A crowd is queuing up for an open inspection in Bondi. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone
Sydney tenants are currently enduring some alarming living conditions as the city continues to grapple with the ongoing rental crisis.
The plight of some tenants has been exposed in a TikTok video of a shared room listed for rent in Sydney, which has gained over 330,000 views in under a month thanks to its shocking features.
The video tours around a Sydney sharehouse offering a bed in a shared room for $170 per week. The room is in a home with eight other tenants.
While a fraction of the average rent, the living conditions of the property left viewers shocked.
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A Sydney sharehouse with a bedroom listed for $190 per week. Pictures: @rubenncharles on TikTok.
On offer in the video was a double bed in a shared room, as well as no dryer, an outdoor laundry and a disintegrating shower floor in one of the shared bathrooms.
One viewer commented: “That’s ridiculous shouldn’t even be $100 a week”. Another said: “It’s giving minimum security prison vibes”.
One claimed “I’d rather live in my car”.
The listing comes as rental experts warn the rental crisis could worsen as another wave of students arrives in the city seeking accommodation.
The average Sydney renter is now paying $55.69 per week more than this time last year, according to data from SQM Research.
The market longevity of weekly rental listings in Sydney. Source: SQM Research.
The average rent of a Sydney property (units and homes) has climbed to $885.39 per week, a 6.7 per cent increase since last January.
Despite these cost rises, the vacancy rate in Sydney sat at just 1.4 per cent in November, according to SQM Research.
And, competition has shown no signs of easing in 2026; as of January 1, 82.21 per cent of rental listings are on the market for under 30 days.
In Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs, Ray White Double Bay property manager Julie Feller said she expected “a very strong start to the year.”
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Weekly rent costs in Sydney, as of the week ending January 4. Source: SQM Research.
“We closed off last year with a vacancy rate under one per cent,” she said.
“I don’t think we’ve seen such a strong market.”
On average, Ms Feller said 10–12 people came through rental inspections in the area, though she noted that “in Bondi it’s a little bit more.”
Last year, viral videos emerged of enormous lines to view properties in high-demand areas like Bondi and Coogee.
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This studio on Arden St, Coogee, is listed for $650 per week.
Thanks to the lifestyle allure of the area, small properties can charge huge rents, as exemplified by a studio on Coogee’s Arden St currently listed for $650 per week.
A bleak summary of the lower end of Sydney’s rental market, the listing claims that the home offers a “sun-drenched living/bedroom with a study nook.”
In the Inner West, another popular destination for renters, affordable offerings also come at the compromise of space and quality.
One cramped boarding house on offer on Newtown’s King St is currently listed for $300-a-week.
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This boarding house room on King St, Newtown is listed for $300 per week.
Another Inner West studio on offer on Bourke St, Surry Hills, for $450 per week.
In nearby Surry Hills, a run down Bourke St studio will set tenants back $450 per week.
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