TikTok real estate commentator Rach McQueen slams Sydney Redfern ‘jail cell’ one-bedroom apartment
A dreary “studio flat” is selling for $400 every week, regardless of whether it’s smaller than a prison cell for a single inmate, a testament to Australia’s dire rental scenario.
Belle Property one bedroom advert reveals Redfern property in central Sydney. It’s an “urban-style” residence with a “large backyard,” a “loft-style sleeping area” and a “portable stove.” and “natural sunlight”.
The photos show a small, bare, unfurnished kitchen and a small toilet with a “loft-like” sleeping area visible only by a ragged ladder to climb.
There is no clear indication of a movable oven or perhaps a window to let in “natural light”.
This is as a result of the rental vacancy rate in Australia is at a record low of 0.8pc, driving costs are rising.
Rich McQueen, who leads the favorite TikTok channel “Real Estate with Rachel” used the advertisement’s floor plan to calculate the area of the entire apartment space at only 6 m2.
This description of a one-bedroom “studio apartment” in central Sydney has sparked online scorn
This compares unfavorably with the recommended cell size for one prisoner in Australia, which is 8.75m2.
“So prison cells are bigger, but you don’t need storage or cooking space in a prison cell, and prison is free, but it’s $400 a week,” Ms McQueen concludes of the apartment building, which she signs as “Sydney Prison”. cell’.
“I hope that gives you an idea of how awkward it would be for two people to share the rent in a place like this.”
She notes that the kitchen, which she calls “the bitch,” seems to be almost the entire “apartment.”
“This whole space here is your kitchen, living and dining room, and your bedroom is up the stairs,” she says.
“They’ve gone from a studio to a one-bedroom apartment, but then they also say there’s a loft-style sleeping area, and unfortunately those are becoming more and more common.”
In the feedback section, Ms. McQueen mentioned that she was disappointed that she couldn’t see the sleeping area.
TikToker Rach McQueen (pictured) famously claimed the remarkable structure was far less roomy than the prison cell pictured
During her digital inspection, Ms. McQueen observed that the small toilet was connected to the main room and that these were two rooms in common.
“The fact that they don’t include a photo doesn’t give me hope for this place,” she writes.
Ms. McQueen notes that if the actual estate agent had decided to only deal with prospective tenants whose incomes were two-thirds above the asking value, as recommended, “in theory you would have to earn more than $1,300 a week to get approved for a property.”
“Tenants need to stop complaining and making such high demands, just work harder,” she wrote in a sarcastic caption.
“Expecting to live in something bigger than a jail cell for $400 a week is legal.
“Tenants don’t deserve better conditions than prisoners, they are prisoners, right? To capitalism.
Ms McQueen told Seven News she believed the property was actually “a kitchen at the back of the shop that has been converted into a ‘unit'”.
Those who commented on the video shared Ms. McQueen’s disgust and despair.
“It’s appalling and disgraceful how the government have failed us so badly that renting is worse than prison,” one said.
“In this economy, I think I’d rather be in a jail cell,” another mentioned.
Tenants are furious at the ramshackle and virtually uninhabitable sites being traded every week at eye-popping costs.
Dilapidated backyard shed marketed as a ‘bungalow’ and rents for $300 a week draws scorn on social media
The stained toilet and laundry room are shared with another tenant, the ad said
A homeowner raised eyebrows Thursday after listing a “renovated” backyard shed for $350 each week.
The cabin-like accommodation in the Melbourne suburb of Croydon was marketed on Facebook.
The shed was considered a bit run down, regardless of claims that it had been renovated, and had a dirty toilet.
Another particular element that stood out in the details was the truth that the brand new tenant had to share the shed with one other particular person – regardless of its small size.
Social media customers were shocked at the detail, questioning who should be housed there.
In May, a prominent apartment building in central Melbourne also got an unflattering description of it “jail cell” even though it had the required value $320 per week.
The bare cinder block bedroom barely matched the queen-size mattress, and the rest of the apartment was just as claustrophobic.
A small studio known as a “jail cell” was rented out on Flinders Street in Melbourne’s Central Business District for $320 per week.
Other tenants warned that the construction was in a sorry state.
“The building this is in is appalling,” said one Melbourne tenant.
“It has a central open atrium with an in-ground pool, but it looks like something out of a horror movie.
“I went there to check and the elevator was almost stuck, the pool was empty and full of mosquitoes, and the handrails and stairs to each floor looked uneven. I don’t know how that’s safe for the tenants.
Adam Flynn, Victoria director of Koronis Real Estate Group, described the situation as a “Mexican gridlock”, with tenants, consumers and landlords affected by inflation and interest rates.
“Any reasonable person would think it is outrageous to rent this property for $320 a week,” a property specialist told FEMAIL.
