Rental listing for a flimsy single mattress on the floor of a Sydney unit shows how broken the rental market is

A rental listing for a flimsy single mattress on the floor of a cramped bedroom in a Sydney apartment is the latest sign of how broken the rental market is.

Flimsy mattresses on the floor of a small bedroom in a Sydney apartment are being advertised for rent at an eye-watering price, offering the latest sign of just how broken the city’s rental market is.

A post on a Facebook group for international students is seeking “flatmates” for one of two bedrooms in a unit block in Sydney Olympic Park.

These floor mattresses are for rent for $250 per week each.

The room contains two single mattresses without bed frames, separated by a thin fabric partition, for the asking price of $250 per week each.

While the building features a range of resident amenities, from a swimming pool to a gym and basketball court, creature comforts inside the home are few and far between.

The room contains little more than a small bedside table and a desk without a chair.

The mattresses are separated by a flimsy fabric partition.

The high-priced floor mattress is the latest example of subpar dwellings being offered as long-term rentals.

Last week, news.com.au reported on a coffin-like pod in a Surfers Paradise youth hostel, in a room accommodating 100 people, being offered as a long-term ‘home’ for $350 per week.

Elsewhere on the Gold Coast, a “hi-tech” capsule with a single bed in it, also in a hostel, is one of several in a room and comes at a cost of $290 per week, with a minimum two-month stay required.

A pod in this hostel room accommodating 100 is on offer for $350 per week.

There are also multiple listings on the popular website flatmates.com.au for bunk beds in regular-sized bedrooms.

For example, in Darlinghurst in Sydney’s inner-east, someone looking for a home can snap up a mattress in a bunk bed, in a bedroom occupied by five other people, for $250 per week.

Nearby in neighbouring Potts Point, a single bunk in a room with four beds is on offer for $250 per week.

The cost of renting a home continues to rise, with the latest CoreLogic Quarterly Rental Review to September showing prices in Sydney are up 10.6 per cent year-on-year, while they’re 12 per cent higher in Melbourne and up 8.1 per cent in Brisbane.

The median dwelling rent in Sydney is now $720 per week, while it’s $553 per week in Melbourne and $614 per week in Brisbane.

A room in a Darlinghurst home with six beds in it.

Rental prices at a national level have now risen each moth for the past 38 consecutive months, CoreLogic revealed.

Prices are 30 per cent higher than they were in mid-2020 and the rental vacancy rate – that is the proportion of all leased dwellings currently available – has collapsed to a new low of 1.1 per cent across the capital cities.