Sydney renter’s creepy ad seeking a woman to share a one-bedroom unit for ‘comfort’

An unsettling rental ad invited a woman to share a one-bedroom unit in return for a mattress on the floor as a bed, no bathroom door and multiple locks on the front door.

Small business owner Rachel McQueen, who regularly posts videos of shady rental listings, posted a clip to TikTok analysing the strange ad from Facebook Marketplace.

The listing was for a one-bedroom unit at Granville in western Sydney, where the current occupant is looking for a woman to live with him for free in exchange for teaching him English.

‘Hi friends I need to learn english so I’m after a woman how (sic) except (sic) to live with me in my One bedroom unit to benefit from having chat with her,’ the ad reads.

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TikTok user Rachael McQueen (pictured), who regularly posts about shady real estate listings, shared a clip of an unsettling rental listing for a one bedroom unit at Granville in Sydney’s west

‘This one (listing) is for all my true crime enthusiasts out there,’ Ms McQueen says in her video.

‘This could be innocent but also it could not be so let’s guess what’s going on here. This room is free but it’s listed on Facebook Marketplace, so totally unregulated.’

After reading out the listing description, Ms McQueen claims the occupant also wants a woman to provide ‘comfort’.

‘I do have screenshots from someone enquiring about this property and they do expect you to keep it clean in exchange for staying there and they also said the reason they want a woman is for ‘comforting’,’ she continues.

‘We don’t know if that’s a language barrier or they meant that literally.’

She then shows several images of the inside of the apartment.

One image of the bedroom shows a single mattress on the floor, next to the occupant’s bed, which is blocking a door at the back of the room. 

Photos of the kitchen reveal there is no door separating the kitchen from the bedroom, with the occupant using a shower curtain instead. 

A shower curtain has also been used instead of a door for the bathroom, while the shower in the bathroom, weirdly, has a glass door rather than a curtain.

Photos from the ad show a mattress on the floor for a bed, shower curtains for doors and multiple locks on the front door

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One unnerving image of the kitchen shows the front door with multiple locks. 

‘I understand these locks are on the inside and not the outside so they’re not stopping you from being able to escape but we don’t know what’s on the other side of that door and this is still giving me a vibe that I’m not really comfortable with,’ Ms McQueen says.

‘This door could be an indication about many things. It could be about the safety of the area, it could be about the paranoia of the person living in the apartment, it could be about the safety of the woman who will be sleeping on the floor of this apartment like a dog while acting as this person’s mate.’ 

One viewer commented: ‘The sad part is someone will take them up on this offer to avoid being homeless. The government needs to hurry and ban Airbnb from suburban areas.’

Another said: ‘In which part of the world is this ok to post as a place to stay? I want to know. I’m curious.’ 

Ms McQueen claims the police have been informed about the ad.  

The rental listing has since been removed from Facebook Marketplace.