NAKED CITY – THE SYDNEY RENTAL BLUES

NAKED CITY – THE SYDNEY RENTAL BLUES

With Coffin Ed.

Back in May of 2014 this column took a look at “the chronic shortage of rental accommodation in Sydney and the stampede of hopefuls whenever a property ‘to let’ comes on the market”. We noted “anybody who has queued up for a recent inspection will be aware of the lottery involved in applying to rent a house, apartment, or anything that vaguely resembles a reasonable living space.” We are now three years down the track and the question is – could it be any worse?

Sadly the answer is yes, and getting worse by the day. If you scan the internet real estate sites like Domain you’ll soon see there is very little on offer with rental properties in the $300 to $400 range, particular in the inner city. For example, in Woolloomooloo, Darlinghurst, Surry Hills or Newtown, a humble studio will set you back at least $350 a week and anything cheaper falls into the category of a glorified boarding house or fleabag hotel room.

Even then many of the properties on offer are in average to poor condition. The ball is very much in the landlord’s court and there is absolute no need to tart up properties to attract potential tenants. ‘New paint and carpet’ was once commonplace in properties to let but ‘peeling paint and grubby carpet’ is often the norm these days.

Meanwhile in Victoria, where there’s an abundance of good quality, reasonably priced rental accom in the CBD surrounds (at least compared to Sydney), the Andrews Government is about to introduce a range of tenancy reforms, much to the anger of the Real Institute Of Victoria. The reforms include a ban on rent bidding and no reason evictions plus protection for tenants looking for a long lease period.

A few weeks ago I accompanied a friend on a scout around for rental properties in the Kings Cross, Darlinghurst, Surry Hills area. Each advertised inspection attracted at least twenty potential tenants and chatting with them they all seemed to be in the same somewhat desperate situation – competing for affordable properties within a vacancy rate that must be hovering around the one per cent.

If you are looking for somewhere simply to sleep, cook in a microwave and not swing a cat, there’s an increasing number of so called ‘furnished rooms’ on the market, some with their own bathroom but others with share facilities. Expect to pay between $250 to $350 for what essentially amounts to a budget hotel room. On the other hand if you are actually looking for a ‘home’ for a number of years, you are going to fork out $400 for anything relatively decent, including an actual stove and enough floorspace for a game of Twister.

Perhaps the most depressing aspect of any rental hunt is the apartment which on the internet doesn’t look too bad, even allowing for the flattering wide angle photography. It’s only when you front up for the inspection that the grim reality hits you and you find yourself in something that looks like the set out of Eraserhead.

You can only guess what the situation will be in two to three years time. The most likely scenario is that cheap accommodation close to the city will become a thing of the past, forcing budget accom seekers even further out into the burbs. And many of those greedy landlords who have exploited the current rental situation to the hilt will capitalise even more. Even the set out of Eraserhead could become beyond your affordability!

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