Bed in garage shows shocking state of Auckland rental property market

An advertisement seeking a flatmate to bed down next to a car in a garage has caused outrage online and drawn a fierce response from an MP.

The ad, posted to a Facebook group earlier this week, sought a flatmate for a property in West Auckland and used photographs showing a bed set up on the concrete garage floor.

A price was not listed.

The listing was removed after it went viral. Photo / Facebook

The posting quickly attracted an incredulous response from Aucklanders already inured to the harsh realities of the Super City's brutal rental market - and ended with the prospective landlord ducking for cover.

"What a joke," wrote one person.

"Anything to get $$$," claimed another.

Multiple users queried the legality of the arrangement.

The listing drew a mixture of outrage and amusement. Photo / Facebook

When the Herald contacted the man, he suggested that he had been targeted by threats and extortion attempts since the listing went viral.

He has since removed the listing and others that he hosted.

Although a bed in a garage as pictured wouldn't make the grade as a bedroom for a formal tenancy agreement, the rules around private agreements for flatmates could see the man find a willing garage-dweller.

The unusual set-up. Photo / Facebook

Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick wasn't impressed with the offering but said it would not be a surprise for young Aucklanders trying to find a roof over their heads.

Swarbrick described the set-up as "cooked," in an interview with Stuff.

"Most young Aucklanders, strangely, wouldn't be particularly shocked, given the state of housing that many of us have lived in," Swarbrick said.

She argued for greater controls over the rental market and added protection for tenants, saying "it's really important to actually start reversing some of these trends."