Want a room with a view? Try this balcony at $360 a week in Sydney’s Haymarket

Sydney’s out-of-control housing market has hit a crazy new high with a landlord advertising a bed on a balcony for rent in a Haymarket tower block.

An enclosed balcony with a single bed has been advertised by a Sydney landlord for rent at $360 a week in the latest example of Australia’s out-of-control housing market.

“Fully furniture Sunny room in Haymarket, $360 per week including bills,” the active Facebook Market listing reads.

“Share bathroom with only 1 ppl. Ready to move in now. Easy to go anywhere.”

The balcony is attached to a one-bedroom unit — which is also for rent separately from its balcony at $495 a week — in the Regis Towers complex in Haymarket.

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Sydney's rental crisis is laid bare with one example of the Facebook Marketplace ads seen offering a enclosed balcony as a bedroom. Picture: Facebook

The mixed use complex, formed by three towers on Pitt, Castlereagh and Campbell Streets, is one of the largest developments in Australia.

However, prospective tenants may find a little more sun than they bargained for upon moving into the “sunny room’’, which is decked out with blinds and two Kmart rugs on the floor tiles.

On closer inspection, a reflection in the full length mirror pictured shows that the back wall of the ‘bedroom’ is glass.

The Daily Telegraph contacted the landlord advertising the room by direct message on Thursday, asking if the room was still available.

“Yes, are you still interested?” they replied.

They did not respond to a further message asking whether it would be possible to inspect the room or sign onto the lease.

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The rental ad on Facebook Marketplace. Picture: Facebook

“These kind of dodgy conversions are more common than people might expect,” Tenants Union of New South Wales CEO Leo Patterson Ross said.

“Using a balcony as a bedroom is not a lawful thing to do.”

The same landlord has a half dozen active rental listings on social media, also advertising the

“second bedroom” of an upscale Pyrmont unit for “$440$ per weeks for 2ppl (people)”.

The unit appears to be a one-bedroom, with its living room furnished with a bed.

Calls to the Regis Tower’s building management phone by The Daily Telegraph were not answered yesterday.

Former CBD building manager Ashleigh Barker said that she had seen many cases of balconies being rented out and overcrowding in CBD apartment complexes but “it’s really difficult to catch out,” because of the advance notice building managers have to provide to enter a residence.

“Part of my responsibility was to make sure there wasn’t overcrowding in the building and to adhere to short-stays by-laws,” Barker said. “Blacked out balcony windows, visible from the outside, typically indicate the space is being misused.”

“I’ve worked in buildings where I knew this was happening but the only evidence I had was indentations in the carpet from partitions.”

One resident of a building on Sussex St, which Barker previously managed, had converted her two-bedroom apartment into seven living spaces including the enclosed balcony.

“I felt quite sorry for the young guy who came and told me he was there to inspect a place that had been advertised on social media,” she said.

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“The kind of people who are mostly taking up these kind of informal arrangements are people struggling to find a home otherwise,” Patterson continued.

That includes international students, people without a long rental history, or people “who keep getting knocked back”.

“They’re already vulnerable to this sort of exploitation and this problem is a part of the rental sector being poorly regulated for its purpose.”

“And the price keeps going up as well!” he exclaimed. Patterson noted that a balcony listed for rent in 2023 cost just $200.

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Originally published as Want a room with a view? Try this balcony at $360 a week in Sydney’s Haymarket