to its former state and whether she can rent parts separately.