Renter slams landlords for charging tenant’s lion’s share of mortgage repayments

One tenant criticized landlords for charging tenants hundreds of extra dollars a week and forcing them to pay off most of their mortgage.

Western Australian man Joel Bebbington criticized property owners who complained of having to shell out their own money to pay for their investment property.

He shared a video on TikTok of a property owner expressing her frustration that she had to raise her rent and still pay out of pocket to cover her debt.

“When tenants complain about a $100 rent increase but my mortgage went up $111 so I’m actually making less not more money,” the landlord wrote in the video’s caption.

Mr. Bebbington untied the owner, claiming that she was actually wrong and had no right to complain.

‘Then let me clear this up,’ he said.

“Instead of actually contributing to the economy yourself, you’re taking an asset that could go to someone else through a loan you can get because of your position in the market.

‘With that loan, you’re passing the entire cost of this multi-hundred-thousand-dollar purchase that you bought directly from someone else.

“And you’re saying that for this multi-hundred thousand dollar purchase that you have, you could spend $11 a week out of pocket.”

Mr. Bebbington went on to say that the long-term benefits far exceeded the weekly out-of-pocket costs.

“But at the end of 15, 20, 30 years, you’ll have an asset worth half a million dollars plus time, probably a little more than that,” he said.

‘That’s why people don’t like landlords. In fact, they believe that they are the victim here in some way.

‘If I could honestly tell anybody on the street to give me $11 a week and I’ll make you half a million dollars richer in 20 or 30 years, who the hell wouldn’t take that?’

He shared a video on TikTok of a property owner expressing her frustration that she had to raise her rent and still pay out of pocket to cover her debt.

His complaint comes as Australian home borrowers were crushed with a ninth consecutive interest rate hike on Tuesday with warnings of more on the way.

The RBA cash rate rose another 0.25 percentage point to a new 10-year high of 3.35 percent, up from 3.1 percent, adding $93 a month to payments on an average $600,000 mortgage.

Annual repayments are now typically $12,000 higher than in May 2022 and the Commonwealth Bank is now expecting two more rate hikes by Easter that will make this even worse.

That would add another $281 to average monthly payments, compared to now before banks approve the latest rate hike.

The Greens are calling on Treasurer Jim Chalmers to sack RBA Governor Philip Lowe after he warned of more rate hikes in 2023, even though borrowers are already enduring the steepest rate hikes since it was published by first time a target cash rate in 1990.

“The board expects that further interest rate increases will be needed in the coming months to ensure that inflation returns to target and that this period of high inflation is only temporary,” Dr. Lowe said.

“The board remains resolute in its determination to bring inflation back on target and will do whatever it takes to achieve it.”