TikToker sets up database to expose the worst rentals in Australia to help tenants

Shitrentals.org went live a few weeks ago and has already garnered thousands of reviews from across the country, which revealed some of the dodgiest rentals on the market.

Mr van den Berg said he created the database after his TikTok account was bombarded with messages describing terrible rentals.

"I've been making videos on shit rental for three years now, mainly on TikTok, but it progressed and it became known as such a prevalent problem," he said.

"The submissions, to me, have gotten out of hand and I don't have the time to go through my inbox as there are a lot of people submitting their shit rentals.

"I wanted to give those people a voice, without having to use me as their voice."

The reviews ranged from landlords who do not reply to emails, to the roof has rotted and has now completely caved in.

But, from all the rentals Mr van den Berg has exposed, there was one that took the title.

"There was exposed asbestos above the oven and the entire carpet was squishy, like it made a squilsh noise when you walked on it [and] they had to put duck boards down," he said.

"And the shower just drained straight into the sub-floor, it wasn't even connected to the plumbing so that made the entire house mouldy and the shed was entirely made of exposed asbestos.

"It was just a shocking house."

He said the tenants who lived there were some of the best people her had ever met.

"They were always there for their community and would let someone stay if they need a room or hold events for their community. When they asked to get some of the issues in the rental addressed the estate agency responded by giving them a rent increase and then evicting them."

The creation of the database had also removed an element of risk for Mr van den Berg.

"Whenever you are doing a review on a rental or an agency, these people are particularly litigious, so [there are] defamation risks," he said.

"This is due to the drafting of the Defamation Act in Australia, even if you are telling the truth you can be dragged to court to prove that you are telling the truth instead of the onus being on the complainant, which isn't fair."

"So, because I'm the publisher, I'm taking the risk instead of the tenants, which I'm happy to do."

The majority of the reviews, so far, have been from around Sydney's inner west and Brunswick in Melbourne.

He encouraged any tenants who had been impacted by rental issues or had experienced a lack of assistance from a rental agencies, to leave a review.

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Australia has been plunged into a rental crisis due to a combination of the rising cost of living, inflation, and the growing prevalence of short-term holiday rentals via Airbnb.

Nationally house prices are predicted to rise by 4.9 per cent over the next nine months and then surge by 9.4 per cent in the year to June 2025.

Millions of Australians are now left either fighting each other for housing or having to put up with awful rental situations, Mr van den Berg said.

"The conversation for so long has been about the numbers and it has been one-sided in the developer interest," Mr van den Berg said.

"They have been over-represented as they are the biggest political donors in Australia to political [parties] and renters are not.

"So the tenants' views aren't [being] heard."