Aussies are outraged after a landlord offered a cottage to rent for $300 a week as long as the new tenant looked after their children.
The owners of the one-bedroom cottage in Ainslie, north of Canberra, advertised on Thursday that they would be offering a “reduced rental rate” of between $250 and $300.
The tenant should be able to meet certain requirements, including picking up the children from school, cooking dinner and doing ‘light housework’.
“We are looking for a part-time nanny-housekeeper,” the message read.
‘We have a beautiful one-bedroom cottage with a separate office.’
The advertisement featured the one-bedroom cottage (photo) with the tenant being offered ‘reduced rent’
A bizarre advertisement from the owners of a rental property (pictured) has been rejected by Australian tenants outraged by the attempt to exploit potential tenants
The homeowners claimed the abatement agreement was like hiring a laborer to clean and care for the house.
“Cottage currently costs $500 per week, so this arrangement is equivalent to paying $500 for 15 hours of work,” the ad said.
The ‘blended family’ also explained that potential tenants would have to do the chores every ‘every two weeks’.
“There will be evenings when I’m traveling that our teen will need someone to be home in the evening to cook dinner and pick up from school on Thursday to take to an after-school activity,” the ad said.
‘Previously this was suitable for someone working from home with flexible hours, university students or partially retired nannies.’
Tenants should provide a Working with Vulnerable People Check and a list of references should also be provided.
A photo of the listing was shared on Reddit, where the landlord was accused of abusing prospective tenants.
“This seems so exploitative,” one social media user captioned the post.
Hundreds of social media users have slammed the homeowners for the bizarre listing.
The cottage also has a separate office space (photo)
“This is sexy behavior and super exploitative,” one person said.
‘To be honest, this sounds very insulting. The amount of time they are potentially asking for is disproportionate to the value of simply working more,” wrote another.
“That person is looking for a slave!”
Others said the move by the property’s owners was outrageous as tenants struggle to find somewhere to live.
“There is a housing shortage and the last thing we need is landlords feeding off desperate people looking for a place to stay,” one person wrote.
Some agreed, saying that some tenants or nannies who have no choice would comply so they have a place to live.
‘The language used seems to suggest they had someone before. Sadly, someone will be desperate enough to take it,” one person wrote.
Under rental laws in the ACT, tenants have the right to occupy a rental property for residential purposes without any legal interference.
Social media users have criticized the owners of the cottage (pictured) for trying to take advantage of desperate homeowners as thousands of Aussies struggle to find a place to live