‘Impossible’: Massive line at rental inspection in Melbourne

Tenants across Australia are caught in the middle, squeezed by both soaring prices and short supply.

In the footage, which was captured this week, hundreds of people can be seen lining up to inspect the home in Melbourne’s CBD.

“It seems impossible to find a 2 bedroom apartment in Melbourne city right now,” the woman wrote.

“Apartment inspections here are something else.”

Many people chimed in agreeing with the woman, some suggested she look further out of the city.

“Omg for real it’s so hard. They need to bring back rental bidding so us internationals can rent easier,” one person said.

Melbourne isn’t the only city still battling a rental crisis.

Earlier this month a phot emerged online of people lining up outside a Sydney apartment for a rental inspection.

The line stretched down the street.

The image shows an inspection in Melbourne

The line was for a one-bedroom apartment in Manly.

“The madness continues, single bed rental, central Manly, this was only part of the queue, as we left people were still queuing to come up in the lift,” they wrote.

The rental crisis across Australia has been a nightmare for many for more than a year.

Victoria introduced ban on “rental bidding” — asking for or encouraging higher offers than the advertised price and playing potential tenants off against each other — in March 2021 in the hopes of helping cool the market.

From 17 December 2022, licensed real estate and property agents in NSW were also prohibited from soliciting rent bidding.

However, rents have continued to climb and vacancy rates have barely imrpoved.

According to PropTrack, NSW vacancy rates have fallen to levels not seen since 2003, while prices have increased by 3.2 per cent.

Meanwhile, annual data from the Rental Affordability Index (RAI) found that every capital city had experienced a decline in rental affordability, with low-income renters such as single parents, pensioners and job seekers among the most vulnerable.