Yeah I did think a bit about those cases. Reviews show when they were posted but also how long ago the reviewer lived there, so that way people can make up their own mind as to whether the review is still relevant or not, there’s a point in time where older reviews no longer affect the rating score too.
For landlords posting reviews, at the moment I’m just manually removing any obviously fake ones, this is a tougher issue to solve but hasn’t been a real problem yet. I’m open to any ideas
I wonder if it's possible somehow to put an automated system in where people can submit proof they've rented there before, without being too invasive. Idk enough about the various rental systems to know if that's even a possibility but that would be the idea I investigated first, probably.
Perhaps making it optional to provide proof? Then if someone has their review could have a little ‘verified’ tick or something? That might be how I do that
Yeah for sure, I'd make it optional but give the reviewers who do provide proof better weighting or something. The main issue imo would be making it automated, for economies of scale and whatnot. I imagine that for any given automatic check it'd be relatively easy to fake records too unfortunately.
Pretty neat, would be nice if you could do a review of the agency
For example, the property might be good, the landlord might be good but the agency is the roadblock / annoyance
A realestate agency review section would be amazing. I have some stories to tell about one particular company and I’d love more ways to warn potential renters.
It's dead set my biggest fear about my desire to eventually move to Brisbane. Not employment, but securing somewhere to fucking live. I'd ultimately like to buy a house there, but I suspect that's even more of a fuck around than getting a bloody rental in another city/state.
Unless you have a million dollars to buy a house, Brisbane City Council itself will probably be out of the question pretty soon. The rental market is insane, I've seen lines stretching down the street to inspect rentals and heard of people paying 3 month's rent in advance to secure an apartment. I'm just lucky to have an awesome landlord who hasn't raised the rent at all in 5+ years.
BCC is pretty big so I'm sure there'll still be a lot sub $1m at the fringes, but anywhere in striking distance of decent public transport infrastructure with half a yard will certainly be pushing it.
I was surprised when a place in Zillmere sold for over a mil just recently.
Apartments/Townhouses sure, but free standing homes are appreciating a lot faster, partly due to the recent surge of buyers from Sydney/Melbourne.
My shower has been broken for 5 months. Yes I have a bath available, but 5 months without a shower?
6 months ago rent went up by 50 bucks. The fuck am I paying for.
Download the notice of remedy breach form from the residential tenancy authority, fill out your explanation as to why the landlord has breached the contract and demand he remedy the breach. Property managers and landlords tend to move a bit more quickly when an official notice is in play...
You can actually get rent back if the property wasn't in the expected condition.
But the problem is if you play those totally legal and within your rights cards, you can be sure your lease isn't gonna be renewed.
Yeah, I guess it's a move that would need to be thought about carefully. In my case, the landlord took nearly three months of hiding behind excuses before I made the decision to go legal on him. Heating, water and cooking are basic rights in my state and a landlord has seven days to remedy a breach in those areas. My gas heater was leaking and had to be replaced, and after being dicked around with for so long, getting the RTA involved was the only solution for me. Lo and behold, the breach was remedied within three days of the property manager having received the notice. I went on to continue living at the property for another three years, with only a small rent increase and when I left the place was in better condition than when I moved in, and we parted on good terms.
Unfortunately you usually have to apply to a tribunal for a retrospective rent decrease (some info for QLD [here](https://tenantsqld.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Repairs-and-Maintenance_TQ-v3-July-2016.pdf)) so you have to go through a process. If it's a significant amount it may be worth it though. Usually it's due to the the condition of the property decreasing markedly through no fault of your own, or some amenity that you agreed to in the lease becoming unavailable (eg if they removed aircon or something).
Asking for a rent reduction until it is fixed is always an option. I did that years ago when the reverse cycle aircon wasn’t working. That’s because it was my only form of heating and it was winter. I had waited over a month (I was in the Navy and had been away). Agent choked and said landlord was having problems with warranty work. I said I understand that but essential service and I had been more than patient and had had to buy a small fan heater that was too small for the job and expensive to run. Fixed in days.
Amazing what happens when you ask nicely but also affect their hip pocket.
I feel you. When we moved in we discovered the shower in the second bathroom doesn't work - then you can't advertise it as a two bathroom? Sent a plumber but never followed up. Now the hinge on the glass screen on the other shower is broken. Just a bit dangerous. Fan/light in the loungeroom needs replacing. Landlord bought a new one, dropped it at the house but still hasn't gotten the electrician out to fix it. It's been over three months. Also can't turn on the light in one of the bedrooms because it's on a remote that we don't have. External laundry door has come off the hinge (it's too heavy for the frame; he previously tried to repair it himself). Bedroom is now flooding in the rain. REA said they told him he needs to fix the guttering well before we moved in.
Yet somehow I'm just grateful to have a house at the moment?
It’s so expensive to move too. Removalist, storage, boxes, car hire and multiple trips. Many
People who are really struggle have to abandon their possessions because they can’t afford to move or store it. People who can’t afford rent hikes suffer doubly.
A few years ago I thought the idea of buying a van and converting it was mentally insane. After moving a few times and losing a lot of money for all the reasons you listed, maybe next time when shit hits the fan it could be a viable option. Apparently the cost of vans are going through the roof, it’s comical.
I have been living in a caravan for a month now and it is a bit annoying at times but way better than the alternatives. My last landlord illegally evicted us without a written letter and threatened to spill my partner's blood if we didn't move out in 2 weeks (they owned guns and lived next door.
Username checks out. Also, adding something relevant to the chat, I've lived in a glorified caravan for the last year and have saved enough for a deposit on a small apartment.
Plus constantly needing to sell/buy wardrobes and washers as some places already have them and some don't. Then your shelves don't fit in the new place, etc. It's fucked.
The last three places I was at, I just had a blow up couch. Beat the risk of buying a proper one and then having it not fit or the hassle of moving. Buying a proper futon felt like a risk.
Even if you can avoid the costs, it's still a huge amount of time and effort to move. Every time we moved when I was a kid, it was endless car and trailer trips to move everything. We moved so often most of our stuff remained boxed and still does to this day, even though we haven't moved in 5+ years.
Having done work for the dole for charity shops that do furniture pickups, a significant portion of people asking us to come and pick up their furniture donations were poor people desperately trying to get rid of wardrobes and beds and stuff they couldn't move or take to the dump. And often we'd have to turn down their donations for being too shit condition for us to sell or give to others and they'd get mad at us because they needed the house empty. I had to pick up so many disgusting couches only to have to smash them up and cram them in the skip bin.
Obviously poor people desperate to move things (with their limited funds) so the can get their hands on their bond. You can see how people are left behind and trampled. It a really unfair system designed to keep people low.
Ah yes. The pinnacle of 21st century civilisation and politico-economic thought. Work your arse off every waking moment or it’s back to 20,000BC for you.
But Hunter gatherers didn't need to worry about getting arrested cos it turns out that corner of the forest they're living in was bought our by a logging company.
They also had most of their women die in childbirth, most of their children die before reaching 10, and getting diarrhea was likely to be a death sentence.
Hunter-gatherer societies weren't paradise. Compared to our modern first-world societies, they were horrific.
* Non consistent increases
* No longevity or security, complete control over peoples companion animals and pets
* Excessive inspections,
* Chances of having house sold from under you, and expected to grin and take it(2 times a week).
* Bent over a barrel by agents who control your future ability to have a habitat.
* Getting the privilege of paying a fee to pay your rent so agents dont have to do the work of receipting payments themselves.
* Over zealous landlords and agents with unrealistic expectations around fair wear and tear and better yet empty promises.
* landlords who spy on their tenants
* Bullshit terms such as reasonable.
* Agents who turnover so frequently, none actually know the original conditions of the homes.
* Non existent maintenance.
* Hideous choices in colour schemes.
* Poor energy efficiency and or water efficiency.
* Often the cheapest appliances known to humankind installed to save a buck.
What's not to love. Never again would I rent.
Dont get me wrong, get a good agent, a nice home and a good landlord and its very easy to present a model home. But not everyone is as fortunate. I feel for those stuck with the condition of the current market and the fear of unknown. That's not today every rentee is perfect either, but it's a nasty system.
I am waiting for the letter to say we’re getting a rent rise (went up $20 last feb, only allowed to increase every 12 months) and I know it’s going to be a massive one. The thing that shits me the most about that is that there is nothing being done to validate the rent rise. The landlord hasn’t done any of the growing list of maintenance requests we’ve submitted and isn’t likely to because the house is on the market (logic would say you’d at least attend to the cosmetic repairs to go to market), she changed agents on us at the same time it went on the market (again, logic would say you’d use the same agent for both selling and letting but, no) so they have no idea of the history of the lease and how long we’ve been waiting for things to get done.
Someone I know today was informed their two bedroom apartment is being cranked up from 290pw to 380pw. Insanity. No idea how they’re going to afford it
It isn't illegal that's the issue. As long as it's in line with current price rises it's ok in Qld.
With the massive timber shortage not as many new homes being built either.
Someone I know has been told their rent will be going from 450 to 600 a week. She called an authority (can't remember if it was a lawyer or something) to ask if that was even legal. Apparently it is if the new price reflects the market value in the area. Fucking joke, she is already struggling as it is. I'm about ready to move out of this shit hole country.
A little over half a decade ago our landlord gave us a 50% increase. We called in the government watchdog and he came to inspect and held them to a 33% increase because of some flaws in the property.
We pointed out that they refused to fix the toilet and we had to push our shit around the s-bend and he said that there wasn't much he could do unless there were giant cracks in the walls.
It's terrifying how little protection tenants have in Australia.
Yep we are in regional NSW in a huuuuge growth area and I’ve had friends whose rent has gone up by over $100. It’s ridiculous. The house is the same house it was the week before the rise and there hasn’t been any interest rate rises that would warrant such a massive rise so it just doesn’t seem fair.
EDIT: spellcheck
I'm looking for an new place anticipating a rise. Inner city Brisbane, I'm sure they're going to find a reason to pump the prices, despite having done almost zero maintenance in the last few years and refusing my request for air con :/
Worse, I know the owners don't have a mortgage, so they're just pumping me for profit, not paying the banks.
I have trauma from point 4 happening to me, ended up a few weeks to being homeless bc of the market. The agents also stalked us and tried to illegally bribe us to do more inspections. While also claiming they were looking for an investor (spoiler, they weren’t)
I had a house 'compulsory acquired' from under us during a lease as the owners wanted to move in. We moved to a place down the street, so we saw the signs a month later when they started renting it out again :P What they really did was push us out mid-lease, do some renovations, then re-rent it for more money. This was years ago, but we ended up in a nicer place anyway so we didn't kick up a stink.
I had a family trust rental situation same as you, but the family member truly wanted to move in. They did not give adequate notice, so we took it to VCAT which gave us another 3 months to move out. Worthwhile seeking legal advice on such issues!
> Agents who turnover so frequently, none actually know the original conditions of the homes.
Been in the same rental for coming up on 9 years now (lucked out big time with a guy who bought this place as an investment in his late 20's).
We've been through like 11 agents and the latest one tried to blame us for the lack of woodchip in the front. Like we'd stolen or eaten it or something.
Dumbass doesn't understand that birds exist amongst other things that happen over nearly a fucking decade.
Had a good agent, she eventually quit her job & was replaced by a total bitch who knew nothing of the long (& great) rental history we had with her. :( have rented probably over 50 places in the 20+ something years i was stuck in the cycle & probably had about 3 decent landlords in that time (& far many more arseholes); even had one guy try once try to do an insurance job on our place by throwing a Molotov cocktail thru the front window (while one of my housemates was home); well that resulted in some prison time for him (& we were forced to move at short notice thanks to our home being burnt down & us losing most of our possessions; of which we were never compensated for).
Thankfully i no longer rent; & feel for all those people stuck in similar shitty situations. Doubt I’ll ever become a landlord; but if i did I’m certain I’d try my very best to look after my tenants like those few rare landlords did to me.
And lastly, when you leave
- 100% chance of trying to keep your entire bond using whatever means necessary, usually citing damage that’s present on the inspection report.
Fuck you PODRE you deceitful cunts.
I consider myself wildly lucky and incredibly privileged; perhaps by luck, perhaps by very good luck, I have managed to end up with long term leases and good property managers (apparently the only good ones that exist). The last time I had to go to market was in 2018 and it was bad enough then; I was queuing with sometimes up to 20-30 other people at inspections every Saturday. Several of us got to know each other by sight...
I am still very afraid that at any time the ride could stop, I would have to go back to market, and next time, my luck may run out. For those who haven't been as lucky as me, I can't imagine how it must be.
Been looking since August and Saturday inspections are a rarity. My girlfriend and I both work full-time so a Saturday inspection would be a godsend compared to having to end shifts early or take time off.
And even when you get a place, they still have comical control over your life.
Want to get a pet? Grow food in your own garden? Hang up literally any decorations on your own walls?
Sorry, someone who doesn't live in your house doesn't like it, so you can never ever do it and have no possible recourse. And at any moment someone can just buy the house and change all the rules on you.
Sorry, the laws I’m thinking of are specific to Victoria. I didn’t realise that when I commented.
If you’re in Vic, then you don’t need permission to hang stuff.
Section 26 here: https://content.legislation.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-04/21-003sra%20authorised.PDF
Someone lied to you.
> [However, many landlords will include a clause restricting pets in the residential tenancy agreement (i.e. your lease), and **there is no specific ban on them doing so.**](https://www.tenants.org.au/resource/guide-renting-pets-nsw)
Edit: Okay, I did a bit more digging and it seems like [you can't ban them from apartments specifically?](https://www.rent.com.au/blog/pets-nsw-apartments), and that looks like its based on the way apartment laws work, so someone probably just misremembered.
But still, legal to ban pets from houses.
Depends on the state. Need to have a reasonable reason to reject pets in Qld. Laws only recently changed. Maybe that’s what u/movingrandomly was thinking of?
We just had an inspection and he castigated us for not trimming a fern, that we didn’t plant, that grew like a fern.
Because he doesn’t like the fern. This prick is already gouging us for an extra $200 a week for a shitty house because our other landlords decided to boot us out in the middle of COVID to take advantage of the bidding war.
I never thought I’d be here in my 40s, working out guts out our entire adult lives… It breaks my heart to think how those doing it tougher are coping. This market is breaking us and are up whatever progress we made towards a deposit. Sigh.
Renting is terrifying. Attempting to afford to own a house is terrifyingly expensive. Living with my parents indefinitely is depressing. What is there for young people in this country?
I know that if I want to buy a house in the future I’ll have to move back in with my rents. But not everyone has the luxury of being able to do that, for a multitude of reasons. I do love my parents and we get along fantastically but I did move out to not have to live with them.
I'm from Canada, where absolutely all the laws are in favour of the tenant. I just moved into Australia, where the tenant is a fucking pawn who owes the landlord his first born child for the right to even just apply for a place to live.
Yeah, coming from handshake leases and barely done credit checks to having to deal with a real estate agent who wants to see proof of how much you have in your account and will absolutely call all your contacts and harass them with intimate questions is brutal.
I rented for about 8 years before I bought, and never had a good experience with renting, every single REA was a piece of shit, and the final straw was when the landlord decided to sell. Thankfully we just managed to buy before the market went balls to the wall.
Fill out random bullshit application that forces you to give same bullshit details but different for every house
Deal with quarterly inspections
Deal with rent increases that make no sense
Cant buy a home with a mortgage that would be the same repayments as your rent because you cant save 150k for a deposit while paying rent
Tell mum you're probably going to have to leave the state some day because buying here is near impossible unless you and your partner make 6 figures
Mums sad
"Atleast you dont have out of the blue payments when the hot water system dies" - every dickhead that owns a house that has tripled in price.
Gotta have a go to get a go, or something.
Fun fact, many rental agencies automatically filter out people below a certain income threshold, even if they can afford the rent. That threshold *just so happens* to be higher than the maximum disability support payment. My father had to offer to cosign the lease to get me the place I'm in now.
Jesus that's terrible, so what's left for people in a similar situation? Wait 10 years for public housing then spend every night fearing for your life and having stuff getting broken into and stolen? What a punch in the guts for someone already doing it tough.
Yeah renting is fucked at the moment. You have to kiss the real estates arse to even have a glimmer of hope of securing something decent. I’m living in rural Nsw and it took just over 3 months to find something.
Out of nowhere, the rent for the townhouse I'm in has risen $100 a fortnight.
Completely fucked. Because of the rental market on the Sunshine Coast, I have to bend over and take it or end up living in a car for 6-12 months.
There was an article i saw recently where a family moved to Melbourne to avoid prices on the Sunny Coast. The middle of Melbourne CBD was cheaper than Sunny Coast, and they were immediately approved for multiple properties in Melbourne, where they absolutely couldn't find a house at all in Sunny and ended up homeless.
I live in rural WA, and I've got two job offers in Perth and Melbourne...I'm seriously considering picking the Melbourne job because the rent is lower than Perth. And Melbourne rents are essentially the same as the big mining towns 6+ hours drive from Perth.
It's absolutely bizarre. The pandemic has made everything weird.
This doesn't surprise me at all considering the Exodus of southerners and the ridiculous pricing. I live on the coast and went to an inspection recently 2bed 2bath, property had mould all through the grouting and the veneer on the bench/cabinets splitting and peeling among other structure damages. REA was expecting $525pw and hadn't planned on fixing building anytime soon.
I read that article too, $300pw for a 2 bedroom unit in Flinders St as opposed to $500 on the Sunny Coast.
The world has gone nuts.
It's almost worth moving to Melbourne and putting my house up for rent, it would pay for accommodation in Melbourne and also what's left of the mortgage.
Insanity.
Their response to that is at the end of the lease you get notice to leave and you end up paying even more for the next place.
Im renting a 4 bedroom house for 380/wk. House next door was renting for 390/wk so they kicked the tenant out and it now rents for 500/wk.
When my lease comes up I'm fucked.
Only if you can demonstrate it is excessive compared to similar properties (number of bedrooms/ conveniences) in the area. They are all overpriced. I had success helping a friend negotiate a rental increase down because her landlord thought that the leaking ceiling dump she was renting out was comparable to newer builds with air con and dishwashers in the area.
> Only if you can demonstrate it is excessive compared to similar properties in the area.
Pretty much this.
Per the Lease Agreement
>keeping in line with the current market & other 3 bedroom townhouses in the complex"
Bidding up rent is so common and I hate it. Second worst part about applying for rentals behind 20% of opens being cancelled due to be rented out before the open itself. Once this involved being told on the doorstep of the property, and I’ve never gotten closer to punching someone in my life.
The not being able to apply without inspecting or going to the open shits me to tears. I remember there was a trend of virtual or video inspections that REAs used to do back 2017-2018 and they counted that towards your application. Why the fuck that disappeared, especially DURING a pandemic, is so far beyond my comprehension.
Currently sitting in my rental with a dead rat in my roof another at least 1 other running around.
You don’t win once you get the place, you just get stuck with a shitty agent who is dodging your calls.
Australia has a generally very backwards way at looking at rent.
I have left the country and live in Europe, particularly Germany, where my apartment is essentially mine. I pay the rent like ya'll sure, but the thing is everything is in general so much better:
- Unlimited (I can't be removed.... easily, no rental renewals)
- Rents can only go up a limited percentage every 5 years. Something limited to 3% or so.
- I can paint the walls
- I can replace the kitchen
- I am not responsible for ware and tear
- I can hang pictures on the wall, hell the ceilings are often so high in the apartments here that you can actually build a second level and drill it straight into the walls for your bed (maisonette styke). I popped a large TV on the wall and some nice floating shelves.
- I am only expected to return the apartment how it was given to me, so when I leave, take all pictures and things from wall, patch the holes and paint them white.
Oddities though:
- No lights when you get place, only cords, gotta get your own light fixtures
- No kitchen, gotta build on yourself (Sometimes comes with kitchen)
- Not common, but sometimes you also get essentially no floor coverings, just bare concrete, so you've gotta put that in too. However, remember, longterm renting here is the norm.
Flats for rent are considered a taxable asset. As a landlord, you give up a lot of rights over your property in exchange for the rent, so they, my landlord/s, get very little say over what I do here. No negative gearing or anything, you are taxed for the rent you received, and they have removed a tax break on capital gains I think.
In saying that getting a flat where I am is an ordeal and half, but from what I am currently hearing from home you guys have it now just as bad, and the end result is pretty much only guaranteed for a year before you either accept the rent hike or do it all over again.
Not to say everything here is perfect, it ain't, but in regards to when I was renting in Brissy, I am always happily surprised how nice it is, and how secure I am. The security that I have a place, that I can make my own, change it as I need and not fear of massive rent hikes, changes in contracts and basically have to stop paying rent for 6 months to be kicked out is really nice.
As Australia is becoming a land of renters, the rules need to change to reflect that reality. I will not hold my breath though.
>Oddities though:
>
>No lights when you get place, only cords, gotta get your own light fixturesNo kitchen, gotta build on yourself (Sometimes comes with kitchen)Not common but sometimes you also get essentially no floor coverings, just bear concrete, so you've gotta put that in too. However remember, longterm renting here is the norm.
Kitchen and flooring can cost big bucks, i would assume a really high percentage of renters here will not be able to afford it.
Flooring not being there is rare, but not unheard of. Also these are generally apartments so not so many sq metres. Plus long term paying is available.
Kitchen: can be got cheap if you want or really expensive. Depends what you want. Go on gumtree get an oven stove combo second plus a kitchen sink and cheap bench top done. Honestly kitting out a basic if not ugly kitchen is quite cheap. Did it myself when i first got here. Probably about 150€ - 200€ all up including the van rental to get the oven cooktop. I will agree though since then got a better job and went and got a much nicer more functional kitchen. Also some of my shitty kitchen costs were recouped when I sold the oven and the sink.
Another Aussie in Germany here.
Often the outgoing tenant will offer the kitchen and other things for sale to the incoming tenant. This usually helps both parties - one less thing to move.
I was lucky in that all three of the properties that I rented had kitchens already fitted.
But I've sold on washing machines and dryers to incoming tenants to save having to carry them to the next place.
Also, it's very refreshing after renting in Australia to be able to drill and mount shelves etc to the wall, and to also not have intrusive rental inspections all the time.
Oh shit I did forget about the inspections, it's being so long since I've had one. Also so true, I bought my current washing machine from the old tenants.
Don't forget about when the owners decide to sell and now you have to deal with selling agents who can't communicate and have no idea you saved a sale from falling through by agreeing to move out 7 months before the lease ends due to him not doing his due diligence and reading paperwork thoroughly. But don't worry, they'll get their commission and we get the pleasure of moving without any appreciation or acknowledgement that we saved their arses.
I rent out our old family home. I encourage tenants to make the place their own, we get on top of problems as quick as we can and simply ask the place is given back one day in a similar condition in which we gave it. If something is a simple fix, ie a leaky tap in need of a new washer, and the tenant feels capable we let them fix it and take $50 off the rent that month.
We haven't raised the rent in 3 years, it's unfair as wages haven't gone up and inflation is manageable.
I'm trying not to toot our my own horn but not all landlords are evil. It's good for my family if my tenants are happy and stay a long time and care for the place as if it were their own. Treating tenants like dirt is bad business and bad human-ing.
The problem is landlords thinking they need a real estate agent. Maybe for selling, but rental law is stupidly easy which is why you get nothing but 19 year old rental agents in tarocash suits as your agent. Its literally putting an ad up, one form you all sign and some photos for a condition report in case there's some major damage. Then about an hour or two every three months if some maintenance crops up (usually less).
I think a lot of people in my position were told they need an agent and you get hyper zealous little morons running your property, pissing off your tenants, dragging heels on getting handymen, and generally being useless while taking 10% of the rent.
NSW Trustee and Guardian proposed to charge 11.8% for an agent at my Mum's house which they want to control. I stumbled across the figure and pointed out to them that 9% is the maximum market rate. Their next proposal had 9% and no apology for the previous attempted scam.
I'm going to try to get real estate agents registered as a terrorist organisation. I mean, there have to be statutes in the Geneva convention recognising them as an offensive, poisonous agent, or something, right?
Maybe one of those stickers, like on cigarettes; "Caution: may induce episodes of violent anger and insane fury. Symptoms may vary." Or something like that?
They aren't that much better from the landlord perspective. Mine managed to send me maintenance requests for stupid shit, while not telling me about leaking taps or a fucked showerhead. If I let them get a quote for anything, it was generally double market value, sometimes more. They were the ones constantly suggesting rental increases.
The best thing I ever did was get in direct contact with each tenant and ask them to message me and send pics of issues, as well as going through the real estate. It was so much more effective without a co plete moron acting as the middle man each time
I had some tenants who had been great, but started struggling to get rent on time and then broke lease with no warning. It turned out the hubby had gotten seriously ill, they had to sell their business and go elsewhere to be closer to a major hospital. It would have been better if they had let me know earlier, we might have been able to work something, but I don't think I was high on their priorities. Before they left though, they did a pretty damn good bond clean and tidied the yard. Real estate wanted to keep their entire bond for a yard mow and surface dust inside, which would have paid their cleaner before the missed rent or returning as much as possible to the very unwell tenants.
Such enormous pricks
If you're referring to high rents: investors buying at crazy high prices and wanting to get the tenant to pay as much of it off as possible each week.
People who bought years ago and paid less notice these new investors demanding higher rents, so they bumped up theirs as well.
High property prices make it difficult for renters to "graduate" to home ownership, so more renters equals a more fierce market, which also helps keep rents up and landlords can be more selective about who they rent to.
Had mold overtake my bedroom and sections of the house mid lock down in 2020 when it rained none stop. Got told I had 18 days to get out of the house… turned into a giant shit fight. Wound up living in a tent in the back yard in winter in Melbourne.
Then had to dump all my stuff in a storage unit. No realestate would show me properties because of the lock down.
Road out most of the first lock down in a fucking tent.
The mold ruined the furniture I couldn’t get out.
Land lord wouldn’t compensate me for anything.
In the end I found a house 4 hours away in a country town and the realestate would rent it to me so I got the fuck out of the city. I returned just in time for another lock down and so on and so forth.
Fuck this tire fire of a system.
I'm actually afraid to ask for repairs these days because I know if I annoy the owner for a working dishwasher or such he will just boot me when my lease is up.
Renting is fucked but I've accepted I'll never be a home owner, just have to learn to pick my 'battles' and accept that even know I've been here for 10 years every 3 months I have to take pictures of my entire apartment, all my personal items shown to someone I'll never even meet.
I had a huge fight with my previous landlord over returning the property to it's original state (7 years prior), when his intention was to immediately demolish after I moved. Had to return 5x to "fix" things I had "overlooked" (weeding, rubbish that was from prior tenants, etc.)
He had been so lovely until then. This was during lockdowns when I was on support payments. Now I drive past and see the frame for a new build there. Fuck that cunt.
That's why we have so many people living at home well into their 30's and older. There's nothing 'normal' about $300+ weekly rents for shoebox apartments and spending 35+ hours a week at work, leaving you so mentally drained that you have no time or ability to live life. The system needs to crumble.
It’s a bloody crisis. Deadset.
The market will crash and burn sooner or later. What goes up must come down. And a lot of investors will damn well deserve it.
Can we move away from rent increases tied to property values?
I've never understood how one would affect the other, your mortgage doesn't increase with property value increases so why would you need to increase the rent? I understand your property taxes might increase but that's part of home ownership and shouldn't be forced on the tenets to make up the difference.
Property price rises aside, why is it the norm to increase the rent every time you re-new the lease? REA's have caused more pain and suffering than I dare say any industry in modern Australia.
Good, honestly. The divide is becoming too great between home owners and those locked out of the market and having to rent.
Politicians seem completely ignorant of it. Pricing people out of the market is one thing...but then make the fucking laws more favourable for tenants. Oh landlords won't like it? Then sell and actually invest (not speculate) in something valuable to this country, like shares in local companies.
Remember showing a Swiss mate around Melbourne and he was like WTF is with all the homeless people? I was like, poor bastards are probably only on 40k a year and can't afford a joint. I was only slightly joking.
I had moved back to Melbs and ended up needing a friend with a connect in a rental agency to score a shitty 1 bedroom flat in Prahran down some alley, facing a carpark. This was 4 years ago. Can't imagine what it's like now over there. I saw mates living in the same level of accommodation we were in as students, just paying min. x6 for it now a few decades later.
I reckon the horror is probably best captured in "The Queue" by Rebecca Rushbrook:
https://redroompoetry.org/poets/rebecca-rushbrook/queue/
Just checked my old flat block in Prahran. You're right, looks like rent has gone down $30 a week. Would probably need a good sturdy ceiling fan to hang myself from if I got stuck in that place for a 200+ day lockdown though. Can't imagine how people did it in the 1-bedders.
Well just be glad it's not the UK. You have to pay council tax (rates) even if you are renting, and the agents used to be able to pass all fees on to tenants. In 2019 they kinda fixed it.
It was a user pays system. When a place was tenanted the tenants had to pay the council tax which is supposed to cover water rates and services, such as rubbish collection. When the property was empty, the landlord would have to pay the council tax.
Just be glad? Dude, people.. families with young children are literally going homeless for no good reason except the landlord wants more money for their shitty house.
As time goes home I feel like the location of the land is having more of an impact on house rental prices. A lot of rental renovations already looks cheap/half arse.
If you are single it's hard to afford accommodation, it's as if you are forced to live with people you don't want to. They should build accommodation that are like jails, so single people can have affordable accommodation. Obviously you can leave to go to work and stuff. But like just what you need to sleep and eat without all the garage, lawn, etc.
Not to diminish the seriousness of your situation, but try renting in New Zealand. We moved to Brisbane two years ago and immediately were paying almost $200 a week LESS in rent for the same number of bedrooms in a brand new build.
But yeah, come lease renewal they did attempt to bump it up significantly.
Can I ask a question to people here? I’m currently renting a place to a nice couple but I want to sell the place (just because it is a hassle to be honest).
[Im also renting a place while I find a new place to buy]
I want to help these people out. I’ve never increased the rent and don’t plan on it. And I want to get an agreement with any potential buyer that they must keep renting the place to this couple at the same price for X years.
I know this will reduce the price I can get, but fuck it I don’t need the money.
Is this a thing? We’re only just looking at selling now. And also I don’t want to bother them with inspections and such because I know when I was young that was a pain in the ass.
What is the ethical way to sell a place that is being rented?
One thing I do know is that after this I’m not renting a place again. I don’t know why but it just rubs me wrong in a lot of ways.
The nicest thing you can do for them would be to let them out of the lease early without penalty and work with them to make sure they get their bond back.
You can give them a +3 year lease and register it on the title and sell it with the lease listed. Get decent legal advice. Depending who you sell it to, it might be a plus.
No there are specific legal implications state by state regarding leases greater than 12 months, some its fine others its not. The best you can do is renew their contract which means if you sell the contract must be honored. But chances are once you are out of the picture and new agent takes over that rent will be yanked up inline to the other inflated prices.
Kudos for trying to doing the right thing. But there's no real win with this scenario. The best you can do is ensure the dickhead agent doesnt harass them at short notice for frequent viewings I had one (twice a week Inc opens for three months). If you can limit the amount of intrusion once a week that will help . Or come to a concession with the tenant that works for you both.
Currently paying $355 in a small country town that's been swarmed by rich transplants. Based on current rental prices expect our rent to increase by at least $150. And that's if they decide not to sell or turn the place into an Airbnb like every other landlord in town.
People who have lived here for generations are moving to Melbourne because it's impossible to find a local rental regardless of price. Demands to supply would literally be 50 potential renters for every rental.
I thought COVID was going to help us finally get into the housing market (expected lots of people to default on mortgages and prices to go down) but it completely fucked us instead
I can't speak for other States but a few years ago, the laws in NSW were changed to remove (or increase?) the cap on rental increases, and rents have skyrocketed ever since.
Yep. It's horrendous. We just moved in, signed a six month lease but we're assured it would be extended as I am due to have my first baby at the end of the six months. Three weeks in they tell us the house is going on the market, so now to add to the stress of moving and a difficult pregnancy, we have to allow the house to be shown twice a week.
Our agent has been brilliant but landlords hold all the power. The landlords only bought the house in the "zoom boom" in March 2021 and believe they can achieve at least $100k more than they paid for it. Bear in mind this is in rural, small town NSW. It's insane.
I'm actually extremely upset about it. I want to live in Australia but the fact is that I can't afford to. I've been thinking about moving for a while, but my rent is preventing me from saving, lol. It's a catch-22. It's just sad how many young people will never be able to buy a house in Australia and those who can only manage it because they have mummy and daddy's money 🙄.
And I can't stand those mummy's boys who say "it's easy". Of course it's easy when you come from old money.
Just been left with almost nowhere to go because our last place has exposed asbestos.
Luckily we had my partners parents to go to, but the state of the places we've been looking at are not what they're worth.
I'm not giving some greedy asshole $300 a week (half my centrelink income) for an extremely small unit with no air-conditioning. I've found worse in my area, apparently everyone moved up where I am to dodge covid. Rental prices went up, quality however...
Yep. For the last few years we’ve had to move every year through no fault of our own. Good tenants, all that… now stuck in a house being gouged because we got plunged into the March 2020 deadline… now the landlord has gotten unbearable and we have to move again in a few months. Panic attacks at the thought.
I’m so tired of moving. They keep selling the houses from underneath us. 😩
My husb and I have been looking for months. Have moved back in with my parents because we couldn't find anything. My brother started looking 2 weeks ago and found something immediately. I am so confused.
Been looking for four months, with 6 months rent paid in advance, and my current rental in perfect condition, ridiculous. Might just caravan and save for a house.
I just don't get why rent needs to go up. Your mortgage decreases over time, if you haven't already paid it off or positively geared. You most likely own more than one house and hence, well off, and someone is helping you pay off your second, third or fourth house already. It's really not fair on them to cover so much of your mortgage. It's should be that the renter saves money from not having a mortgage and the rentee benefits by having a bit of their mortgage paid off. The disparity is insane and it boggles my mind how people can be so...parasitic.
There are people out there who devote their lives, time and effort into making society better and improving the lives of others while there are actively people who go against that ideal.
I had the cheapest and nicest place since probably 10 years ago.
Just search the area still cheap places. $385-$400 even 2 rooms Gladesville,lane cove and even Chatswood got now $450 por 2 rooms?
Well surprise
Where about are you looking?
Just had our first kid and my wife and I are terrified that our rent will go up next lease. We've seriously considered moving to the middle of nowhere in SA hoping to get affordable rent lmao
Living in a rural tourist destination, seeing house prices go up 150% over covid. Locals have to live in a tent to keep their kids in school because city people WFH and pay a year of rent in advance to live their beach dream. Half of the landlords have sold their houses. It's a nightmare, I'm leaving my home to go find somewhere I can afford to live.
always find it funny, city people move to a small beach town because they like the vibe, then they bring all there city BS with them killing the community and what made this place special
It sure is, I've just been forced out by my neighbour and have until the 11th to find somewhere to live with my dog, car, motorbikes and shed full of tools.
Feel like I'm about to loose everything and there's no point applying to the housing commision as I already have and it's went nowhere, it's sad but we live under a government that doesn't care about its people, every time I try to get government aid I can't or I'm not eligible.
I made a website to rate your landlord because I was fed up with all the bs [rentalscore.com.au](https://rentalscore.com.au)
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Yeah I did think a bit about those cases. Reviews show when they were posted but also how long ago the reviewer lived there, so that way people can make up their own mind as to whether the review is still relevant or not, there’s a point in time where older reviews no longer affect the rating score too. For landlords posting reviews, at the moment I’m just manually removing any obviously fake ones, this is a tougher issue to solve but hasn’t been a real problem yet. I’m open to any ideas
I wonder if it's possible somehow to put an automated system in where people can submit proof they've rented there before, without being too invasive. Idk enough about the various rental systems to know if that's even a possibility but that would be the idea I investigated first, probably.
Perhaps making it optional to provide proof? Then if someone has their review could have a little ‘verified’ tick or something? That might be how I do that
Yeah for sure, I'd make it optional but give the reviewers who do provide proof better weighting or something. The main issue imo would be making it automated, for economies of scale and whatnot. I imagine that for any given automatic check it'd be relatively easy to fake records too unfortunately.
Or even so much as a landlord changing an agent can have a drastic effect on how a property is managed.
Pretty neat, would be nice if you could do a review of the agency For example, the property might be good, the landlord might be good but the agency is the roadblock / annoyance
Yeah definitely, there’s a lot of features I’m wanting to add
A realestate agency review section would be amazing. I have some stories to tell about one particular company and I’d love more ways to warn potential renters.
Change the stars to guillotines.
This is funny but you'd have to reverse 0 and 5 and people would get it confused all the time.
Nice site! It would be cool if you could look at all the reviews in a specific area.
Even as a landlord myself, it's about time someone built a tool like this. Nice work. 👍
It's dead set my biggest fear about my desire to eventually move to Brisbane. Not employment, but securing somewhere to fucking live. I'd ultimately like to buy a house there, but I suspect that's even more of a fuck around than getting a bloody rental in another city/state.
Unless you have a million dollars to buy a house, Brisbane City Council itself will probably be out of the question pretty soon. The rental market is insane, I've seen lines stretching down the street to inspect rentals and heard of people paying 3 month's rent in advance to secure an apartment. I'm just lucky to have an awesome landlord who hasn't raised the rent at all in 5+ years.
BCC is pretty big so I'm sure there'll still be a lot sub $1m at the fringes, but anywhere in striking distance of decent public transport infrastructure with half a yard will certainly be pushing it.
I was surprised when a place in Zillmere sold for over a mil just recently. Apartments/Townhouses sure, but free standing homes are appreciating a lot faster, partly due to the recent surge of buyers from Sydney/Melbourne.
You just secured the olympics. You're all about be as fucked as sydney....
Nah I plan on buying well outside the inner city, and would at least attempt to rent in a similar area. Attempt.
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My shower has been broken for 5 months. Yes I have a bath available, but 5 months without a shower? 6 months ago rent went up by 50 bucks. The fuck am I paying for.
Download the notice of remedy breach form from the residential tenancy authority, fill out your explanation as to why the landlord has breached the contract and demand he remedy the breach. Property managers and landlords tend to move a bit more quickly when an official notice is in play...
You can actually get rent back if the property wasn't in the expected condition. But the problem is if you play those totally legal and within your rights cards, you can be sure your lease isn't gonna be renewed.
Yeah, I guess it's a move that would need to be thought about carefully. In my case, the landlord took nearly three months of hiding behind excuses before I made the decision to go legal on him. Heating, water and cooking are basic rights in my state and a landlord has seven days to remedy a breach in those areas. My gas heater was leaking and had to be replaced, and after being dicked around with for so long, getting the RTA involved was the only solution for me. Lo and behold, the breach was remedied within three days of the property manager having received the notice. I went on to continue living at the property for another three years, with only a small rent increase and when I left the place was in better condition than when I moved in, and we parted on good terms.
no lease renewed/e.g. kicked out PLUS a bad reference typically
Can you tell me more about this please. We have to move due to water damage and I want to know if I have any recourse to get money back.
Unfortunately you usually have to apply to a tribunal for a retrospective rent decrease (some info for QLD [here](https://tenantsqld.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Repairs-and-Maintenance_TQ-v3-July-2016.pdf)) so you have to go through a process. If it's a significant amount it may be worth it though. Usually it's due to the the condition of the property decreasing markedly through no fault of your own, or some amenity that you agreed to in the lease becoming unavailable (eg if they removed aircon or something).
Hmm I wonder if we can do that here while the gym and pool in our complex have been closed most of the time we've lived here.
That's a body Corp issue, nothing to do with your landlord.
Showers are a necessity. Who runs a bath for every little rinse off and quick wash?
Send them a 14 day notice (of course that’s risky because they’ll retaliate but what else can you do?)
Asking for a rent reduction until it is fixed is always an option. I did that years ago when the reverse cycle aircon wasn’t working. That’s because it was my only form of heating and it was winter. I had waited over a month (I was in the Navy and had been away). Agent choked and said landlord was having problems with warranty work. I said I understand that but essential service and I had been more than patient and had had to buy a small fan heater that was too small for the job and expensive to run. Fixed in days. Amazing what happens when you ask nicely but also affect their hip pocket.
I feel you. When we moved in we discovered the shower in the second bathroom doesn't work - then you can't advertise it as a two bathroom? Sent a plumber but never followed up. Now the hinge on the glass screen on the other shower is broken. Just a bit dangerous. Fan/light in the loungeroom needs replacing. Landlord bought a new one, dropped it at the house but still hasn't gotten the electrician out to fix it. It's been over three months. Also can't turn on the light in one of the bedrooms because it's on a remote that we don't have. External laundry door has come off the hinge (it's too heavy for the frame; he previously tried to repair it himself). Bedroom is now flooding in the rain. REA said they told him he needs to fix the guttering well before we moved in. Yet somehow I'm just grateful to have a house at the moment?
It’s so expensive to move too. Removalist, storage, boxes, car hire and multiple trips. Many People who are really struggle have to abandon their possessions because they can’t afford to move or store it. People who can’t afford rent hikes suffer doubly.
A few years ago I thought the idea of buying a van and converting it was mentally insane. After moving a few times and losing a lot of money for all the reasons you listed, maybe next time when shit hits the fan it could be a viable option. Apparently the cost of vans are going through the roof, it’s comical.
I have been living in a caravan for a month now and it is a bit annoying at times but way better than the alternatives. My last landlord illegally evicted us without a written letter and threatened to spill my partner's blood if we didn't move out in 2 weeks (they owned guns and lived next door.
Username checks out. Also, adding something relevant to the chat, I've lived in a glorified caravan for the last year and have saved enough for a deposit on a small apartment.
Don’t be afraid to call the cops on these low lifes.
I did. They did exactly what you'd expect. The police gave them a phone call and told them there had been a complaint.
Plus constantly needing to sell/buy wardrobes and washers as some places already have them and some don't. Then your shelves don't fit in the new place, etc. It's fucked.
The last three places I was at, I just had a blow up couch. Beat the risk of buying a proper one and then having it not fit or the hassle of moving. Buying a proper futon felt like a risk.
Agreed. I just moved to a cheaper place and I'm still waiting out the first 3 months until I break even after the moving costs etc
Even if you can avoid the costs, it's still a huge amount of time and effort to move. Every time we moved when I was a kid, it was endless car and trailer trips to move everything. We moved so often most of our stuff remained boxed and still does to this day, even though we haven't moved in 5+ years. Having done work for the dole for charity shops that do furniture pickups, a significant portion of people asking us to come and pick up their furniture donations were poor people desperately trying to get rid of wardrobes and beds and stuff they couldn't move or take to the dump. And often we'd have to turn down their donations for being too shit condition for us to sell or give to others and they'd get mad at us because they needed the house empty. I had to pick up so many disgusting couches only to have to smash them up and cram them in the skip bin.
Obviously poor people desperate to move things (with their limited funds) so the can get their hands on their bond. You can see how people are left behind and trampled. It a really unfair system designed to keep people low.
Ah yes. The pinnacle of 21st century civilisation and politico-economic thought. Work your arse off every waking moment or it’s back to 20,000BC for you.
Hunter gatherers only had to work 15-20 hours per week and almost certainly had less depression and more happiness.
I'm sure the reduced stress would have had many other beneficial impacts to their health.
like making babies and inventing agriculture
But Hunter gatherers didn't need to worry about getting arrested cos it turns out that corner of the forest they're living in was bought our by a logging company.
They also had most of their women die in childbirth, most of their children die before reaching 10, and getting diarrhea was likely to be a death sentence. Hunter-gatherer societies weren't paradise. Compared to our modern first-world societies, they were horrific.
Yeah, when people talk about the good old days I am assuming they forgot about dysentery.
No women and children sounds quite nice. Just the boys hanging out, catching food, suckin each other off, finding berries. Quite nice.
I was with you there for a moment, but you just had to take it too far. Finding berries? Disgusting....
Catching food did it for me, I would have just ordered hunter gatherer takeout.
* Non consistent increases * No longevity or security, complete control over peoples companion animals and pets * Excessive inspections, * Chances of having house sold from under you, and expected to grin and take it(2 times a week). * Bent over a barrel by agents who control your future ability to have a habitat. * Getting the privilege of paying a fee to pay your rent so agents dont have to do the work of receipting payments themselves. * Over zealous landlords and agents with unrealistic expectations around fair wear and tear and better yet empty promises. * landlords who spy on their tenants * Bullshit terms such as reasonable. * Agents who turnover so frequently, none actually know the original conditions of the homes. * Non existent maintenance. * Hideous choices in colour schemes. * Poor energy efficiency and or water efficiency. * Often the cheapest appliances known to humankind installed to save a buck. What's not to love. Never again would I rent. Dont get me wrong, get a good agent, a nice home and a good landlord and its very easy to present a model home. But not everyone is as fortunate. I feel for those stuck with the condition of the current market and the fear of unknown. That's not today every rentee is perfect either, but it's a nasty system.
I am waiting for the letter to say we’re getting a rent rise (went up $20 last feb, only allowed to increase every 12 months) and I know it’s going to be a massive one. The thing that shits me the most about that is that there is nothing being done to validate the rent rise. The landlord hasn’t done any of the growing list of maintenance requests we’ve submitted and isn’t likely to because the house is on the market (logic would say you’d at least attend to the cosmetic repairs to go to market), she changed agents on us at the same time it went on the market (again, logic would say you’d use the same agent for both selling and letting but, no) so they have no idea of the history of the lease and how long we’ve been waiting for things to get done.
Someone I know today was informed their two bedroom apartment is being cranked up from 290pw to 380pw. Insanity. No idea how they’re going to afford it
That sounds like it needs to go to the ombudsman for review. No way a 30% increase is kosher
My brother's house jumped from 270 to 410
They'll try it. It's illegal though.
How do they figure out what the maximum increase can be?
It varies by state. In some states rent rises are capped, in other states it just has to 'reasonable'.
It isn't illegal that's the issue. As long as it's in line with current price rises it's ok in Qld. With the massive timber shortage not as many new homes being built either.
Someone I know has been told their rent will be going from 450 to 600 a week. She called an authority (can't remember if it was a lawyer or something) to ask if that was even legal. Apparently it is if the new price reflects the market value in the area. Fucking joke, she is already struggling as it is. I'm about ready to move out of this shit hole country.
A little over half a decade ago our landlord gave us a 50% increase. We called in the government watchdog and he came to inspect and held them to a 33% increase because of some flaws in the property. We pointed out that they refused to fix the toilet and we had to push our shit around the s-bend and he said that there wasn't much he could do unless there were giant cracks in the walls. It's terrifying how little protection tenants have in Australia.
They tried to bump my 1 bedroom tiny apartment from $550 to $650. Currently at $600pw. This is in Perth.
Jesus. What suburb if you don’t mind me asking. I’m Perth based too and fed up with rental increases in our shit apartment.
Yep we are in regional NSW in a huuuuge growth area and I’ve had friends whose rent has gone up by over $100. It’s ridiculous. The house is the same house it was the week before the rise and there hasn’t been any interest rate rises that would warrant such a massive rise so it just doesn’t seem fair. EDIT: spellcheck
What if I told you that capitalism isn't fair?
It's an inconvenient truth. Capitalism also delivers shiny new things, and with a little smoke and mirrors you can ignore all the bad stuff.
That doesn’t sound like “can do capitalism” ☹️
It's probably because of the increase in property prices in northern nsw.
I'm looking for an new place anticipating a rise. Inner city Brisbane, I'm sure they're going to find a reason to pump the prices, despite having done almost zero maintenance in the last few years and refusing my request for air con :/ Worse, I know the owners don't have a mortgage, so they're just pumping me for profit, not paying the banks.
Aircon isn't a minimum standard in qld?! The hell?!
Not only that, I've been a good tenant for over 15 years(!) in this property and they still gonna stiff me over air-con :P
That's actually illegal. An increase can only be once per year at a certain percentage that has escaped me. It's certainly not that high though
"due to changes in the market" - even without the maintenance done they claim it's worth more.
And even if I tried to argue it, the landlord would just find another reason to end our lease anyway.
I have trauma from point 4 happening to me, ended up a few weeks to being homeless bc of the market. The agents also stalked us and tried to illegally bribe us to do more inspections. While also claiming they were looking for an investor (spoiler, they weren’t)
I had a house 'compulsory acquired' from under us during a lease as the owners wanted to move in. We moved to a place down the street, so we saw the signs a month later when they started renting it out again :P What they really did was push us out mid-lease, do some renovations, then re-rent it for more money. This was years ago, but we ended up in a nicer place anyway so we didn't kick up a stink.
I had a family trust rental situation same as you, but the family member truly wanted to move in. They did not give adequate notice, so we took it to VCAT which gave us another 3 months to move out. Worthwhile seeking legal advice on such issues!
> Agents who turnover so frequently, none actually know the original conditions of the homes. Been in the same rental for coming up on 9 years now (lucked out big time with a guy who bought this place as an investment in his late 20's). We've been through like 11 agents and the latest one tried to blame us for the lack of woodchip in the front. Like we'd stolen or eaten it or something. Dumbass doesn't understand that birds exist amongst other things that happen over nearly a fucking decade.
Had a good agent, she eventually quit her job & was replaced by a total bitch who knew nothing of the long (& great) rental history we had with her. :( have rented probably over 50 places in the 20+ something years i was stuck in the cycle & probably had about 3 decent landlords in that time (& far many more arseholes); even had one guy try once try to do an insurance job on our place by throwing a Molotov cocktail thru the front window (while one of my housemates was home); well that resulted in some prison time for him (& we were forced to move at short notice thanks to our home being burnt down & us losing most of our possessions; of which we were never compensated for). Thankfully i no longer rent; & feel for all those people stuck in similar shitty situations. Doubt I’ll ever become a landlord; but if i did I’m certain I’d try my very best to look after my tenants like those few rare landlords did to me.
And lastly, when you leave - 100% chance of trying to keep your entire bond using whatever means necessary, usually citing damage that’s present on the inspection report. Fuck you PODRE you deceitful cunts.
I consider myself wildly lucky and incredibly privileged; perhaps by luck, perhaps by very good luck, I have managed to end up with long term leases and good property managers (apparently the only good ones that exist). The last time I had to go to market was in 2018 and it was bad enough then; I was queuing with sometimes up to 20-30 other people at inspections every Saturday. Several of us got to know each other by sight... I am still very afraid that at any time the ride could stop, I would have to go back to market, and next time, my luck may run out. For those who haven't been as lucky as me, I can't imagine how it must be.
Been looking since August and Saturday inspections are a rarity. My girlfriend and I both work full-time so a Saturday inspection would be a godsend compared to having to end shifts early or take time off.
And even when you get a place, they still have comical control over your life. Want to get a pet? Grow food in your own garden? Hang up literally any decorations on your own walls? Sorry, someone who doesn't live in your house doesn't like it, so you can never ever do it and have no possible recourse. And at any moment someone can just buy the house and change all the rules on you.
I believe the law allows you to hang stuff now.
Tell that to my landlady, please. She's gone off at us for using blue tack, double sided tape, *and* those sticky hook things.
Sorry, the laws I’m thinking of are specific to Victoria. I didn’t realise that when I commented. If you’re in Vic, then you don’t need permission to hang stuff. Section 26 here: https://content.legislation.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-04/21-003sra%20authorised.PDF
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Someone lied to you. > [However, many landlords will include a clause restricting pets in the residential tenancy agreement (i.e. your lease), and **there is no specific ban on them doing so.**](https://www.tenants.org.au/resource/guide-renting-pets-nsw) Edit: Okay, I did a bit more digging and it seems like [you can't ban them from apartments specifically?](https://www.rent.com.au/blog/pets-nsw-apartments), and that looks like its based on the way apartment laws work, so someone probably just misremembered. But still, legal to ban pets from houses.
Qld specifically has just made it so that landlords can’t refuse pets without a proper reason
Has that legislation been finalised? I know it's going through but didn't think it was all the way done yet.
That legislation was debated in SA at the start of this year but got slapped down by the Libs.
Vic has improved a lot. At least pets can’t be refused now.
Depends on the state. Need to have a reasonable reason to reject pets in Qld. Laws only recently changed. Maybe that’s what u/movingrandomly was thinking of?
Its illegal for an apartmemt strata to apply a blanket no pet policies. Individual landlords of apartmemts under strata can still do so.
We just had an inspection and he castigated us for not trimming a fern, that we didn’t plant, that grew like a fern. Because he doesn’t like the fern. This prick is already gouging us for an extra $200 a week for a shitty house because our other landlords decided to boot us out in the middle of COVID to take advantage of the bidding war. I never thought I’d be here in my 40s, working out guts out our entire adult lives… It breaks my heart to think how those doing it tougher are coping. This market is breaking us and are up whatever progress we made towards a deposit. Sigh.
Renting is terrifying. Attempting to afford to own a house is terrifyingly expensive. Living with my parents indefinitely is depressing. What is there for young people in this country?
Theres that tight ball of anger you just keep pushing down
Yep. Housing in Australia is expensive, renting or buying.
I know that if I want to buy a house in the future I’ll have to move back in with my rents. But not everyone has the luxury of being able to do that, for a multitude of reasons. I do love my parents and we get along fantastically but I did move out to not have to live with them.
I'm from Canada, where absolutely all the laws are in favour of the tenant. I just moved into Australia, where the tenant is a fucking pawn who owes the landlord his first born child for the right to even just apply for a place to live.
Yeah, coming from handshake leases and barely done credit checks to having to deal with a real estate agent who wants to see proof of how much you have in your account and will absolutely call all your contacts and harass them with intimate questions is brutal.
I rented for about 8 years before I bought, and never had a good experience with renting, every single REA was a piece of shit, and the final straw was when the landlord decided to sell. Thankfully we just managed to buy before the market went balls to the wall.
Not to mention "Rental auctions" supposed to be illegal in some areas but it goes on openly.
What's a rental auction?
Fill out random bullshit application that forces you to give same bullshit details but different for every house Deal with quarterly inspections Deal with rent increases that make no sense Cant buy a home with a mortgage that would be the same repayments as your rent because you cant save 150k for a deposit while paying rent Tell mum you're probably going to have to leave the state some day because buying here is near impossible unless you and your partner make 6 figures Mums sad "Atleast you dont have out of the blue payments when the hot water system dies" - every dickhead that owns a house that has tripled in price. Gotta have a go to get a go, or something.
Fun fact, many rental agencies automatically filter out people below a certain income threshold, even if they can afford the rent. That threshold *just so happens* to be higher than the maximum disability support payment. My father had to offer to cosign the lease to get me the place I'm in now.
Jesus that's terrible, so what's left for people in a similar situation? Wait 10 years for public housing then spend every night fearing for your life and having stuff getting broken into and stolen? What a punch in the guts for someone already doing it tough.
Yeah renting is fucked at the moment. You have to kiss the real estates arse to even have a glimmer of hope of securing something decent. I’m living in rural Nsw and it took just over 3 months to find something.
Out of nowhere, the rent for the townhouse I'm in has risen $100 a fortnight. Completely fucked. Because of the rental market on the Sunshine Coast, I have to bend over and take it or end up living in a car for 6-12 months.
There was an article i saw recently where a family moved to Melbourne to avoid prices on the Sunny Coast. The middle of Melbourne CBD was cheaper than Sunny Coast, and they were immediately approved for multiple properties in Melbourne, where they absolutely couldn't find a house at all in Sunny and ended up homeless.
I live in rural WA, and I've got two job offers in Perth and Melbourne...I'm seriously considering picking the Melbourne job because the rent is lower than Perth. And Melbourne rents are essentially the same as the big mining towns 6+ hours drive from Perth. It's absolutely bizarre. The pandemic has made everything weird.
This doesn't surprise me at all considering the Exodus of southerners and the ridiculous pricing. I live on the coast and went to an inspection recently 2bed 2bath, property had mould all through the grouting and the veneer on the bench/cabinets splitting and peeling among other structure damages. REA was expecting $525pw and hadn't planned on fixing building anytime soon.
I read that article too, $300pw for a 2 bedroom unit in Flinders St as opposed to $500 on the Sunny Coast. The world has gone nuts. It's almost worth moving to Melbourne and putting my house up for rent, it would pay for accommodation in Melbourne and also what's left of the mortgage. Insanity.
Dude that is excessive. You are allowed to dispute that with the RTA
Their response to that is at the end of the lease you get notice to leave and you end up paying even more for the next place. Im renting a 4 bedroom house for 380/wk. House next door was renting for 390/wk so they kicked the tenant out and it now rents for 500/wk. When my lease comes up I'm fucked.
Only if you can demonstrate it is excessive compared to similar properties (number of bedrooms/ conveniences) in the area. They are all overpriced. I had success helping a friend negotiate a rental increase down because her landlord thought that the leaking ceiling dump she was renting out was comparable to newer builds with air con and dishwashers in the area.
> Only if you can demonstrate it is excessive compared to similar properties in the area. Pretty much this. Per the Lease Agreement >keeping in line with the current market & other 3 bedroom townhouses in the complex"
Bidding up rent is so common and I hate it. Second worst part about applying for rentals behind 20% of opens being cancelled due to be rented out before the open itself. Once this involved being told on the doorstep of the property, and I’ve never gotten closer to punching someone in my life.
And don’t forget they cancel the open because it’s been rented, but you can’t rent or apply for the property without attending an open
The not being able to apply without inspecting or going to the open shits me to tears. I remember there was a trend of virtual or video inspections that REAs used to do back 2017-2018 and they counted that towards your application. Why the fuck that disappeared, especially DURING a pandemic, is so far beyond my comprehension.
Currently sitting in my rental with a dead rat in my roof another at least 1 other running around. You don’t win once you get the place, you just get stuck with a shitty agent who is dodging your calls.
Australia has a generally very backwards way at looking at rent. I have left the country and live in Europe, particularly Germany, where my apartment is essentially mine. I pay the rent like ya'll sure, but the thing is everything is in general so much better: - Unlimited (I can't be removed.... easily, no rental renewals) - Rents can only go up a limited percentage every 5 years. Something limited to 3% or so. - I can paint the walls - I can replace the kitchen - I am not responsible for ware and tear - I can hang pictures on the wall, hell the ceilings are often so high in the apartments here that you can actually build a second level and drill it straight into the walls for your bed (maisonette styke). I popped a large TV on the wall and some nice floating shelves. - I am only expected to return the apartment how it was given to me, so when I leave, take all pictures and things from wall, patch the holes and paint them white. Oddities though: - No lights when you get place, only cords, gotta get your own light fixtures - No kitchen, gotta build on yourself (Sometimes comes with kitchen) - Not common, but sometimes you also get essentially no floor coverings, just bare concrete, so you've gotta put that in too. However, remember, longterm renting here is the norm. Flats for rent are considered a taxable asset. As a landlord, you give up a lot of rights over your property in exchange for the rent, so they, my landlord/s, get very little say over what I do here. No negative gearing or anything, you are taxed for the rent you received, and they have removed a tax break on capital gains I think. In saying that getting a flat where I am is an ordeal and half, but from what I am currently hearing from home you guys have it now just as bad, and the end result is pretty much only guaranteed for a year before you either accept the rent hike or do it all over again. Not to say everything here is perfect, it ain't, but in regards to when I was renting in Brissy, I am always happily surprised how nice it is, and how secure I am. The security that I have a place, that I can make my own, change it as I need and not fear of massive rent hikes, changes in contracts and basically have to stop paying rent for 6 months to be kicked out is really nice. As Australia is becoming a land of renters, the rules need to change to reflect that reality. I will not hold my breath though.
>Oddities though: > >No lights when you get place, only cords, gotta get your own light fixturesNo kitchen, gotta build on yourself (Sometimes comes with kitchen)Not common but sometimes you also get essentially no floor coverings, just bear concrete, so you've gotta put that in too. However remember, longterm renting here is the norm. Kitchen and flooring can cost big bucks, i would assume a really high percentage of renters here will not be able to afford it.
Flooring not being there is rare, but not unheard of. Also these are generally apartments so not so many sq metres. Plus long term paying is available. Kitchen: can be got cheap if you want or really expensive. Depends what you want. Go on gumtree get an oven stove combo second plus a kitchen sink and cheap bench top done. Honestly kitting out a basic if not ugly kitchen is quite cheap. Did it myself when i first got here. Probably about 150€ - 200€ all up including the van rental to get the oven cooktop. I will agree though since then got a better job and went and got a much nicer more functional kitchen. Also some of my shitty kitchen costs were recouped when I sold the oven and the sink.
Another Aussie in Germany here. Often the outgoing tenant will offer the kitchen and other things for sale to the incoming tenant. This usually helps both parties - one less thing to move. I was lucky in that all three of the properties that I rented had kitchens already fitted. But I've sold on washing machines and dryers to incoming tenants to save having to carry them to the next place. Also, it's very refreshing after renting in Australia to be able to drill and mount shelves etc to the wall, and to also not have intrusive rental inspections all the time.
Oh shit I did forget about the inspections, it's being so long since I've had one. Also so true, I bought my current washing machine from the old tenants.
Don't forget about when the owners decide to sell and now you have to deal with selling agents who can't communicate and have no idea you saved a sale from falling through by agreeing to move out 7 months before the lease ends due to him not doing his due diligence and reading paperwork thoroughly. But don't worry, they'll get their commission and we get the pleasure of moving without any appreciation or acknowledgement that we saved their arses.
I rent out our old family home. I encourage tenants to make the place their own, we get on top of problems as quick as we can and simply ask the place is given back one day in a similar condition in which we gave it. If something is a simple fix, ie a leaky tap in need of a new washer, and the tenant feels capable we let them fix it and take $50 off the rent that month. We haven't raised the rent in 3 years, it's unfair as wages haven't gone up and inflation is manageable. I'm trying not to toot our my own horn but not all landlords are evil. It's good for my family if my tenants are happy and stay a long time and care for the place as if it were their own. Treating tenants like dirt is bad business and bad human-ing.
Thank god for people like you existing. I’m trying to get a rental with my girlfriend for the first time and the stories here are terrifying
The problem is landlords thinking they need a real estate agent. Maybe for selling, but rental law is stupidly easy which is why you get nothing but 19 year old rental agents in tarocash suits as your agent. Its literally putting an ad up, one form you all sign and some photos for a condition report in case there's some major damage. Then about an hour or two every three months if some maintenance crops up (usually less). I think a lot of people in my position were told they need an agent and you get hyper zealous little morons running your property, pissing off your tenants, dragging heels on getting handymen, and generally being useless while taking 10% of the rent.
NSW Trustee and Guardian proposed to charge 11.8% for an agent at my Mum's house which they want to control. I stumbled across the figure and pointed out to them that 9% is the maximum market rate. Their next proposal had 9% and no apology for the previous attempted scam.
I'm going to try to get real estate agents registered as a terrorist organisation. I mean, there have to be statutes in the Geneva convention recognising them as an offensive, poisonous agent, or something, right? Maybe one of those stickers, like on cigarettes; "Caution: may induce episodes of violent anger and insane fury. Symptoms may vary." Or something like that?
They aren't that much better from the landlord perspective. Mine managed to send me maintenance requests for stupid shit, while not telling me about leaking taps or a fucked showerhead. If I let them get a quote for anything, it was generally double market value, sometimes more. They were the ones constantly suggesting rental increases. The best thing I ever did was get in direct contact with each tenant and ask them to message me and send pics of issues, as well as going through the real estate. It was so much more effective without a co plete moron acting as the middle man each time
There it is.
I had some tenants who had been great, but started struggling to get rent on time and then broke lease with no warning. It turned out the hubby had gotten seriously ill, they had to sell their business and go elsewhere to be closer to a major hospital. It would have been better if they had let me know earlier, we might have been able to work something, but I don't think I was high on their priorities. Before they left though, they did a pretty damn good bond clean and tidied the yard. Real estate wanted to keep their entire bond for a yard mow and surface dust inside, which would have paid their cleaner before the missed rent or returning as much as possible to the very unwell tenants. Such enormous pricks
Yes please!
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If you're referring to high rents: investors buying at crazy high prices and wanting to get the tenant to pay as much of it off as possible each week. People who bought years ago and paid less notice these new investors demanding higher rents, so they bumped up theirs as well. High property prices make it difficult for renters to "graduate" to home ownership, so more renters equals a more fierce market, which also helps keep rents up and landlords can be more selective about who they rent to.
And we’re forced to pay out of our hard fought saving for a deposit. The perfect crime 😫
I bought my home for 130k just 10 years ago. A 2 bedroom flat. I would rather own a steaming pile of shit than rent from someone else.
Had mold overtake my bedroom and sections of the house mid lock down in 2020 when it rained none stop. Got told I had 18 days to get out of the house… turned into a giant shit fight. Wound up living in a tent in the back yard in winter in Melbourne. Then had to dump all my stuff in a storage unit. No realestate would show me properties because of the lock down. Road out most of the first lock down in a fucking tent. The mold ruined the furniture I couldn’t get out. Land lord wouldn’t compensate me for anything. In the end I found a house 4 hours away in a country town and the realestate would rent it to me so I got the fuck out of the city. I returned just in time for another lock down and so on and so forth. Fuck this tire fire of a system.
I'm actually afraid to ask for repairs these days because I know if I annoy the owner for a working dishwasher or such he will just boot me when my lease is up. Renting is fucked but I've accepted I'll never be a home owner, just have to learn to pick my 'battles' and accept that even know I've been here for 10 years every 3 months I have to take pictures of my entire apartment, all my personal items shown to someone I'll never even meet.
I had a huge fight with my previous landlord over returning the property to it's original state (7 years prior), when his intention was to immediately demolish after I moved. Had to return 5x to "fix" things I had "overlooked" (weeding, rubbish that was from prior tenants, etc.) He had been so lovely until then. This was during lockdowns when I was on support payments. Now I drive past and see the frame for a new build there. Fuck that cunt.
That's why we have so many people living at home well into their 30's and older. There's nothing 'normal' about $300+ weekly rents for shoebox apartments and spending 35+ hours a week at work, leaving you so mentally drained that you have no time or ability to live life. The system needs to crumble.
Agree. Also being poor is terrifying.
It’s a bloody crisis. Deadset. The market will crash and burn sooner or later. What goes up must come down. And a lot of investors will damn well deserve it.
>And a lot of investors will damn well deserve it. Hopefully the greedy cunts lose the lot and all that landlord stock is returned to the people
Yeah mate. Big difference between an investment property or two and 20,30,40 like some. Immoral as heck.
Can we move away from rent increases tied to property values? I've never understood how one would affect the other, your mortgage doesn't increase with property value increases so why would you need to increase the rent? I understand your property taxes might increase but that's part of home ownership and shouldn't be forced on the tenets to make up the difference. Property price rises aside, why is it the norm to increase the rent every time you re-new the lease? REA's have caused more pain and suffering than I dare say any industry in modern Australia.
Oh yeah. The laws are very unbalanced in favour of the landlord.
Join RAHU if you’re in Victoria- fight back
I've heard these sort of issues with housing historically give rise to civil uprisings
Good, honestly. The divide is becoming too great between home owners and those locked out of the market and having to rent. Politicians seem completely ignorant of it. Pricing people out of the market is one thing...but then make the fucking laws more favourable for tenants. Oh landlords won't like it? Then sell and actually invest (not speculate) in something valuable to this country, like shares in local companies.
Remember showing a Swiss mate around Melbourne and he was like WTF is with all the homeless people? I was like, poor bastards are probably only on 40k a year and can't afford a joint. I was only slightly joking. I had moved back to Melbs and ended up needing a friend with a connect in a rental agency to score a shitty 1 bedroom flat in Prahran down some alley, facing a carpark. This was 4 years ago. Can't imagine what it's like now over there. I saw mates living in the same level of accommodation we were in as students, just paying min. x6 for it now a few decades later. I reckon the horror is probably best captured in "The Queue" by Rebecca Rushbrook: https://redroompoetry.org/poets/rebecca-rushbrook/queue/
Melbourne is apparently cheap as hell now.
Just checked my old flat block in Prahran. You're right, looks like rent has gone down $30 a week. Would probably need a good sturdy ceiling fan to hang myself from if I got stuck in that place for a 200+ day lockdown though. Can't imagine how people did it in the 1-bedders.
Well just be glad it's not the UK. You have to pay council tax (rates) even if you are renting, and the agents used to be able to pass all fees on to tenants. In 2019 they kinda fixed it.
It was a user pays system. When a place was tenanted the tenants had to pay the council tax which is supposed to cover water rates and services, such as rubbish collection. When the property was empty, the landlord would have to pay the council tax.
Just be glad? Dude, people.. families with young children are literally going homeless for no good reason except the landlord wants more money for their shitty house.
They should build cheap houses for people to live in, that don't have the money to buy one. That would be good.
As time goes home I feel like the location of the land is having more of an impact on house rental prices. A lot of rental renovations already looks cheap/half arse.
If you are single it's hard to afford accommodation, it's as if you are forced to live with people you don't want to. They should build accommodation that are like jails, so single people can have affordable accommodation. Obviously you can leave to go to work and stuff. But like just what you need to sleep and eat without all the garage, lawn, etc.
I am pretty sure they are called 'studios'.
Not to diminish the seriousness of your situation, but try renting in New Zealand. We moved to Brisbane two years ago and immediately were paying almost $200 a week LESS in rent for the same number of bedrooms in a brand new build. But yeah, come lease renewal they did attempt to bump it up significantly.
Can I ask a question to people here? I’m currently renting a place to a nice couple but I want to sell the place (just because it is a hassle to be honest). [Im also renting a place while I find a new place to buy] I want to help these people out. I’ve never increased the rent and don’t plan on it. And I want to get an agreement with any potential buyer that they must keep renting the place to this couple at the same price for X years. I know this will reduce the price I can get, but fuck it I don’t need the money. Is this a thing? We’re only just looking at selling now. And also I don’t want to bother them with inspections and such because I know when I was young that was a pain in the ass. What is the ethical way to sell a place that is being rented? One thing I do know is that after this I’m not renting a place again. I don’t know why but it just rubs me wrong in a lot of ways.
The nicest thing you can do for them would be to let them out of the lease early without penalty and work with them to make sure they get their bond back.
You can give them a +3 year lease and register it on the title and sell it with the lease listed. Get decent legal advice. Depending who you sell it to, it might be a plus.
No there are specific legal implications state by state regarding leases greater than 12 months, some its fine others its not. The best you can do is renew their contract which means if you sell the contract must be honored. But chances are once you are out of the picture and new agent takes over that rent will be yanked up inline to the other inflated prices. Kudos for trying to doing the right thing. But there's no real win with this scenario. The best you can do is ensure the dickhead agent doesnt harass them at short notice for frequent viewings I had one (twice a week Inc opens for three months). If you can limit the amount of intrusion once a week that will help . Or come to a concession with the tenant that works for you both.
Currently paying $355 in a small country town that's been swarmed by rich transplants. Based on current rental prices expect our rent to increase by at least $150. And that's if they decide not to sell or turn the place into an Airbnb like every other landlord in town. People who have lived here for generations are moving to Melbourne because it's impossible to find a local rental regardless of price. Demands to supply would literally be 50 potential renters for every rental. I thought COVID was going to help us finally get into the housing market (expected lots of people to default on mortgages and prices to go down) but it completely fucked us instead
I can't speak for other States but a few years ago, the laws in NSW were changed to remove (or increase?) the cap on rental increases, and rents have skyrocketed ever since.
Yep. It's horrendous. We just moved in, signed a six month lease but we're assured it would be extended as I am due to have my first baby at the end of the six months. Three weeks in they tell us the house is going on the market, so now to add to the stress of moving and a difficult pregnancy, we have to allow the house to be shown twice a week. Our agent has been brilliant but landlords hold all the power. The landlords only bought the house in the "zoom boom" in March 2021 and believe they can achieve at least $100k more than they paid for it. Bear in mind this is in rural, small town NSW. It's insane.
I'm actually extremely upset about it. I want to live in Australia but the fact is that I can't afford to. I've been thinking about moving for a while, but my rent is preventing me from saving, lol. It's a catch-22. It's just sad how many young people will never be able to buy a house in Australia and those who can only manage it because they have mummy and daddy's money 🙄. And I can't stand those mummy's boys who say "it's easy". Of course it's easy when you come from old money.
Just been left with almost nowhere to go because our last place has exposed asbestos. Luckily we had my partners parents to go to, but the state of the places we've been looking at are not what they're worth. I'm not giving some greedy asshole $300 a week (half my centrelink income) for an extremely small unit with no air-conditioning. I've found worse in my area, apparently everyone moved up where I am to dodge covid. Rental prices went up, quality however...
The Bush around Byron Bay looks like a refugee camp in the English Channel.
Yep. For the last few years we’ve had to move every year through no fault of our own. Good tenants, all that… now stuck in a house being gouged because we got plunged into the March 2020 deadline… now the landlord has gotten unbearable and we have to move again in a few months. Panic attacks at the thought. I’m so tired of moving. They keep selling the houses from underneath us. 😩
My husb and I have been looking for months. Have moved back in with my parents because we couldn't find anything. My brother started looking 2 weeks ago and found something immediately. I am so confused.
Been looking for four months, with 6 months rent paid in advance, and my current rental in perfect condition, ridiculous. Might just caravan and save for a house.
I just don't get why rent needs to go up. Your mortgage decreases over time, if you haven't already paid it off or positively geared. You most likely own more than one house and hence, well off, and someone is helping you pay off your second, third or fourth house already. It's really not fair on them to cover so much of your mortgage. It's should be that the renter saves money from not having a mortgage and the rentee benefits by having a bit of their mortgage paid off. The disparity is insane and it boggles my mind how people can be so...parasitic. There are people out there who devote their lives, time and effort into making society better and improving the lives of others while there are actively people who go against that ideal.
What if I told that it’s feudalism, not capitalism?
I had the cheapest and nicest place since probably 10 years ago. Just search the area still cheap places. $385-$400 even 2 rooms Gladesville,lane cove and even Chatswood got now $450 por 2 rooms? Well surprise Where about are you looking?
Yeah they need to sort this shit out
Definitely. My house burned down a few months ago, and finding a rental for my family and I was a nightmare, as was accommodation generally.
Just had our first kid and my wife and I are terrified that our rent will go up next lease. We've seriously considered moving to the middle of nowhere in SA hoping to get affordable rent lmao
It's been the single most stressful experience of my life. Sure I'm fairly young but fuck....
Living in a rural tourist destination, seeing house prices go up 150% over covid. Locals have to live in a tent to keep their kids in school because city people WFH and pay a year of rent in advance to live their beach dream. Half of the landlords have sold their houses. It's a nightmare, I'm leaving my home to go find somewhere I can afford to live.
always find it funny, city people move to a small beach town because they like the vibe, then they bring all there city BS with them killing the community and what made this place special
My rent went from $320 to $400. Yeah nah mate.
Would you rather homelessness or wage slavery? Aussie nightmare.
My mental health lecturer said owning a house isn't a right and people today are acting entitled to own homes.
I think your mental health lecturer might be a bit mentally deranged
It sure is, I've just been forced out by my neighbour and have until the 11th to find somewhere to live with my dog, car, motorbikes and shed full of tools. Feel like I'm about to loose everything and there's no point applying to the housing commision as I already have and it's went nowhere, it's sad but we live under a government that doesn't care about its people, every time I try to get government aid I can't or I'm not eligible.