The dirty truth behind the rise of horrible living conditions in rental houses

Rental homes are increasingly falling into dirty states, from carnival mold to collapsed finishes as their landlords are buried in debt and they can’t afford to repair.

This is with a study by comparative group finder.com.au that nearly one-third of renters nationwide have waited for more than six months to solve the problem.

According to the results of the national investigation, serious problems that were not quickly resolved include water leakage, structural defects, mold and damaged appliances.

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Tenants often draw attention to the shocking living conditions at home through social media.

An article by Tiktok recently highlighted the extremes of shared houses inside Petersham, a Western Sydney suburb.

The home was proven to have a wrong intrusion and unable to close the windows.

The house also has a transport container in the yard and has 9 people sharing two toilets. According to reports, the “shared living area” is a small alley.

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Another Sydney couple claimed their landlord showed little action when reporting a leak of electrical accessories near a dangerous ceiling leak.

They also reported extreme but unresolved moisture and mold problems after heavy rains earlier this year. The couple said they will bring the case to the lease court.

The tenant union of NSW CEO Leo Patterson Ross said landlords were shuffling in basic repairs, going back to record levels of debt they held.

Mr Patterson Ross said the proportion of real estate investors who have snatched up homes over the past five years have received more loans than they should have.

This is often due to the blind belief that prices will continue to grow and buying higher value homes will lead to more capital growth.

“People are under pressure and pressure to take on huge debts, which is basically on gambling when house prices rise,” he said.

“This means that many landlords have tight budgets. If a large portion of your income has to go to the bank first, it’s hard to take meaningful steps to improve the home and keep it maintained.”

Mr Patterson Ross said landlord debt levels – especially in markets such as Sydney, where rental yields are the lowest in the country – are usually larger than the policy environment.

“With all the topics about rent reform, we ignore the elephants in the room. The biggest problem for landlords trying to deliver decent housing is not the (policy) requirements or settings. This is the scale of the loan they are pushing.”

Patterson Ross said repairing landlords’ extreme debt levels is a huge commitment to landlords – even if offsetting losses from their taxable income through negative capacity.

Finder’s home loan expert Richard Whitten said delayed repairs could be a major source of stress for tenants.

“It is unacceptable that so many people are forced to live for months or even years on issues such as mold and water leakage.

“These are more than just minor inconveniences – they can affect a person’s health, wallet and peace of mind.”

The landlord admitted that he had dragged his feet.

A survey of finders of 148 landlords found that one in five (38%) of tenants waited longer than last year’s reasonable repairs.

The landlord cites the same issues the tenant does: water leakage, mold and damaged appliances.

Mr Wheaton said tenants should not accept unqualified living conditions.

“Knowledge is power. You have the right to have a safe and well-maintained home,” he said.

“Record all communications with the landlord or agent, send the request in writing, and if you don’t get a reply, please understand your rights and be prepared to escalate the issue.”