A striking handwritten note was spotted by a potential tenant at a two-bedroom property in the northern suburbs of Brisbane, Australia, on Monday.
The note read: "Worst rental experience ever. ”
According to British media on April 24, the note was a stern warning from a former tenant revealing a series of horrific conditions inside the house, urging anyone considering the property to "flee" immediately.
The note, which circulated online after being spotted by a Reddit user, detailed a long list of complaints. From the overflowing mold-infested bathrooms and bedrooms, to the ubiquitous cockroach invasion, this note paints a picture of neglect and despair. Broken window hinges, peeling paint, and alarming allegations of owners trespassing into properties without permission further exacerbate this terrible situation.
"The owners of this house are stingy. The rent was $390 before we moved in, now it's $480 and he doesn't fix anything. The note reads.
The anonymous lady who found the note recalled their shock and the subsequent swift departure from the property.
"He didn't check further," she said. For us, the main concern is about homeowners entering the property when they shouldn't. ”
Before leaving, her husband managed to take a picture of the warning note, which the real estate agent reportedly later erased.
The couple had been struggling to find a property and were "very disappointed" when reading the list of these issues.
"We have high hopes for that property," the woman explained. For many of us, finding a house at a reasonable price is really hard. We are still looking for rental properties but have not come across many properties available for rent yet. ”
The act of leaving such a cautionary note was praised online, with many praising the former tenant's transparency, arguing that it was "something every tenant should do" and urging others to follow suit.
The widespread resonance of the incident highlights a common problem faced by tenants: a general lack of accountability among landlords and landlords.
One person wrote: "I wish I had thought of this before I left the old house. ”
Another said: "This describes at least 80% of the rental houses I have lived in in the last 40 years. It's just that they forgot to mention the easily peeling asbestos roof. ”
Someone else said, "I'm dealing with this right now." I was very sick due to mold on the walls and floors caused by a leaky roof. ”
Former tenants told The Courier Post that they left the message to warn others to "stay out of the way unless cornered" and didn't expect it to go viral.
"We weren't happy from day one, we just felt cheated," they told the newspaper. ”
Notably, with soaring rents and record-low vacancy rates, the Australian rental market has become a battleground for tenants battling high costs and poor living conditions.
In Brisbane alone, median rents have risen by almost 17%, putting huge pressure on already tight budgets. A similar trend is seen across the country, with Sydney becoming Australia's most expensive city to rent in, with rents rising by more than $150 a week in several suburbs.
The virality of the warning note became a powerful reminder of the power of collective action to hold negligent landlords accountable.