Bedding down 'isn't great' for many overseas students in Oz
Published: 18 September 2009
Instead of getting proper accommodation, many overseas students in Brisbane are opting to pay a fraction of the price to buy bedding space at one of many overcrowded homes through subletting students, it has emerged.
Ruthless students are renting out their homes to overseas students for as little as £40 a week - so long as the visiting pupils are happy to buy a patch of floor for their bedding.Brisbane has a glut of properties illegally adopting this measure, the Brisbane Times reported, with one home in particular housing as many as 37 people before authorities stepped in.
Principal of Queensland Property Investment Solutions Maria Reis revealed that a 12-bedroom house on their portfolio had been leased to one man for just over £290 a week, who himself was making £3,000 through the bedding initiative.
"They don't rent rooms, they rent mattress space, and it doesn't matter whether it is in a bedroom or not," Ms Reis explained.
"We've seen mattresses being rented in hallways, on closed balconies... it is appalling. It's like living in prison."
Earlier this month, more moralistic people were told how to create a guest room in a box for when friends stay, with interior design mogul Thom Filicia recommending to the Chicago Tribune that people use an ottoman filled with an inflatable mattress and bed linen, among other amenities.
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