A greedy landlord has been brutally shut down after a concerned citizen realised the homeowner was trying to illegally rent out a granny flat.
On Facebook Marketplace, good Samaritan Ben* spotted a landlord advertising a tin shed based in Campbelltown, in Sydney’s south west.
Ben found the advertisement particularly insulting because he reckoned the shed looked like a $300 purchase from Bunnings.
He doubted it had insulation or any kind of airconditioning unit – even though that part of Sydney can be extremely hot in summer. For instance, just over the weekend, temperatures climbed to 38C degrees in the city’s west.
Not only was the landlord advertising the granny flat, they were expecting a whopping $1000 a month – or around $230 a week – for the place.
Ben leapt into action realising this was a safety risk for any potential renter.
“I’m not the type to dob people in, but there’s a big difference between a safe granny flat that’s up to code and a serious health risk like this,” Ben, 27, told 7NEWS.
So taking matters into his own hands, the Sydneysider decided to do some research. He narrowed down the address and looked up the property on the local council’s website – and sure enough, there weren’t any certificates that deemed the property a legal dwelling.
He promptly reported the breach to Campbelltown City Council who issued a demolition notice to the property owner.
The granny flat has to be destroyed by May.
Ben described the decision to build and list the granny flat as “pure greed” and slammed it as “exploitation of vulnerable people”.
In a statement to the publication, the council said: “An order to demolish the unauthorised shed was issued on the owner of the property as the shed and its location was deemed to not meet the relevant development requirements.”
The national rental vacancy rate is at an all-time low at just 0.9 per cent, forcing staggeringly high prices for in many cases properties that are substandard like in this situation.
It comes as earlier this month another Sydney landlord was called out for their money-grabbing antics when they tried to rent out a balcony for $300 a week.
A landlord shared the bargain deal — an enclosed balcony with city views, obscured by tarps and heavy curtains — to the Inner West Buy, Sell and Give Away Facebook page on Monday, along with a bizarre list of questions for his new tenant.
“Man Private Room Sydney Cbd. 1 boy only /300/week,” the ad read.
The listing also included a bizarre makeshift application form, in which the landlord quizzed his “1 boy” future tenant on his nationality and what furniture he’d be attempting to squeeze into the space.
“Will you bring your own furniture, big electronic, bike? (Please list your item) Nationality:” he wrote.
When contacted by phone, the landlord answered several of news.com.au’s questions before refusing to speak further with a female journalist.
He said he had received “a lot of interest” and several calls about the property, though wouldn’t specify how many people had been in touch.