Inside ‘La Corniche’: the Sydney harbourside apartment that rents for up to $40,000 ... a week

FLUSH for cash? Then why not splash out $40,000 a week on Sydney’s most expensive rental apartment that would cost more to lease over a year than fully paying off a $750,000 house.

Soak up the view: Harbourside apartment 'La Corniche' tcommands rents of up to $40,000 a week.

IT’S the inner city apartment that makes leasing an eastern suburbs penthouse seem like a steal by comparison — a North Sydney apartment that rents for up to $40,000 a week.

Rental figures show the home is Sydney’s most expensive rental apartment, no small feat in a city with the southern hemisphere’s highest rents, and would cost more to rent over a year than fully paying off a $750,000 house.

Soak up the view: Harbourside apartment 'La Corniche' tcommands rents of up to $40,000 a week.

The rental cost works out at more than 80 times the $490 median rent of a Sydney apartment - and this is why.

But the staggering rent has meant few ever stay at the property more than a couple of weeks and past tenants have tended to be short-term renters that range from overseas businessmen to A-list celebrities on extended visits to Australia.

Despite its outlandish rent, the property is surprisingly modest. It features three bedrooms, one without windows, and the balcony on the main bedroom extends barely a metre from the window.

The trade-off: it has arguably the best harbour view in Sydney.

“It’s breathtaking,” said Kellee Cruse, a spokeswoman for Luxehouses.com.au, the agency that leases the property out.

The stunning view is the main reason the property can command rent for up to 80 times the $490 median rent for a Sydney apartment. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

“You’re right on the harbour above the McMahons Point ferry stop and you have a panoramic view of the Harbour Bridge, Opera House and CBD skyline. It has ‘THE’ view for New Year’s Eve.”

Views of the bridge have meant that the rent is highest over the festive season at $40,000 a week, but may slip to a tamer $14,000 a week at other times of the year.

The main bedroom has a sweeping panorama of the city and Sydney Harbour Bridge.

There’s no denying that the property has all the hallmarks of a luxury home but surprisingly lacks the over-the-top opulence its rent would suggest.

Ms Cruse said residents were prepared to pay that kind of money for the privacy that comes with renting an apartment instead of staying in a hotel.

“Wealthy expats and celebrities like to feel at home and be able to entertain friends or colleagues,” she said.

The property has all the facilities of a modern apartment, such as a laundry, kitchen and car space, and is rented fully furnished.

Lavish touches include marble floors and a bathroom spa surrounded by floor to ceiling windows that looks square onto the CBD.

Luxury features include marble floors and a sprinkling of art.

Another rental apartment with a similarly costly harbour view is a unit in Sydney’s exclusive Bennelong Apartments next to the Opera House, where short-term rent works out to roughly $2000 a day — more than what most Sydneysiders pay in rent each month.

Among Sydney’s priciest beachside rental apartments is a Bondi unit above the Bondi Iceberg Club that rents for approximately $10,500 a week.