A room-for-rent listing in Sydney’s eastern suburbs has raised the ire of house hunters.
A recent Facebook notice advertised the availability of a ‘large room’ in the coveted Randwick/Kingsford area that’s ‘close to Coogee and Maroubra beach’ – all for the bargain price of $240 per week.
But a closer inspection by hopeful renters revealed some quirky details about the space available to lease.
The listing began: ‘Looking for an easygoing person to join our chill, friendly, mixed household – perfect for summer living in Sydney’s East without the crazy rent prices. Good vibes only. (Strictly no couples, sorry!)’
The room itself also sounded appealing on paper, described in a series of dot points as a ‘huge, bright room with timber-style floors’, adding that the space has ‘slight tram-shed industrial vibe’.
The ad continued that the room was ‘private and clean’, ‘fully furnished (bed + table + lamp)’ and boasted a window with ‘great natural light’.
However, the last point offered the first clue that something was amiss with this too-good-to-be-true property. It read: ‘It can get a little warm for a few days in peak summer, but with the door open and airflow it’s very manageable.’
The real giveaway was in the accompanying photos. They revealed that the room for rent wasn’t inside a house at all, but rather appeared to be a garage converted to resemble a bedroom.
A Facebook rental listing advertising a room available for only $240 per week in Sydney’s coveted eastern suburbs sounded good on paper…
… but a closer inspection of the supplied images showed that the room appeared to be a converted garage
The rental listing was shared on Facebook, described as a ‘large room’ in the Randwick/Kingsford area that’s ‘close to Coogee and Maroubra beach’ – all for the bargain price of $240 per week
The images showed an under-furnished room with a bed pushed against a far corner, a small chest of drawers, a tiny window covered by a curtain above an affixed shelf, and finally, a coffee table and a children’s camping folding chair.
The floor appeared to be adhesive linoleum featuring a floorboard print, with the edges curled and lifting off from weather damage. There was even what appeared to be a garage rolling door visible at the top of one photo.
The rental listing was recently shared on Reddit under the category of ‘S*** Rentals’ – and instantly attracted stunned and outraged responses.
‘This is diabolical. I hope no one feels desperate enough to put themselves through this,’ read one reply.
‘Thought it was a joke post until I saw they’d actually renovated it into a living space – the most low-effort renovations possible, too,’ added another.
The person who had found and shared the listing captioned the images: ‘The depressing part is this will rent out at that price. I live in this area and that is a good price for the area… it will be snapped up by an international student or backpacker.’
The listing quickly became the subject of online ridicule, thanks to the underwhelming images and their stark contrast to the grandiose description.
‘There are just too many talking points on this picture,’ read one amused reply.
Many comments on the post picked apart specific disenchanting details about the room, like it being ‘fully furnished’ with a kid’s folding chair and the peeling floor linoleum featuring a timber print
Many picked apart specific disenchanting details about the room, starting with the fact the listing failed to mention that it appeared to be a ‘garage’.
‘Just open the door in summer – just let people on the street stare into your bedroom,’ joked one reply.
One commenter noted there ‘doesn’t look like there’s a connecting door to the main house’, meaning the tenant would need to go outside and enter the main house in order to use the shared bathroom or kitchen.
‘Are they going to even provide a bucket in case you need to pee during the night?’ mused one reply.
The line about the space getting ‘a little hot in summer’ also infuriated online punters.
‘It looks like there’s absolutely no heating/cooling. Not even a fan?!’ observed one person.
‘Good vibes only while you roast in your heated torture chamber,’ drily added another.
Several people pointed out that in addition to being boiling hot in summer, the room would most likely ‘also be freezing in winter’.
A roller door at the top of one picture suggested the room could be a garage conversion. ‘Just open the door in summer – just let people on the street stare into your bedroom,’ read one reply
Many of the room’s supposed ‘features’ were also scrutinised.
‘”Timber style floors” = lino that’s peeling at the edges,’ read one reply.
‘Also, check out the moisture on the roof. Enjoy the mould,’ chimed in another.
The claim that the property came with furniture was also widely mocked.
‘”Fully furnished”- it’s a table they found at kerbside pick-up and a $5 children’s camping chair.’
‘The crocodile camping chair is the icing on the cake for me,’ agreed another.
While many replies to the post mocked the listing, there were also some alarmed responses about a room like this being genuinely offered as a rental in Sydney.
It appears the rental listing has since been removed from Facebook. However, before the ad was taken down, many sadly noted that over ’20 people [had already] commented trying to DM them and take up the rental’.
Although the majority of responses were outraged by the rental room listing, a small minority believed it would be quickly snapped up by a young person who is eager to spend their summer living nearby Coogee Beach
‘How is there a bunch of people in the Facebook comments frothing at this great opportunity of paying $240 a week to camp in someone’s garage?’ questioned one person.
In a telling summation of Sydney’s property market, a minority on Reddit even conceded the rental is ‘honestly not too bad for that price’.
‘Look, it is questionable, but the market dictates it,’ read part of one lengthy reply.
‘That’s like a 5-star hotel for an international student,’ another remarked. ‘I know landlords who would put 3 beds in there and rent to 3 students for $120 each.’
