Dirty truth behind rise of horror living conditions in rental homes
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A TikTok user showed a glimpse of a sharehouse where an alleyway was made into a “shared living room”.
Rental homes are increasingly descending into squalor, with problems ranging from festering mould to crumbling finishes, because their landlords are so buried in debt they cannot afford repairs.
It comes as research from comparison group Finder.com.au revealed close to a third of renters across the country were waiting more than six months for issues to be fixed.
Serious problems that were not being addressed promptly included water leaks, structural defects, mould and broken appliances, according to the results of the national survey.
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Tenants have often shone a spotlight on the appalling living conditions in their homes via social media.
A TikTok post recently highlighted the extreme condition of a sharehouse within inner west Sydney suburb Petersham.
The house was shown to have a bug infestation and windows that could not be closed.
The house also had a shipping container in the yard, with nine people sharing two toilets. The “shared living area” was reported to be an alleyway.
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A Petersham sharehouse shown on TikTok. Picture: TikTok
Another Sydney couple claimed that their landlord showed little willingness to act when they reported a dangerous ceiling leak near an electrical fitting.
They also reported extreme but unaddressed moisture and mould issues following heavy rains earlier this year. The couple said they will take their case to tenancy tribunal.
Tenants Union of NSW chief executive Leo Patterson Ross said landlords dragging their feet when it came to basic repairs could be traced back to the record levels of debt they held.
Mr Patterson Ross said a high proportion of property investors who had snapped up homes over the last five years took on larger loans than they should have.
Tenants Union NSW CEO Leo Patterson Ross said landlords were often pressured to take on more debt. Picture: Rohan Kelly
This was often motivated by the blind belief that prices would continue to grow and that buying higher value homes would deliver more capital growth.
“People are being pushed and pressured to take on massive debts basically on the gamble that home prices will rise,” he said.
“It means many landlords are on a tight budget. It is hard to take meaningful steps to improve a home and keep it maintained if so much of your income has to go to the bank first.”
Mould is an issue that landlords are frequently failing to address.
Mr Patterson Ross said that landlord debt levels – especially in markets like Sydney, where rental yields were among the lowest in the country – often made a bigger difference than policy settings.
“With all this talk of rent reforms, we are ignoring the elephant in the room. The biggest problem for landlords trying to deliver decent housing isn’t (policy) requirements or settings. It’s the size of the loan they have been pushed into taking.”
Servicing landlords’ extreme levels of debt was a considerable commitment for landlords – even when offsetting losses against their taxable income through negative gearing, Mr Patterson Ross said.
Richard Whitten, home loans expert at Finder, said delayed repairs could be a major source of stress for tenants.
“It’s unacceptable that so many people are forced to live with problems like mould and water leaks for months, or even years on end.
Damage inside a rental home in Sydney suburb Bradbury.
“These aren’t just minor inconveniences – they can impact a person’s health, their wallet, and their peace of mind.”
Landlords themselves admitted that they dragged their feet.
A Finder survey of 148 landlords found that two in five (38 per cent) have had a tenant wait longer than is reasonable for a repair in the last year.
Landlords cited the same issues that tenants did: water leaks, mould, and broken appliances.
Mr Whitten said tenants shouldn’t accept substandard living conditions lying down.
“Knowledge is power. You have a right to a safe and well-maintained home,” he said.
“Document all communication with your landlord or agent, send requests in writing, and if you aren’t getting a response, know your rights and be prepared to escalate the issue.”
