A Sydney landlord has been slammed for offering a cramped garage as a bedroom for rent, as Australia’s rental vacancy rate reaches a new low.
The makeshift bedroom features a double bed and mirror jammed up against a garage roller door, as well as a couch and fridge next to the home’s water heater.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Cramped garage offered as $250 a week rental.
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“Looking for a person to rent out the garage in Dulwich Hill location $250 a week, four weeks bond, plus bills,” said the Facebook ad, which has since been deleted.
“Must have employment and be able to direct debit rent weekly or fortnightly.”
The prospective tenant would have enjoyed living in a home in a “leafy, quiet location” that was “situated off the main road” alongside a 70-year-old woman and a 50-year-old man.
The post was shared to a Sydney rental group on Facebook before going viral online, where it was slammed as “a joke”.
“Welcome to Australia,” one person wrote.
“$1000 a month for a parking space,” another added.
“I’d rather be homeless with $250 a week for myself,” a frustrated renter said.
While most criticised the rental as overpriced, some said it was an offer they would take in the current rental crisis.
Finding an affordable rental has become more difficult as the national rental vacancy rate dips to 1.02 per cent after falling in October, according to PopTrack’s latest Market Insight Report.
PropTrack economist Anne Flaherty said vacancy rates had been trending downwards for more than three years with no end in sight.
The research revealed most major capital cities followed the trend, with vacancies in Sydney reaching a record low of 1.11 per cent, more than 60 per cent lower than in March 2020.
The number of available properties in Melbourne has halved compared with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, while the rental vacancy rate is at a record low in Queensland, with Brisbane sitting at less than 1 per cent.
It’s even tougher to find rentals in the west, as Perth’s vacancy rate has remained below 1 per cent for 15 consecutive months, coming in at 0.7 per cent in October.
Hobart recorded the sharpest decline with 0.18 per cent fewer rental options, but remained the second-easiest city to find a rental.
Adelaide was one of two capital cities to buck the trend with a slight increase but retained the nation’s lowest vacancy rate.
– With AAP
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