Extent of Aussie housing crisis exposed as $200 ‘yacht’ put up for rent

Photos from inside a $200 per week “yacht” off the coast of Western Australia has exposed the grim extent of the country’s rental crisis.

As Australia’s housing situation continues to spiral out of control, ads for unusual rental properties are becoming increasingly more common.

With rents skyrocketing and vacancies at a stunning low, Aussies are desperate to find affordable housing, leading to some very grim offers.

Renters looking for a place to stay in Western Australia and don’t mind kissing goodbye to dry land can live on a boat for just $200 a week.

Pictures of the “rental”, which is described as a “38ft yacht”, show the vessel’s run-down interior.

The photos show what appear to be the combined kitchen, living and dining area, with a small table, cupboards and countertop.

This is the dining/living area of the boat. Picture: Facebook

Tenants would need to use a dinghy to get to the boat. Picture: Facebook

The bedroom is made up of a mattress sitting on the floor of the boat and squeezed into what appears to be the ship’s windowless bow area.

The Facebook Marketplace advertisement claims the boat is located on “one of the most beautiful spots in the Swan River near Fremantle”.

It even comes with a small dinghy so the tenants can get to and from the shore to the boat without having to go for a swim.

It also boasts a hot water shower, storage space and a kitchen.

“Couples accepted,” the ad reads.

The rental boasts a kitchen, hot water shower and storage space. Picture: Facebook

The ‘bedroom’ is a mattress in the windowless bow area of the vessel. Picture: Facebook

While this particular rental may not be everyone’s cup of tea, retiree and lifelong sailor Luke told The West he would happily move into a boat after his mortgage repayments went up to $1100 a week.

“Rather than downsize, my go-to is a boat … I’d be quite happy doing that,” he said.

However, he also warned that living on a boat was not for everyone.

“It’s romantic … but there’s a reality to living on a boat. They’re small, they’re cramped,” he told the publication.

Another rental ad that recently caused a stir was an offer to live with a family of four in Windsor, close to Melbourne’s CBD.

The ad, which appeared on flatmates.com and was shared by property buyer’s agent Ella Cas, was offering for a person to camp out in a tent in the two-bedroom home for $350 a week.

The rental ad starts inoffensively, “Hello guys, we are looking for housemate to share our lovely home.”

It goes on to say, “Room for rent, main bathroom is yours. Only looking for single, one person for room thank you.”

The ad for a rental in Melbourne featured a tent set up in a family home. Picture: @ellascas/TikTok

Ms Cas described it on TikTok as a “sad indication of the environment we are now in”.

“I assume the family has bought the apartment when interest rates were low and now that interest rates have risen they need assistance,” she said.

“This shows the struggles of being an Aussie homeowner now”.

The RBA decided to hold interest rates at 4.1 per cent this month — just the second pause after 400 basis points worth of hikes since May 2022.

Rates are at the highest level since 2011, hitting millions of mortgage holders across the nation who are subsequently passing the pain onto renters.

New data from Suburbtrends has revealed that households in NSW are spending 35 per sent of their weekly income on rent.

The worrying statistic comes as welfare groups warn a household is in rental stress if more than 30 per cent of its income goes towards rent.

Suburbtrends founder Kent Lardner said people “across the board” were falling under rental strain in “one fell swoop”, with conditions the toughest he’s his 20-year-plus career.

“Obviously the hardest areas being hit, specifically in Sydney is around the southwest of Sydney. A lot of that relates to household incomes being lower, so they’re going to be spending a higher proportion of income on rent,” he said.

Although metrics like rent prices are increasing, the vacancy rates are not. Mr Lardner described this as the “top end of the market filtering out and going to the next tier down”.

“It cascades down, and the squeeze ends up on the lower rungs and effectively the people at the bottom with the lowest incomes have nowhere to go,” he said.