‘Karma exists’: Landlord raises rent by $700. It backfires
In a viral video, a young tenant in Sydney, Australia, said he was priced out of his apartment, forcing him to find a new place to live in the midst of a housing crisis. His landlord seems to be getting some negative karma for the 36% rent hike.
In the TikTok, Sean (@seanous11) said his landlord "forced" him and his roommate out of their house by raising the rent a steep $700.
"But there's a bit of a silverlining," Sean said.
Sean said his landlord just ran their first open house for the living space (avid real estate reality TV show watchers know the first open house is the most important), and, reader, take a guess how many people showed up.
Zero. Zilch. Nada.
Sean looked quite content with himself when stating no one attended the open house.
The TikToker explained that the lack of interest in the apartment is even worse in the context that Sydney has a 1% vacancy rate, meaning just 1% of properties are available for lease. Syndey has been suffering with record-low vacancy rates since the end of 2022, according to the Domain site.
"Despite the 1% vacancy rate in Sydney right now, and how desperate people are to find a place, and the many houses I've been to in this area where there are people lined up down the street to move in—still not one single person showed up to this house," Sean said.
On the topic of his landlord, he said that "maybe overplaying your hand" and kicking out good tenants who've "been here for a while" isn't the best thing to do. He added that landlords shouldn't buy houses they can't afford with the expectation of passing outsize prices to tenants.
"Karma exists," he said, concluding the video.
@seanous11 @Chantelle Schmidt Vindication for us #karma #sydneyrentalcrisis #sydneyrentals #rentalproperty #landlords #propertymanagers #fyp #sydney ♬ original sound - Sean
The video has nearly 300,000 views and more than 580 comments within one day of posting. "When raising the rent $700 and kicking out good tenants backfires," Sean titled the video.
In a follow-up video Sean explained that in addition to raising the rent by 36%, the landlord spent the last year ignoring serious water damage, mold issues, and requests for urgent repairs.
While many commenters across both videos suggested Sean take his soon-to-be ex-landlord to court, he said that commenters are "probably right" but that he and his roommate aren't in the right headspace to go through a legal battle. But he said he has a neighbor who is "fighting hard."
Another commenter shared that their landlord did the same thing, and the property has been "on the market rotting all year."
A different person was astonished that it's even legal to jack up the rent that much.
Sean told the Daily Dot via Instagram direct message that he and his roommate "are feeling quite frustrated about how difficult it has been just to find an affordable place to live."
"Most open houses we go to have 100 people lined up down the street and are incredibly overpriced for what they are, and even if you apply, there is a small chance of getting approved," he said. "Even with a full time job, it’s really hard for a young person to live comfortably right now if you aren’t lucky enough to have support from your parents."
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