This article was first published in October 2023.
An Auckland rental listing is causing outrage online with some people comparing it to a "prison" cell.
The one-bedroom, one-bathroom flat in Hillsborough is being advertised for $250 a week which includes electricity, water, gas and internet.
The Trade Me listing describes the flat as a "lovely home" that is suitable for a quiet and "peace-loving student or professional".
Photos from the listing show a bed with a bare mattress in a small corner of what appears to be a windowless room. There is a small kitchen area with a sink, lamp and jug. There's also a small bathroom with a toilet and shower.
But the photos drew criticism and jokes when it was posted on social media platform Reddit.
"Is this prison?" one commenter asked. While another suggested the flat looked like a "trap house".
"Is this rental underground in an abandoned train station?" another joked. Another simply called the listing "appalling".
"This is a joke right?" someone else said.
Others pointed out there appears to be mould growing on the walls near the bed.
Meanwhile, others took issue with the section of the listing that details the cooking expectations and utilities.
"I do not cook and will prefer just someone who shares veg food or take away only," the listing says, before going on to clarify there is not an oven and instead the tenant will need to use the hot plate, microwave and fridge that are available.
One social media user summed up their thoughts on the cooking situation simply saying, "the audacity".
Another suggested the lack of daylight would give them "instant depression".
But not everyone was horrified with one person saying, "it's not too bad" for the current rental market.
"If I were still young free and single I’d snap it up for sure. What a bargain," one person said.
"I'm looking at this thinking it's not too shabby lol," another added.
It's not the first rental to draw ire on the internet. In 2021 an advertisement seeking a flatmate to sleep in a garage next to a car caused outrage online and angered a Green Party MP.
The advert was posted on a west Auckland flatmates wanted page on Facebook. The post included photos of a double bed, a mirror and a chair set up next to a silver car in a garage. The price for the room wasn't included in the advert.
It drew swift backlash from social media users who condemned the listing.
The man who posted it told the NZ Herald at the time he had removed the listing after receiving threats.
The latest Trade Me Rental Price Index shows Aotearoa's median weekly rent is $620. Auckland is the most expensive region with a median weekly rent of $670, followed by the Bay of Plenty at $650 and Wellington at $640.
The cheapest region is Southland with a median weekly rent of $440.
