Just a List of Cooked Stories About Rent Increases From Reddit

As everyone in Australia is aware, the rental market is profoundly cooked right now. And if you’re finding stories of people having their rent rates hiked up considerably by landlords are becoming more common, you wouldn’t be alone.

Taking to Reddit, we have found a whole lot of people over recent months who have been hit by rental price increases that are eyewatering, highlighting just how many Aussies are being impacted by this messed-up situation.

Here are a few we pulled out for you to look over and shake your head in anger at.

Rental price increases that’ll make you mad

A quick look through r/sydney, and you’ll be sure to find a few examples of people who have had their rental rates spiked, but the situation is absolutely spread across the country.

Here’s a small sample of the kinds of situations people are dealing with right now.

• Reddit user mindsoda__ shared that their rent went up by 20 per cent or $100 per week and stated that their landlord was unwilling to negotiate.
• Earlier this year, user najjaci3192 wrote that they had been notified their weekly went of $600 would be increasing to $750 for a 2 bedroom apartment they had been living in for a little over 6 months.
• yungcrocrockidle wrote of living in a “terrible apartment” with cracks and crappy maintenance and still being hit with a 12 per cent increase and having to work additional jobs to keep up.
• Moving over to Melbourne, Spanktank35 shared a few months ago that their rent went from $330 to $500 per week this year. “The agent offered $465 pw for a lease renew (about 20 days ago), and said they’d raise the monthly roll-over rate to $500 pw when I said I wouldn’t accept that. It’s a 1.5 bedroom apartment on a low floor. Anyone else seen anything like this? I understand prices have gone up since the start of last year (when I started renting) but a 51% increase is wild.”
• WingusMcgee in Adelaide wrote of having the rent for their 1 bedroom brought up to 330 per week from 265.
• -bishopandwarlord- shared that the rent on their Melbourne apartment was increased by 30 per cent or $761 per month.

The general consensus is that people are struggling, and the cost of living (especially in cities like Sydney) is just too much to justify.

One thing to keep in mind with all this news of rental prices being increased is that there are limits to what your landlord is legally allowed to do here. If you’re on a fixed-term contract of 2 years or less, your landlord is not allowed to increase your rent unless this is written into your contract. And there are also limits on how regularly your landlord is allowed to change the rent, too.

In addition to that, there is a legally-required notice period that must be given for rent hikes. What that is depends on where you live, but it’s generally around 60 days. Real Estate has a breakdown of all the rules here.

And if you want a refresher on other rights you have as a renter, you can read about those here.