Entire Melbourne sharehouse received rent warnings over 50c

Moving out of a sharehouse does not automatically end a renter’s financial responsibilities, with tenants warned they could remain liable if their name stays on the lease. A Melbourne rental household was almost kicked to the kerb over a 50 cent underpayment of their rent in what has been labelled a warning for the state’s rising sharehouse population. The tenants only discovered the shortfall after an automated email from the property manager’s firm threatened them with eviction. The case is among the experiences uncovered in new Swinburne University research into the financial risks of sharehousing, as rising rental costs leave some Victorians reliant on housemates. RELATED: Auction-weary Melb family buys $80k below budget Shock $12m Mt Eliza result puts The Block on notice ‘Rigged’: Block insider shock $200k admission The study, published in Housing Studies earlier this month, involved interviews with 25 current or former Victorian sharehouse renters aged 23 to 39. One participant faced eight extra days of rent after a housemate refused to sign departure paperwork. Another lost bond money over damage caused in somebody else’s bedroom. Swinburne University researcher Zoë Goodall ...