29-year-old Himanshu Bansal arrived in Melbourne as an international student and his rented accommodation in Melbourne was a 'huge nightmare'.
'This one particular place where I rented a room, turned out to be a huge nightmare,' Bansal told SBS Hindi.
'One day I found mice as I woke up 2 am in the night. They were eating my food in the kitchen. I told the owner about the problem instantly. Hearing about the problem, he knew what needed to be done because this was a historical problem it seemed.'
'I didnt care much after that thinking it will be resolved. Few days later, one early morning, just before I woke up, I realised something touched my bare feet as I got up from my bed.'
'I found mice in my room. I was totally shocked by what happened. I asked owner again and he told me that there were some secret passages in this house which mice knew of. He closed those holes and problem apparently got resolved," Bansal said.
But the relief was short-lived.
His house was located above a restaurant and the sewage was a problem in monsoon.
'One of the customers complained to council about the sewage water clogging. The council inspected it and said the restaurant needs to be permanently closed and building needs to be evacuated immediately (because of the poor engineering) to resolve this issue.'
'I had move out immediately,' Bansal says.
Himanshu Bansal is not alone. A new survey reveals how renters in Australia have had to face issues like pests, cockroaches, mould to leaks, flooding and living in properties which are way too difficult to keep cold or warm.
The survey has revealed that renters' in Australia have experienced widespread anxiety, insecurity and discrimination in the rental market.
One in five renters live in a home with mould, flooding or leaking.
One in four suffer ongoing problems with pests, including cockroaches, moths and ants.
Eight per cent live in properties in need of urgent repairs.
But half of renters in Australia live in fear of being blacklisted on a bad tenants register, meaning they often do not ask for the vital repairs needed for fear of retaliation by their landlord.
Alan Kirkland, CEO of Choice told , 'Unfortunately, the research reveals a significant power imbalance between tenants and landlords, leading to a culture of fear that means many renters stay silent when something goes wrong."
Source: Choice
Following this survey, #RentinOZ started trending on twitter with many renters sharing their horror tales on the social media site revealing how they have experienced stress, duress and have felt cheated.
Have you suffered while renting in Australia? Write to us at mosiqi.acharya@sbs.com.au to share your story or leave your comments on Facebook.
