A Sydney rental property with mouldy carpets and walls saw its advertised rent suddenly increase by $450 a week after the Federal Budget was revealed.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced landmark reforms to property taxes in the Budget on Tuesday, including major changes to negative gearing.
Landlords were previously able to offset investment losses against their income, sometimes pushing them into lower tax brackets. Under the reforms, anyone who buys property after Budget night will not be able to claim these deductions.
Investors who owned property before May 12 are exempt and can still negatively gear investments. Treasury said the reform will see rents rise by $2 per week, on average.
But the owner of a three-bedroom house in Lindfield, on Sydney's north shore, hiked the rent by 50 per cent just hours after the Budget, the Daily Mail can reveal.
The huge rental increase came despite the landlord buying the house in 2024 for $4.4million - and they are therefore unaffected by the Budget's changes.
The home - with clearly visible damp and mould stains - was first advertised on Domain for $930 per week in April, before being reduced to $900 in early May.
On Wednesday, just hours after Chalmers announced the property tax changes, the same house was re-advertised with a photo of the kitchen for $1,350 per week - or $70,200 per year.
Pictured: The property in Lindfield, on Sydney's north shore, where rents went dramatically up in price after the Federal Budget was revealed
Pictured: A mouldy room in the Lindfield property, which has now been removed from the rental market
Housing activist Jordan van den Lamb - known online as PurplePingers - originally found the listing and price changes (pictured)
HOME 288 real estate agent Nancy Deng told the Daily Mail the Lindfield property has now been removed from the rental market, but she didn't know why.
Ms Deng said renovations had triggered the dramatic rent rise.
'The owner has renovated,' she said on Friday. 'I don't know what the renovations were.'
She couldn't explain why the property remained on the rental market for $930 per week during the renovation period, or if the increase was linked to the tax reforms.
'It was the owner's decision to take it off the rental market,' she said. She also didn't know why the previous tenants moved out.
Housing activist Jordan van den Lamb, known online as PurplePingers, first exposed the property - and the enormous rental price hike - on his Facebook page.
'All those landlords who said, "We're going to raise the f***ing rent because of the Budget" - look, they actually are. Thanks Albo,' he said.
'$1,350 a week, for this.'
Housing activist Jordan van den Lamb said landlords are raising the rent following the property tax changes
The property was listed as having four bedrooms, but one looked almost derelict (pictured)
The real estate agent said the property had since been renovated, sparking the rent rise
Many of the walls were stained with apparent mould or rising damp
He also pointed out that the house was advertised as having four bedrooms, but the fourth 'bedroom' looked more like a shed with a large hole in the roof and black mould covering the walls.
The place was so filthy and covered with broken furniture, the landlord offered to reimburse the future tenant for the cost of cleaning.
A number of walls and large portions of carpet had mysterious stains. Damp issues were visible in several rooms, with squares of carpet offcuts strewn throughout.
According to the online ad, the property is an 'elegant family residence in blue-ribbon Lindfield'.
'This beautifully-presented, four-bedroom home delivers generous space, comfort and effortless family living in a highly convenient location,' it read.
'Showcasing a well-considered layout, the residence features multiple living zones and light-filled interiors designed for both relaxation and entertaining.'
The Lindfield landlord isn't the only one hiking the rent.
The Daily Mail previously revealed a number of investors plan on doing the same, and it's not because the tax changes impact them personally.
Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers is pictured moment before he tabled the Budget on Tuesday
One landlord said on social media: 'I'm just trying to get rich from my tenants. It's working - I just put the rent up another $40 pw. Starting to make life money now.'
AMP chief economist Shane Oliver said it was difficult to forecast an exact dollar figure, but said the $2 prediction 'sounds like it's on the low side'.
He said there was no logical reason for investors who are exempt from the negative gearing changes to hike rents in the short term, but that prices could rise anyway due to low vacancy rates.
Vacancy rates in capital cities are currently very low, and the government predicted in Budget documents that the tax reforms would reduce the rental market by a further 35,000 dwellings.