Landlord hits tenant with 58% hike for mouldy flat

A Sydney renter has seen his rent increase by almost 60 per cent in three years for a unit he claims has mold, leaking sewage and duct taped holes in the shower. Ben Hartley moved into a two-bedroom Coogee rental in 2023 and was originally paying $570 per week. Since then, he’s negotiated his rent down but still received four rent increases over the last three years that have been equivalent to $330 extra per week or a 57.9 per cent increase. MORE: Sydney rents smash Treasury’s forecast Ben Hartley and his housemate. Picture: Supplied Figures from realestate.com.au show Coogee units rented for a median $850 a week in 2023 and are now $1,000 per week in the latest quarterly data, up 17.7 per cent. Mr Hartley is now paying $900 per week but claimed the “old, tired Art Deco building” also has serious maintenance issues that are going mostly unaddressed. MORE: ‘Worst in Aust’: Sydney tenants’ horror rent hike The base of the shower where duct tape covers a crack in the bath. Picture: Supplied Pictures supplied by Mr Hartley show strips of duct tape covering a crack in the apartment’s bathtub-shower that he said has been there since he moved into the property in 2023. A picture of the t...