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Bizarre Ad Tells Prospective Flatmates They Must Leave House Six Hours A Day

Bizarre Ad Tells Prospective Flatmates They Must Leave House Six Hours A Day

A listing for a property in Wellington, New Zealand, told people to be out of the house between 9am and 3pm five days a week

Jess Hardiman

Jess Hardiman

A bizarre online listing warned prospective renters the flat advertised wouldn't be theirs to roam freely - asking that they make sure they're absent for six hours a day while the current flatmate uses the space for 'personal purposes'.

When seeking out a new housemate, many people are keen to stress that they're after someone clean and tidy, who won't steal all of their shampoo and will simply just pay rent on time each month.

No biggie, just a general plea for some level of mutual respect so that you can all live without any dramas.

But a listing for a property in Wellington, New Zealand, took things a little further, asking people to be out of the house between 9am and 3pm five days a week.

Trade Me

Oh, and it still cost NZ $400 (£202/US $282) a week, despite the fact that it would be out of bounds most days.

While some of the details seemed fair enough - with requests for a mature professional type who can keep things clean - things got a bit weird when the ad stipulated the space must remain 'exclusively' for the current tenant's use between Monday and Friday.

The listing, posted on Trade Me, said: "I use this space for my personal purposes ONLY during the day between 9am [and] 3pm Mon to Friday and it will be preferred if it can remain exclusively for my use. Not a must.

"A matured working professional is welcome to be a flatmate for the other times and use it for residential purposes.

"Must leave things clean and tidy."

Trade Me

According to the New Zealand Herald, the property is a 22sq m studio apartment off Cuba Street, a popular area in Wellington.

The listing - which has since been removed - originally stated that the flat's desk could only be used by the current flatmate, but the description then changed to not include the current tenant's preference.

Speaking to the outlet, one government official believes the listing is likely not against the law.

Tenancy Services compliance and investigations national manager Steve Watson said: "On first look at the advertisement online, it looks like this is for a flatmate (rather than a tenant), so wouldn't be covered by the Residential Tenancies Act.

"The Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (the Act) only covers tenants and landlords, not flatmates."

Renters United spokesperson Ashok Jacob said the listing was 'a joke', and that it was 'just another example of the overcrowding caused by the severe housing shortage'.

PA

While the specifics listed may seem unusual, the housing problem has become so bad that it is not massively surprising, Jacob explained.

"We are seeing this sort of thing all the time and it is quite upsetting," he said.

"It is purely as a result that in Wellington we are 10,000 to 15,000 houses short of where we need to be right now and given the fact our population is growing it is going to get worse."

Ashok said the Renters United had been pushing the Ministry of Business and Innovation (MBIE) for improvements, adding: "We have been advocating for just generally increased tenant protections but also I think a lot of the overcrowding problem is a direct result of the severe lack of supply which is also why we're campaigning for tens of thousands of state houses to be built immediately."

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: New Zealand, World News, News, Property, House