Sydney woman shocked after her rent increases $1500 a month

In the latest sign of Australia’s out-of-control rental market, a Sydney woman has revealed how her landlord raised her rent by $700-a-fortnight with no warning.

Chantelle Schmidt, a writer based in the inner southern suburb of Redfern, took to TikTok on Monday to reveal her rent increased from $1900 to $2600 a fortnight.

In the exasperated post, she explained she was on a monthly contract, meaning the landlord could increase rent at any point with no limits.

‘What would you do if your rent got increased by $700 a fortnight?’ she said in the clip.

‘This is the email I received on Friday afternoon,’ she explained alongside a screenshot of the correspondence.

‘They want to increase from $1900 a fortnight to $2600.

‘Because we’re on a month to month they’re allowed to do this,’ she added.

In the exasperated post she added that she was on a monthly rental contract, so the landlord was able to increase rent at any point

She went on to explain there’s ‘no limit’ to how much they want to increase the rent, and the best thing she can do is ‘negotiate’ or ‘go to tribunal’.

Many were shocked by the 37 per cent increase, which would take her rent to $5590 a month.

‘I wouldn’t be paying $1900 a fortnight to begin with!’ one wrote.

‘$950 a week?! Jesus! that was your first red flag,’ added another.

‘I’d move out asap. No apartment is worth that,’ commented a third.

A long line of would-be renters snakes down the side-path of a Sydney street waiting to see a $700 per week two-bedroom rental property in the eastern suburb of Clovelly

‘I thought my $640 a week 3 bedroom rental was expensive,’ said one. 

One Tiktok user advised she could take it to tribunal for ‘excessive and unreasonable rent increase’.

It’s the latest development in Sydney’s out-of-control rental market. 

Rents have soared 6.7 per cent to a median of $495 per week across Australia in 2022, but the issue is much worse in major cities.

In Melbourne and Sydney, higher post-Covid demand for fewer properties saw unit rents up by 9.3 per cent, while houses went up 8.3 per cent.

The queue to inspect an upstairs studio for 68 Gould Street, Bondi Beach, with each person waiting up to 20 minutes to get inside, was ‘like lining up to get into a nightclub’ in October

The annual Rental Affordability Index released in October revealed the low-income renters such as single parents, pensioners, and job seekers are most vulnerable and require more active and immediate support.

The report found people living in both capital cities and regional areas were struggling to find affordable rentals, as rents are escalating faster than incomes across the country.

Low vacancy rates, interstate migration and global supply chain issues were also contributing to increased rents.

The national rental vacancy rate is at a record low 0.9 per cent, according to Domain research data.

A Melbourne landlord was recently been branded a ‘nutcase’ after putting up a tiny room to rent for $300 a week, with would-be tenants not allowed to use their phones or have guests over

Alongside the room, which also had an unfurnished and exposed wooden wall, the tenant would also be able to use a dirty spa bath tub, but they would only be given access on weekends

A recent photo taken in Bondi, in Sydney’s east, showed applicants queuing outside a home to inspect it.

Last week, a Melbourne landlord was branded a ‘nutcase’ after renting out a tiny room for $300 a week while banning tenants from using their phones or having guests over.

The owner of the property made the listing to Facebook on Thursday saying a room was up for rent at a house in the other southeastern suburb of Frankston.

Prospective tenants were left shocked by photos of the room that revealed a cluttered and dirty area barely big enough to fit a single bed.

The Perth property, which has been described by its agent as the ‘worst he’s ever seen’ has sold after getting 13 offers from buyers desperate to get on the housing ladder

Despite being covered in so much dirt the buyers can’t see the colour of the tiles or carpet, the three-bedroom home sold for the upper end of its asking price, between $450,000 and $500,000

Meanwhile, in Perth a home that was so run down buyers ran out and retched during inspections has drawn plenty of offers.

The property has been sold after getting 13 offers from buyers desperate to get on the housing ladder.

Ray White agent Gary Warne described the property as the ‘worst he’s ever seen’.

The property is covered in so much dirt that buyers couldn’t see the colour of the tiles or carpet.

Housing experts say official records show no comparable shortage of available tenancies since the Great Depression in the 1930s. 

Emma Greenhalgh, the CEO of housing charity Shelter told Australia is in a national emergency by ‘every available measure’.