Sydney renter living in house with mould and fungus on ceiling hit with lease hike

A renter was left shocked after being told his lease would go up by 40 per cent despite living in a house with a mouldy ceiling that has mushrooms growing on it.

Nick Brown, 31, has been paying $390 a week to rent a two-bedroom house in Chifley, in south-east Sydney, over the past three years.

He has been in a constant battle with his landlord to fix a water leak that has covered his ceiling in mould and even fungus.

A renter was left shocked after being told his lease would go up by 40 per cent despite living in a house with a mouldy ceiling that has mushrooms growing on it

He has been in a constant battle with his landlord to fix a water leak that has covered his ceiling in mould and even fungus

Now he has been hit with a rent hike and been told by his landlord that he will need to pay an extra $150 a week. 

Mr Brown currently shares the house with his girlfriend and the couple had made plans to begin the new chapter of their life together at the property.

Mr Brown said he made several complaints to the landlord about the leak and that builders had been sent in on multiple occasions to fix it.

‘It just got worse and worse, as they didn’t fix it properly,’ he told news.com.au. 

‘There were cracks over a foot long in the ceiling, water coming through them, mould coming out of the cracks and growing along the ceiling, water dripping through that onto the carpet and even a mushroom at one stage.’ 

The mould had become uncontrollable that it spread from the building to his furniture and clothes and made some rooms unusable.  

Mr Brown took it upon himself to fix the problem and repaired a broken shower head and leaky kitchen tap.

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Mr Brown currently shares the house with his girlfriend and the couple had made plans to begin the new chapter of their life together at the property

The mould had become so uncontrollable that it spread from the building to his furniture and clothes and made some rooms unusable

Mr Brown was hit with the rental hike just as the house became liveable again – with the landlord explaining the price increase was necessary to keep up with inflation

He then did a deep clean and scrubbed the mould from the ceilings and windows.

Mr Brown was hit with the rental hike just as the house became liveable again with the landlord explaining the price increase was necessary to keep up with inflation.

The devastated 31-year-old said he has contemplated moving back home because he will now be unable to afford living in the house.

He currently works as a labourer but has been forced to leave the job because of a genetic disorder in his joints.

Mr Brown intended to become an NDIS support worker to ease his workload, but the transition comes with a massive pay cut.

‘I was saying to my girlfriend, I’m looking forward to some stability, not living in this constant state of paying rent for a place we’re only using part of,’ he said.

‘To just live a normal life and the second it’s done, they kick me up the bum.’

Mr Brown intended to become an NDIS support worker to ease his workload, but the transition comes with a massive pay cut