Rental market crisis: Tenants in the Meriton Suites Waterloo in Sydney see rent increases of 45 percent

Tenants of an inner-city apartment complex owned by one of Australia’s largest real estate companies have been shocked after being told their rent will rise by almost half.

Housing development giant Meriton on Tuesday sent tenants at its Waterloo apartment complex in central Sydney a note saying their rent would rise by 45 percent.

With historically low vacancy rates and rising demand, rental prices have risen across Australia and in Sydney in particular.

Tenants of the complex, like Jarrad and Brendan, who appeared on Friday morning’s Today Show, are concerned they won’t be able to find other affordable accommodation.

They expressed shock at the amazing increase after their rent was increased just a year ago.

“We got one almost 12 months ago and that was welcome, but (an increase of) 50 percent of what we’re currently paying, that’s really prohibitive,” Jarrad told the Breakfast Program.

“People get hit with interest rates and inflation and stuff, but it’s not just a couple or an individual that’s dealing with it. This is a company.

“We realized there was definitely room for improvement in the area, but that much was just, yes, outrageous.”

His neighbor Brendan said he and his roommate were frustrated with the raise.

“I called my roommate and told him about it and an hour later he tells me it all happened,” he said.

“It’s just annoying because you never expect it to go up that much.”

Residents of property giant Meriton’s apartment complex in Waterloo, Sydney (pictured) have been told their rent will be increased by a staggering 45 per cent

Jarrad then expressed concern about finding an affordable alternative after being priced out of the complex.

“How are we going to afford to stay? Absolutely no idea,’ he said.

‘[I] even asked our facility manager about the availability of anything else in this area and there really isn’t anything available right now, at least nothing under $1,000 a week.’

The 45 per cent increase imposed by Meriton is bigger than rental rates for units in Waterloo, which have already risen by a staggering 35 per cent over the past month.

The neighboring suburb of Redfern has been hit even harder, with the average rental property costing 48.7 percent more since that time last year.

Across Sydney, housing units have been hardest hit by the increases, with rents rising an average of 25.5 per cent over the past year and 3 per cent over the last month.

Two of the complex’s renters, Brendan (left) and Jarrad (right), are now looking for off-suite accommodation but can’t find anything “under $1,000” in the area

In a statement to Daily Mail Australia, Meriton defended the rent increase for residents of the Waterloo complex.

“Meriton manages 4,250 properties on behalf of landlords and part of that service is ensuring that landlords obtain a ‘market rent’ for their property while complying with all property management laws,” it said.

“During the Covid pandemic, the apartment rental market has been badly hit. As a result, landlords have been forced to cut rents by 20% to 50% to help tenants who have lost their jobs or reduced hours.

“In the wake of the pandemic we are working hard to ensure our landlords recoup some of their losses, whilst working even harder with local and state governments to speed up building permits to deliver the much-needed housing that NSW needs .

‘Meriton is currently building more built for rent homes than any other developer, which will help address the current undersupply.’

Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk