A tiny granny flat with no bathroom or kitchen has hit the rental market in Perth for $230 a week.
The renovated railway carriage at the bottom of a backyard in Bayswater – a short distance from the CBD – is fully furnished, but only has one room.
The studio has just enough space to fit a queen bed, a lamp, a few pot plants, some free-standing storage and a small table.
The tiny granny flat in the Perth suburb of Bayswater asks prospective tenants for $230 a week but has a separate bathroom and no kitchen
The bathroom of the private rental is located in the main house and there is no kitchen, just a small bar fridge, microwave and induction cooker.
‘This lovely carriage is tastefully decorated with its own separate entrance and bathroom’, a description of the rental reads on Airbnb.
‘Situated in gorgeous Bayswater, it is close to the city, river and shopping districts’.
The owner posted photos of the rental property in the Facebook group ‘Perth Housemate Finder Official’ on April 15.
‘Looking for someone reliable and relatively quiet. The street and neighbours are awesome!’, they said.
The studio has barely enough room to fit a bed, a lamp, some free-standing storage, a few pot plants and a small table
However, one group member was unimpressed with the renovated train carriage.
‘$230 per week for a shed’, they said, with eight other users ‘liking’ their comment.
‘It’s furnished in a good location. Looked at the rental market lately?’, another member responded.
The Bayswater carriage is just one of the properties part of a wave of new accommodation options to hit the market, as the states rental prices soar.
Damian Collins, head of REIWA, the peak body for real estate, said the trend of renting out a guest house to earn a second income was making a comeback.
The owner of the renovated railway carriage posted the listing to a local Facebook group, with one user describing the property as a ‘shed’
‘Granny flats were popular seven or eight years ago but that tapered away in the last four or five years,’ he told the West Australian.
I expect that will become popular again because we’re going to be in a rental shortage for some period.’
Mr Collins encouraged residents to think about opening their guest houses, caravans, sheds or sea containers to host prospective tenants.
However, having a tenant in such close proximity to a homeowner does mean taking some risks, Mr Collins admitted, the biggest being their relationship.
‘We often find that they then become close and they don’t put the rents up, they give let tenants go into arrears and don’t take appropriate action.’
The real estate boss suggested owners look into getting a property manager as an intermediate third party and to always have lease agreements in place.
The listing is just one in a wave of new accommodation options hitting the city’s rental market, as the vacancy rate in greater Perth continues to plummet
The vacancy rate in greater Perth is currently sitting at 0.4 per cent, having only dipped under one per cent three times in 40 years.
Michelle Mackenzie from housing non-profit Shelter in Western Australia, said she welcomed the new accommodation options that were popping up across the state.
Ms Mackenzie said the Residential Tenancy Act was in desperate need of updating, describing renters in WA as ‘second class citizens’.
‘The rental protections do not support long term renting and as more and more people rent for life, we need rental laws to support that.
‘We need laws that make it more secure for people.’