Rental Market Crisis: Tenants at Meriton Suites Waterloo in Sydney see rent increased by 45 per cent

Tenants at a city center apartment complex owned by one of Australia’s largest property companies are in shock after being told their rent will be increased by almost half.

Residential development giant Meriton sent tenants at its Waterloo apartment complex in central Sydney a notice on Tuesday that their rent would increase by 45 percent.

Amid record low vacancy rates and increasing demand, rental prices have risen across Australia and especially in Sydney.

Tenants at the complex, like Jarrad and Brendan, who appeared on the Today Show on Friday morning, are worried they won’t be able to find another affordable home.

They expressed dismay at the staggering increase after their rents were raised just a year ago.

“We got one almost 12 months ago and it was welcome, but (an increase of) 50 percent of what we’re currently paying, that’s really unaffordable,” Jarrad told the breakfast show.

“People are affected by interest rates, inflation and stuff, but it’s not just a couple or an individual that deals with this. This is a corporation.

“We’ve noticed that he’s definitely going up in the area, but that was just, yeah, outrageous.”

His neighbor Brendan said he and his roommate were frustrated by the increase.

“I called my roommate to tell him and an hour later he tells me what happened to everyone,” he said.

“It’s annoying because it’s like you never expected it to go that high.”

Jarrad later expressed concern about finding an affordable alternative after the complex’s price tag left him out.

‘How are we going to allow ourselves to stay? Absolutely no idea,’ she said.

‘[I] I even asked our building manager about the availability of everything else here in this area and there really isn’t anything available right now, at least nothing under $1,000 a week.

The 45 percent increase imposed by Meriton is higher than rental prices for units in Waterloo, which have increased by a staggering 35 percent in the past month.

Neighboring suburb Redfern has been hit even harder, with the average rental property costing 48.7 percent more since last year.

In Sydney, units have been hardest hit by the increases, with rent rising by an average of 25.5 percent over the past year and 3 percent in the past month.

Two of the complex’s tenants, Brendan (left) and Jarrad (right), are now looking for housing away from the suites, however they can’t find anything ‘under $1,000’ in the area.

In a statement provided to Daily Mail Australia, Meriton defended the rent increase for residents of the Waterloo complex.

“Meriton manages 4,250 properties on behalf of owners and part of that service is ensuring that owners get a ‘market rent’ for their property, while maintaining compliance with all relevant property management legislation,” he said.

‘During the Covid pandemic, the residential rental market was severely affected. As a result, landlords were forced to reduce rents by 20-50% to help tenants who had lost their jobs or had their hours reduced.

‘In the aftermath of the pandemic, we are working hard to ensure our landlords recoup some of their losses, while we work even harder with state and local governments to speed up development approvals to deliver the homes NSW needs.

“Meriton is currently building more ‘Built-to-Rent’ apartments than any other developer, which will help with the current supply shortage.”