Australia is known as one of the most expensive countries to live in. Finding accommodation can be challenging, mainly if you chose to live in suburbs close to where the CBD is.
Internationals visiting Sydney on a Tourist visa prefer to stay in hotels or rent their accommodation through Airbnb and Stayz applications.
For internationals staying for a longer period such as students, for example, it’s more affordable to rent shared places. There are often rental and share house options posted on boards at your education institution or at share house websites such as Flatmate Finders or Flatmates.com.au.
If you want to lease a place through real estate companies, you are required to prove financial stability, background checks and usually employment. The most common real estate companies are Domain and Realstate.com.
If you are renting a house or apartment, you have to pay a security deposit or ‘bond’ (which is usually equivalent to four weeks’ rent). You will also need to pay some rent in advance (usually to cover the first four weeks of your tenancy). This money is held by the relevant state government department in every Australian state or territory.
In case you are renting a place and have an issue, you should try to resolve the problem directly with your real estate agent, landlord or accommodation manager. If you are unable to resolve the issue directly, there are organisations such as tenants’ unions and consumer advocates that can help. Visit the relevant Fair Trading government agency in your state or territory:
- New South Wales: NSW Fair Trading and Tenants Advice & Advocacy Services NSW
- Queensland: Tenants Queensland and Residential Tenancies Authority
- Victoria: Tenants Victoria and Consumer Affairs Victoria
- ACT: Tenants’ Advice Service and Access Canberra
- Western Australia: WA Department of Commerce and Tenancy WA
- Northern Territory: Tenants’ Advice Service and Consumer Affairs Northern Territory
- South Australia: Consumer and Business Services (CBS) and Tenants Information and Advisory Service
- Tasmania: The Tenants‘ Union of Tasmania
If you have any questions in relation to accommodation, please do not hesitate to contact us on (02) 9189 2988 or ross@crystalmigration.net