Increasing rents in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne lead to room-sharing tenants
Two friends have shared the shocking effort they went through to land a rental — and they’re still sharing a bedroom.
Tenants feeling the heat as landlords drive up prices have taken extreme measures to ensure they have somewhere to live.
Shocking images have surfaced for months showing long lines of hopefuls queuing to view rental properties across Australia.
Competition for rental properties remains fierce, with the most popular markets in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.
And as supply remains low, prices are driving up faster and faster.
The crisis has led to a population of young people growing up without ever thinking that they will become part of the rental market after being completely priced out.
Aussie renters have revealed how they manage to compete with rising rents, including two friends Elvira and Alice sharing a bedroom
Sales assistant, Elvira Brillantes, shares a two-bedroom apartment in Bronte with café worker Alice Wendel and a third roommate for a total of $930 per week.
“We increased it by $100 more and that’s how we got it,” Ms. Brillantes said.
The friends moved from Sweden last year and rather than give up on the dream of living on the city’s iconic coastline, they decided to share a bedroom.
Ms Brillantes said she doesn’t think her landlord will raise the rent because they’re already paying more than the asking price, but she’s worried she’ll have to get back into the rental market.
Bondi tenant, James Mort, said his rent is rising by as much as $600 a month and while he “expected it… [it] don’t lose the sting’
Freelance videographer James Mort has to weigh his options after receiving an email from his landlord earlier this week.
His apartment in Bondi is going up by nearly $600 a month.
“I expected it, but that doesn’t take the sting out of it,” he said.
He said he finds it frustrating that more and more people are being priced out of their suburbs.
“I think Bondi has always had a reputation for being quite expensive compared to the rest of Sydney, but also has families that lived here long before it gentrified.”
“It feels very unfair that we have to pay more year after year as tenants, but we see no improvement in the quality of what we get and pay for.”
Fin and Ollie, 19-year-old tradies, share a bedroom in a hostel for $500 a week instead of testing the rental market after moving to Australia from Leeds, UK
Tradies, Fin Empson and Ollie Chan, both 19, also share a bedroom for $500 a week.
The two from Leeds in the United Kingdom have been living and working in Australia for several months.
They’ve decided to live in a hostel instead of trying their luck in Sydney’s rental market.
“I’d much rather have my own room in a house than share a bedroom with my boyfriend, but I can’t afford it,” said Mr. Empsom.
The two tradies will return home mid-year to begin their university courses, but say the situation at home is just as dire.
“It’s much worse there,” Mr Empson said. “It’s just as high and the pay is worse.”
In her first rental home, 19-year-old cafe waitress Pheobe Colson says she saw lines of people waiting to see the “worst, tiny apartment ever” while looking for a place to live
Café waitress, Phoebe Colson, 19, has only been a tenant for two days.
“I’ve been here for about a month now doing countless viewings a day and I just recently, literally two days ago, found something,” she said.
She shares a $400-a-week two-bedroom apartment in Mascot, which she says is “slightly higher” than she’d like, but it’s been such a “struggle” to find a place.
She described nightmarish scenes of waiting in lines wrapping around downtown blocks to inspect a property, a major concern as she set foot in a new city.
“Oh my god, they were awful,” she said.
“Hundreds of people would be waiting for the worst, tiny apartment ever.”
Walid Michael, 41, a tailor, landlord and renter, was moved back to rental housing after the birth of twins; if he rents a property that his uncle owns, he won’t have to pay as much rent
Tailor, Walid Mikhael, 41, is a landlord and tenant.
He owned and lived in a property when he was younger, but after the arrival of his twins, his young family decided to move into a bigger house.
“I’m in a unique situation because I’m renting a house owned by my cousin, so rent-wise I don’t really feel it,” he said.
“He’s not charging me as much as he should be, and in return I’m not charging my tenants as much.”
While interest rates have gone through the roof, he said he can still manage and avoid passing these costs on to his tenants.
When asked if he is concerned about the future of the city his children will grow up in, he said, “I am, I don’t like the way things are going.”
Anand Masih, 25, a university student, still lives with his parents because of rents and has not considered renting so he can save for a house
University student Anand Masih, 25, lives at home with his parents until he can save for a house.
Like some people NCA NewsWire spoke, he said he had never considered renting in Australia.
“I’ll stay home with my parents until I save enough money to buy a house,” he said.
“I know it might take a little longer, but I’ll get there eventually.”
Other over-20s in a similar boat said they had always known renting wasn’t possible for a number of reasons.
“It takes too long to save to buy a home when you spend all your money on rent,” said one.
A growing proportion of the younger generation have never considered leaving home before the age of 25, if anything at all to get some space and independence from their parents or simply move closer to work.