Renting Sydney apartments to international students has become big business. Up to ten students live in apartments, the lounge room transformed into makeshift rooms, sleeping on mattresses on the floor and with zero privacy. When asked, students said they turned to housing sites like Gumtree.com.au and flatmates.com.au.
SBS went in search of these places. We chose two ads from Gumtree and went to see how students live. We also interviewed experts in finding housing for students who described how students live in Australia.
Apartment 1
2 bedrooms apartment: With up to 10 students
Located in Pyrmont
Two students are sleeping in the lounge room while another eight sleep in the two bedrooms of the small Pyrmont apartment. Typically there are 10 students, but they’re looking for two extra to complete the rent. The offer is tempting; $ 130 per week in exchange for a place in the "room".
We contacted the man who posted the ad on Gumtree. He said he wasn’t the owner and that he only rented the apartment. When we arrived for the inspection we were greeted by a young Asian woman who gave us a tour of the apartment. Gumtree photographs showed some rooms, but on arrival we found a very different picture.
In what should be the lounge room, according to the Asian woman, there is a "bedroom" with two beds, both covered with canvas fabrics to give "privacy", but there is no division between them. In addition there are two rooms with two bunk beds each, sleeping four. Those four people share the same bathroom with the two students who sleep in the main room. The room is a mess; clothes are in every corner and hang off the bed brackets above a mass of computer cables.
In the other room there are two bunk beds, sleeping four other students. They have a desktop area of about fifty to forty centimetres. That little ledge is a divider, and the tenants of this room also take turns to use the bathroom, kitchen and washing machine.
All ten international students share the kitchen which has two refrigerators. According to the lady, all tenants have space inside the refrigerators. "You can put in the refrigerator all the food you want as long as you don’t occupy someone else's space."
Asian girl states that students who sleep there are Asian: Chinese, Korean and Japanese. "What we all share is rice, they bring a sack of rice and prepare all they want." For toileting and washing the same rules apply, students can wash clothes and bathe at any time as long as another student has not set aside a specific time.
The Asian woman says she will not be there for long, because she doesn’t like crowded living, but for now her economic situation forces her to live in the most economical option. When asked about the man who posted the ad on Gumtree, she was surprised: "Here we’re all women, I pay rent to a girl here and there’s no men sleeping here from Gumtree."
Apartment 2
One bedroom apartment: Space for 5 students
Located in Ultimo
This Gumtree notice was attractive at just $ 135 per week and being in Ultimo, a suburb near the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), TAFE and other English teaching schools. This ad says -Looking for a girl for the room.
When attempting to make contact via the phone number we only received a text message: "Hi, it is living room share. Is it ok? Where are you from? By showing interest in the apartment we were sent the address to visit the place. A young Asian student received us. He rents the apartment and sublets to Asian international students.
The "living" room has been separated into two rooms by improvised canvas. Each space is approximately 1.5 metres by 2 metres. One side has a bunk bed that sleeps two students; a young Korean and a Japanese. The features are similar to the apartment visited in Pyrmont: clothes hang between the tubes of the two bunks, creams and deodorants are piled up on a small computer space of about fifty by forty centimetres.
The second and smaller space has only a sleeping mattress (no bed frame), a small ledge of forty centimetres by forty centimetres to place a computer. Clothes could be placed in a small "closet" made out of tubes and fabric. Everything is within an area of approximately 1.5 by 2 metres. The young Asian who rents out the apartment, is also an international student and sleeps in the single room, but they all share the bathroom.
The Asian man claims that he has been forced to rent the apartment to other international students because it is simply impossible to pay rent, but that it’s still better than living in his home country. "This is better than living in my home country where there is no job opportunity. Here I work in a restaurant and also rent space in the apartment."
Up to two students per bedroom is normal, says experts
Experts in finding housing for international students say that it’s "normal" to have two students per room. According to Alex Sala, business manager at Gobal Experience, a company dedicated to finding housing for international students in family homes, they verify the accommodation fits requirements. Every family home should offer a Working With Children Check, a room that has a desk, a lamp, a chair, natural light and a wardrobe.
According to Alex Sala, the family can have one to two students per room but no more than three students maximum per household. Global Experience does not accept mattresses on the floor, or pre-armed beds. Alex Sala says some international students take these options to save a few dollars by aren’t aware of the risks.
Alex Sala says that, unlike Gumtree or Facebook, Global Experience guarantees the rooms are as shown in the pictures. In addition Global Experience has communication with the school, the student and the student's family. Families and students can contact Global Experience through its website: globalexperience.com.au
Some options for international students
Johanna Castillo, general director of Tayrona Consulting agency, stressed that students are offered three housing options: With a family, a student hotel or an apartment. The first option, to live with a family, is done through school and families seeking specialized company. She says it’s the most complete and healthy option for students. The second alternative is to rent a student hotel room while the student adapts to the country and the third option is to rent a room in an apartment.
Castillo says that the last option is the most economical, but has many risks. "There are ads that say sharing a room with two people, but when you go there you find four cabins. People sleeping in the room have no room to watch TV, read or even do their school work. It’s over crowded". If the student has few financial resources, it’s recommended to not live near the city to avoid overcrowding. Johanna Castillo says it’s healthier to share a room with one person.
According to Johanna Castillo in most cases students choose to sublease apartments. The Real Estate agency stipulates how many people can live in the apartment, however, a place designed for a maximum of two can easily end up housing ten.
