Young renter stunned by landlord’s wild request

The rental crisis isn’t slowing down anytime soon and one tenant has revealed a landlord’s demand that left her fed-up.

Jill Clark works as a development manager in the logistics industry and was looking for a rental in Sydney for around $600-$700 per week. Even with that generous budget, she struggled.

The 26-year-old said she was beyond stressed when hunting for a place because finding an apartment within her price range was “difficult” because the market is so “tough”.

The current vacancy rate in Sydney is 1.68 per cent and the median rental price has reached over $600.

Ms Clark said the experience has been hard because there is so much fierce competition in the market and so much disappointment.

She told news.com.au that she had turned up to inspections only to be told that the real estate had already collected a holding deposit and the inspection had been cancelled.

The young worker said most real estate agents are “helpful” but she still had frustrating encounters when trying to find a place to live. She went to one property and was disappointed after she left with more questions than answers.

“The real estate agent didn’t know a single answer to the questions I asked, which is incredibly frustrating for someone who has such a short period of time before they need to apply,” she said.

Things got worse when he revealed her potential new landlord’s bizarre demand.

“He also informed me that the landlord would need to keep the electricity in his name for the first six months of my tenancy and forward the cost to me,” Ms Clark said.

It immediately made Ms Clark suspicious, and she thought maybe the landlord was trying to access the First Home Buyer’s scheme while also renting out the property.

The First Home Buyer’s Grant is available to first-time homebuyers who purchase their first property for under $1 million. To be eligible, the buyer must live in the property for the first 12 months.

When Ms Clark informed the real estate agent that such an arrangement wasn’t legal, she claimed he said, “Well, that’s what the landlord wants”.

The whole exchange annoyed her because she knew that because the market is so hard right now, people are likely to accept things just to find somewhere to live.

“The unfortunate thing is that someone will be desperate enough for a property to accept that without question and real estate agents and landlords know this,” she said.

When Ms Clark was looking for a home, it got down to the wire. At one point, she hadn’t been approved for anywhere and only had two weeks left before she had to move out of her current place.

The 26-year-old’s stress was compounded by the fact that she didn’t have family nearby to stay with.

“For those of us who don’t have the option to couch surf with friends or move back in with family, the thought of having my lease ending before finding a new apartment is incredibly stressful,” she said.

Thankfully, Ms Clark “luckily” managed to nab a place at the last minute.

“I was just approved for a place, but had I not been, there would have been no plan, honestly,” she said.

My family doesn’t live anywhere near me and I have a pet, which makes things more complicated.”