I am the person who faxes off an application the moment the place appears online, ticking that I’ve inspected the house, even though the receiving agent wouldn’t have to think too hard to realise I couldn’t possibly have seen it when they only advertised 10 minutes ago.

I had my first introduction to the vicious Sydney rental market two years ago, when I moved here from a forgotten country town. Since then, I’ve moved three times already, and I’m about to pack my bags again. Where am I going?
Not sure yet.
I just hope to God that in the next two weeks my house hunting tactics will pay off and some agent will take pity on me before our lease expires. Because I’m pretty sure that’s the only way my housemate and I are ever going to be accepted as tenant’s anywhere.

It’s a bit of a catch-22. Our current agent will only re-sign for 3 months, as well as raising our already exorbitant rent. If I don’t find somewhere soon, I’ll be left with no choice but to play their nasty game and pay even more for a house that leaks in random places, that grows mould faster than we can clean it and that has holes in the wall through which any type of cockroach or spider can let itself in and join the party. Hurrah!

At every inspection, there are at least 20 other people clamouring against the walls and furniture in the tiniest of spaces. Last year, there were even families at the same places we were applying for. When you’re competing for a short-term lease with a 30-something pushing a pram, there has got to be a problem in the system somewhere.

It’s a difficult situation. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, rental prices increased 20% in the last year. Although this particular statistic was somewhat contested at the time, a replacement figure never emerged. And regardless of whatever number you can pull to justify and measure the situation, it’s not exactly a fun prospect when you struggle every January to find a place to live.

But it’s not just me who has the bad luck. A friend of mine recently contacted an agent she had applied to only to be told that they had lost her application. Do such disorganised people deserve to have so much power? The answer, in a perfect world, should be no. Another friend of mine was emailed with only a little more than a week’s notice to vacate. Before you inhale indignantly and say that no-one is allowed to do that and he should have exercised his rights as a tenant: he was a sub-tenant. Apparently sub-tenants need even less notice to move.

I guess all we can hope for is some sort of rental revolution. A power to the people, not the landlords, sort of thing. It’s about time we stormed the fortress of glossy, shiny real estate agents in this city and brought about a change. Just make sure you find somewhere to live first. I think I’ll be taking my turn at couch surfing.

NB. If you really do feel that you’ve been given the unfair end of the deal as a tenant, check www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au for a list of tenant’s and owner’s rights.