A Brisbane house share listing was advertising a private room and bathroom for $200 per week. However, the bathroom was actually a portaloo.
A Brisbane house share listing was advertising a private room and bathroom for $200 per week. However, the bathroom was actually a portaloo.
With people struggling to find rental homes across Australia and New Zealand, it is understandable some are taking unusual offers to have a roof over their head.
Many renters are prepared to pay more for smaller rooms or places that don’t come with all the facilities you’d expect in a normal rental or share-house situation.
But one share-house listing in Australia is turning heads for all the wrong reasons.
One rental in Brisbane is offering a furnished private room and bathroom for A$200 ($220) a week.
It might sound like a good deal for some, but there is one catch — the bathroom is a portaloo.
The portaloo bathroom contained built-in plumbing for a toilet, shower, and sink.
The listing, posted to Reddit then deleted, advertised a room to rent in Sunnybank Hills for November 19 onward.
However, not only was the bathroom a portaloo, there was no access to the kitchen.
“Private bathroom or portaloo? Came across this listing with a private bathroom … and photos of a portaloo,” the Reddit poster wrote. “Also, photos of a kitchen that you don’t have access to!”
The since-deleted listing attracted a range of unfavourable comments, with some finding the listing disgusting.
So you can’t use a kitchen, you’ll need to eat out all the time, and the external portaloo is a bit f**king dodgy and is that shared with shower … in Sunnybank Hills. For $200pw – where’s the upside in this s**t show?”
Viewers were outraged at the listing with some calling it a "s**t show".
The portaloo contained built-in plumbing that featured a fully functioning toilet, a shower, sink, and shelves for toiletries.
It means the successful applicant would effectively be using the bathroom in the shower, or their toilet would be getting soaked while they took a shower.
One renter described it as a farce, saying “for same price (all bills inc) same location-ish I get not one but TWO real toilets plus a fully functioning kitchen!”
The listing advertised a furnished room and private bathroom to rent for $200 per week. However, the bathroom was a portaloo.
The owner of the property then reposted the listing with an alternative offer of $240 a week for “full access”, which would presumably give the renter access to a kitchen.
Many questioned the legality of the hybrid portaloo shower.
However, according to the Queensland Residential Tenancies Authority, the minimum housing standards of a rental must include adequate plumbing and drainage, hot and cold water suitable for drinking, and private bathroom areas with flushable toilets connected to a waste disposal system, sewer, or tank, which the listing appears to cover.
