The thing about owning, rather than renting is that you can pretty much do as you please with your house (maybe not so much your apartment).

This week parade of silliness and celebrity includes a house in Perth where the owners turned their kitchen into a nightclub, a house in England with its own pokies casino (see first story below) and a property in country Queensland with its own private pub.

But there are limits, especially when you are a tenant, as one chap discovered when he decided to do a major renovation on his rented property.

All this and more in this week’s Left Field lunacies.

There is a secret ‘casino’ inside this unassuming suburban house
From the outside, it looks like any other terrace house in northern England. The three-bedroom home in the town of Washington has a grey pebblecrete facade.

‘It’ll be fine’: Renter removes load-bearing wall in shocking DIY renovation
A tenant in the UK has come under fire after allegedly undertaking major renovations to his rental property without official approval or permits. The renter, known only as Nigel, was in the process of upgrading elements of his rental home when he was contacted by his landlord.

This retro beach shack in Anna Bay has a wild backstory
When Linda Shaw spotted a weatherboard cottage for sale in the sleepy New South Wales seaside town of Anna Bay, it was love at first sight.

How to spot a bad real estate agent: Experts reveal warning signs
Nowadays, there’s so much information online that can help you choose a real estate agent. The problem is, not all of it can be trusted. So, how do you know which agent to use when selling your home?

Artificial turf ban: Council’s shock findings spark nationwide debate
Australia’s property market is facing a green revolution, but not the kind you might expect. A growing backlash against synthetic grass is set to reshape our suburbs, and it could have a significant impact on your home’s appeal.

Geelong Cats great puts 60ha Barrabool Hills farm up for sale
Retired Cats triple premiership player Tom Hawkins and wife Emma have put their Barrabool Hills farm property on the market.

Coober Pedy offering investors bargain buys with high rent return
Savvy investors looking for a bargain buy that will still make them money should consider property in SA’s outback.

Great Keppel Island’s arrivals plaza design unveiled
A Queensland island’s gateway project has entered a crucial phase, part of a $30m transformation promising to elevate the island hotspot

House That! Chicago Bulls legend Luc Longley lists William Bay sanctuary for $4.5 million after 33 years
In the thick of his international basketball career — rubbing shoulders with Michael Jordan and playing to packed-out arenas in the NBA — Luc Longley found peace in an off-grid coastal sanctuary near Denmark.

‘Ethnic Dads’ would be proud: Sooshi Mango star lists family home
After a decade of laughter, family milestones and good neighbours, comedian Joe Salanitri, one-third of beloved comedy trio Sooshi Mango, and his wife Georgina are saying goodbye to their Mount Waverley home.

The $3 million Malibu view: The land that hides a tragic past
A beachside lot, with a tragic backstory, has hit the market on the coast in California.

Cold War site with moon landing connection hits market for $46 million
A Space Age research station with a mysterious history has hit the market in the US. The property is nestled in a dark, dense forest in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains.

The Block judges Shaynna Blaze and Darren Palmer take on ‘1 Euro House’
They’ve judged multimillion-dollar makeovers on The Block, now Shaynna Blaze and Darren Palmer are the ones sweating over a fixer-upper, and this time the price tag is just one euro.

Mark Wahlberg drops $57m on Florida mansion in Billionaires Row
Hollywood titan Mark Wahlberg has made another colossal splash in the luxury property market, dropping a staggering $57.1m (US$37m) on a newly flipped, fully furnished mansion in Florida’s exclusive “Billionaires Row.”

Sydney the shocking most pest-infested capital
Spring and summer’s warm weather brings a surge of unwelcomed household pests across Australia with homeowners being warned to safeguard from relentless flies to cockroaches and rodents.

Supercars owner Betty Klimenko’s $4m post-Bathurst splurge
Betty Klimenko, the owner of the Erebus Motorsport team in the Supercars championship, has bought a NSW South Coast oceanfront weekender at Culburra Beach, costing $3.95m.

Perth election results: Youngest ever mayor and pair of 18-year-olds fill council’s with ‘new energy’
The City of Perth’s youngest ever councillor is an unashamed fan of the city’s next Lord mayor – and her high praise appears reciprocated. Mayor-elect Bruce Reynolds said 18-year-old Ms Ma was a “fantastic” addition to the team, who would bring a fresh perspective and representation of a generation that was “very engaged with the future of the city”.

Guzman Y Gomez, Red Rooster sites at Warrawong set to be auctioned
Investors are expected to strongly vie for Warrawong properties currently home to premium fast food and service centre outlets.

Melbourne’s cult wellness centre is coming to Sydney
For Tim Gurner, wellness is a “full-blown obsession.” For the first time, Sydneysiders can get a taste of that. There’s a gym, a yoga studio, a reformer Pilates hub, a spa, a restaurant, meeting rooms, meditation corners, an MRI machine, red light therapy beds, IV lounges, and personal lockers allowing you to dump your laundry and open them on return to clean, pressed clothing.

Olympic gold medallist buys $20m Brisbane riverfront mansion
Four-time Olympic gold medallist Libby Trickett and her husband, former Wilsons stockbroker and start-up founder Luke, have emerged as the $20-million buyers of a riverfront mansion in Brisbane.

Gretel Packer buys $60m deceased estate to expand her Sydney compound
Billionaire Gretel Packer has paid about $60 million for a deceased estate in Bellevue Hill, expanding her luxury compound in the blue-chip suburb in Sydney’s east, local sources say.

Justin Hemmes wants to conquer Byron Bay. A primary school is in his way
Justin Hemmes has spent the past four years snapping up $60 million worth of property in Byron Bay, donating thousands of dollars to local causes, and declaring his love for the north-coast holiday town.

Revealed: How this inner Sydney park would look without a greyhound track
A plan to redevelop Wentworth Park into an urban park and sporting complex is ramping up as the City of Sydney Council releases images of what the site could look like if the long-standing greyhound racing track at the site is bulldozed to make way for green space.

Millennial entrepreneur relists Sydney mansion with hopes exceeding $60m
Alexandra Jakob, the founder of haircare brand BondiBoost and executive producer of SBS’ Memory Bites with Matt Moran, has relisted her Point Piper mansion with price hopes of more than $60 million.

Alisa and Ambrose were promised extra green space. They’re getting car parks instead
Fresh plans that increase car spaces at Sydney Park while erasing new greenery and safer crossings have failed to win over inner-city residents and sparked renewed claims of broken promises on an overdue project first devised to improve walking and cycling links in the area.

Bob v the builders: Former premier in home reno legal stoush
It’s not every day that a former premier finds themselves hauled before the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal. But such is the fate of Bob Carr, who ran NSW for a decade before a brief stint as foreign minister in the Gillard and Rudd governments, and who is now locked in a legal battle with his builders Jelco Project Management.

The Melbourne suburbs where security guards are forced to carry guns
Security guards patrolling housing estates in the booming outer west at night will arm soon as burglaries, carjackings and machete attacks soar.

90s Neighbours stars now: Property, loss and exes
They started on the modest streets of Ramsay Street, earning a few hundred dollars a week but have come a long way since then to become some of the biggest names and biggest earners in Australia.

Consulate to coastal mansion … it’s not all bad for Kevin Rudd
There are calls for former PM Kevin Rudd to be stripped of his role as US ambassador after he was embarrassingly roasted by US president Donald Trump.

Australia’s smallest concrete pool revealed: Smaller than a Mini
Australia has a new contender for its tiniest pool that’s smaller than a Mini Cooper and offers about the same space to splash around in as a king sized bed or a trampoline.

Sydney millionaire reveals how he got rich to TikTok star
A video has re-emerged of a young Aussie asking Sydney millionaires to spill their secrets on how they got rich — and one of them has revealed all.

‘Nearly punched me out’: Panos auction turns ugly
Auctioneer Tom Panos has revealed how an auction turned ugly on the weekend in a fiery YouTube video, during which he also blamed Prime Minister Albanese for making “the housing issues Australia has worse”.

Olympic swim champ Libby Trickett splashes $20 million on waterfront mansion
Olympic swimming champion Libby Trickett has splashed $20 million on a lavish waterfront mansion in Brisbane.

Tax officials push to wind up Melbourne power diner Di Stasio Citta
Di Stasio Città, the high-profile Melbourne fine diner popular in business and political circles, faces closure after tax authorities filed a winding-up motion against the restaurant.

The $1.7b pubs boom that shows no sign of slowing
The pub trade is on a hot streak, with investment so far this year already well ahead of the annual average as powerful family-run groups and fund managers take heart in the sector’s growth despite younger people drinking less.

‘I understand the ups and downs’: Actor Richard Roxburgh lends a hand to sell home
Hollywood actor Richard Roxburgh has lent his star power to create a blockbuster property video for a Greenhills Beach home.

How a bungle over train seats forced NSW to buy more expensive carriages
Taxpayers have been forced to buy extra intercity trains at greater cost because NSW’s transport department initially decided to reduce the number of carriage seats, despite modelling showing that it risked overcrowding, a scathing assessment of the purchase of two new train fleets has found.

Dreamy Victorian estate of landscape designer Paul Bangay relisted for $6.6m
Leading landscape designer Paul Bangay’s country estate in Victoria is back on the market, two years after a high-profile deal fell through. Stonefields is a dreamy Tuscan-inspired escape in the hills near Daylesford that Bangay has previously called his “life’s greatest work”.

Dorrigo home with historic tram in living room listed for sale
A historic tram may be the last thing guests expect to see when they walk into someone’s house, but it is more common than many people think. I grew up spending my summers at the family beach shack, which was built around an old 1920s-era tram.

The dark reason why houses in this beach town are selling for $60,000
A weatherboard cottage in an idyllic English seaside town has hit the market for the price of a sedan. But there is a catch — the house might not be here in a year’s time.

Ex-Domino’s CEO lists vast holiday compound in the Queensland mountains
The former boss of Domino’s Australia, Nick Knight, and his wife Noni are selling their private hilltop compound in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland. Knight — who started out as a delivery driver — was the CEO of Domino’s Australia and New Zealand from 2015 until his retirement in 2021.

Why NIMBYs tried to stop Justin Hemmes from transforming Sydney heritage buildings into 24-hour nightlife precinct
NIMBY objectors have all but lost a battle to stop Sydney hospitality tsar Justin Hemmes’ Merivale from transforming a heritage-listed CBD block into a 24-hour nightlife precinct.

Major councils unite in bid to ban suburban caravan parking
Aussie caravan owners are bracing for a potential parking shake-up, with two major Queensland councils spearheading a push to ban recreational vehicles from suburban streets. The move, set to ignite a fiery debate at this week’s Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ) conference, could force thousands of caravanners to find new homes for their prized possessions.

Damien Cavallucci-owned Cav Gasworks sued by buyer Amy Jane Hennessy in Brisbane Supreme Court
A luxury development company has suffered a major blow to its defence of a second legal stoush with a buyer of a ritzy Newstead unit.

Premiership hero Nick Malceski lists Coast family home
AFL hall of famer Nick Malceski and wife Laura have listed their beachside family home as the ex-Gold Coast Suns player returns to the Swans.

A 100-year-old jail covered in grim markings could be yours for $850,000
A historic jailhouse where prisoners were once incarcerated is on the market as a unique family home. The imposing building sits on the banks of the Arkansas River in the small US town of Ozark.

Savvy property moves of ex-Home and Away stars
They started on the sunny shores of Summer Bay, earning a few hundred dollars a week. From Chris Hemsworth to Kate Ritchie, these former Aussie soap stars have turned their humble beginnings on Home and Away into impressive real estate portfolios.

Legal loophole plunges elderly woman’s home into darkness
Imagine waking up to a home plunged into perpetual gloom, your once vibrant garden withered, and your driveway a hazard. For 79-year-old Margaret Broeren, this isn’t a bad dream — it’s her daily reality, all thanks to her neighbour’s out-of-control hedge.

Australia is losing its ‘smile’, and young people are the key
The personal wellbeing of young Australians has dipped, while city-dwellers were less likely to be satisfied with personal relationships than those in rural areas. These are among findings of the Australian Unity Wellbeing Index for 2025, released yesterday.

Century-old time capsules were discovered in a Sydney wall. But how did they get there?
Stonemasons were carefully chipping away at a five-metre-high sandstone wall at Parramatta’s old Female Factory when, ding, they hit something hard: a glass jar wedged between two blocks. The jar was rammed full of old newspaper clippings from 1900 and 1901. And now they were flying across the garden.