PHOTO: Sarah Bartolo. UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE
Sarah Bartolo is currently living every renter’s nightmare. She’s watching new potential tenants inspect her apartment, which she can no longer afford.
Ms. Bartolo, 40, is a comedian, actor, and studio assistant residing in the trendy suburb of Brunswick East in Melbourne.
Her lease ends in August, and her real estate agent has informed her that the landlord wants to increase the rent from $423 per week to $523 per week.
She’s been priced out of her apartment and, adding insult to injury, she’s now stuck living in a unit that’s hosting inspections for potential new tenants.
“I am showing this couple how amazing this apartment is without them knowing I am being forced to find alternative accommodation because I can’t currently afford this one-bedroom apartment,” she said.
While it’s standard for tenants not renewing their lease to have people come and inspect the apartment, Ms. Bartolo said the process has made her feel “deflated and worthless” because she’s being priced out.
“I am showing these potential new tenants the apartment that I’ve been priced out of, telling them how amazing it is and that I love living there without them knowing why I have to leave. I felt like I was in a Black Mirror episode,” she told news.com.au.
According to REA’s PropTrack, the national rental vacancy rate is 1.42 percent. In Melbourne, it’s 1.5 percent.
Financial comparison website Mozo reports that the average rent in Melbourne is $570, a 14 percent increase from last year.
Once her lease ends, Ms. Bartolo will move in with her family to save—not for a house deposit, but so she can afford another rental.
“I’ll be moving in with my family, who rent a house, for the next six months and, hopefully, I can save enough money to move into a place by myself again. But if I can’t, I would definitely need to move in with someone else, which doesn’t make me feel great,” she said.
“I love the security of living in an apartment building, and the freedom of living by yourself is incredible, especially when using my apartment for all my acting work. Moving further out would not be ideal as all my acting and comedy work is close to the city, but I might have no option.”
@sarahtbartolo Welcome to Melbourne. ???? #rent #melbourne #straya #rental #housingcrisis #australia @Adam Bandt @Max Chandler Mather
Ms. Bartolo’s rental issue on TikTok sparked mixed reactions, with not everyone being sympathetic.
One commenter wrote, “Imagine being 40 and not being able to afford a rent increase. Your future is going to be grim.”
“I don’t think we are being told the full story here,” another claimed.
“Supply and demand,” another remarked.
However, there were those who felt for Ms. Bartolo.
“So sorry to hear,” one person said.
“So heartbreaking,” another shared.
“We are screwed now,” another wrote.
Ms. Bartolo is also single, and she feels that not having a dual income makes her even more impacted by the rental crisis.
“I definitely think it’s more difficult for single people to compete for properties in these areas. Half of my weekly wage goes to rent, which doesn’t include bills, so we either have to find something far out or share it with people,” she said.
“There is nothing wrong with that, obviously, but even renting a room is exorbitant at the moment. As we live in a housing crisis and there are no regulations to cap rent increases, landlords are emboldened to charge whatever they want.”
Ultimately, the actor has had to “accept” not only that there are suburbs she can’t afford to buy in, but that there are increasingly more suburbs where she can’t even afford to rent.
“I don’t think I can afford to rent an apartment by myself again in the same area. And even in places further out, it is becoming more and more difficult to secure a rental. There is so much competition for rental properties, and the prices keep on rising. It is a capitalist dystopian hell.”
SOURCE: NEWS.COM.AU