We spoke a couple of weeks ago about proposed new tenancy laws that among other things, may allow sub-lets without owners’ approval* .
One critic, manager of a major apartment block near Chinatown, claims there’s already a large number of residential buildings “that have every second unit overcrowded by students or backpackers, some housing a dozen or more adults in a two-bedroom unit.”
He says lives will be put at risk and investor landlords will abandon the market creating an even larger rental crisis if the law is passed in its current form.
He has a point. Who in their right mind would let an apartment near a university or college, knowing there was a chance that it could be turned into a “hot-bunking” money spinner by serial sub-letters looking to stack the place with students?
On the other hand, there is clearly a huge demand for low-cost, low amenity accommodation in the inner city. There must be a way to match a clear need for cheap housing with a desire for investment that has a virtually guaranteed return.
You just don’t want it happening in YOUR block.
*NB: this proposed law has now been amended and will allow sub-lets which can’t be “unreasonably” rejected by the landlords but the landlords will be able to limit the number of tenants.
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