As rent prices and predatory practices increase in Australia, people on Twitter lashed out at Mark Humphries for calling out unfair charges.

Sketch writer for ABC, Mark Humphries, called out a predatory rent practice that has popped up recently in the Australian rental scene— one-time connection fees to install a new property’s NBN connection. NBN is Australia’s National Broadband Network, designed to transfer large amounts of data and provide high-speed internet via fibre optic cables.

The Australian government’s policy for new developments is that developers are required to provide “modern telecommunications” for people moving into these properties. However, it is also outlined that NBN is allowed to pass on a one-time fee of $300 to renters in such properties.

This will only increase the growing burden put on renters, who have been absolutely gouged by landlords over recent years. Rent prices were experiencing a steady increase before dipping in 2020 due to factors created by the COVID-19 pandemic and since then, rent prices have surged to new highs.

The average price to rent a house across all capital cities in Australia increased by 8.3% (now $520 a week) from 2021 to 2022, while units increased by 9.3% (now $470 a week).

As correctly pointed out by Humphries, and others in the comments, passing on the NBN fee is only another way for landlords to increase their profits for something they can later use as a selling point for their property.

Of course, members of the Australian media class such as Sky News were quick to write negative pieces about the retaliation against predatory rental practices, painting Humphries as angry, stupid, and out of control with headlines such as, “‘F**khead territory’: ABC star explodes after being trolled over rental question.”

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This is a clear indication of where their interests lay.

“Sick of the NBN’s $300 “one-time connection fee”. Am now in the second-straight rental property where the owner refuses to pay it.”

“Hi Mark, not sure if you’ve read the comments here, but apparently the easiest way to avoid this problem is if you simply stop renting. Have you considered taking out a $1.2m loan to avoid the $300 charge? Happy to put you in touch with my broker in Pyrmont.”

“This seems to be the simplest solution. Once I stop renting, I’m looking forward to replying to renters’ tweets about renting and showing them the wisdom of the non-renting lifestyle.”

“Connecting and paying for utilities (water, gas, electric, internet) is generally done by the renter at the renter’s expense. Were you expecting different for some reason?”

“Again, it is a “one-time connection fee”. It is absurd to make someone who will be living somewhere for six months to pay $300 to get the owner’s property connected to the internet. An asset which will benefit the owner long after the person who paid the fee has left.”

“Getting a few replies to this which seem to be focusing on the irrelevant detail here of why I am renting. My personal circumstances are, you guessed it, personal. The issue is the absurdity of any renter having to fork out for this fee.”

“There’s a point at which a tweet’s reach expands into the fuckhead replies territory. This tweet has now reached that territory. Please, fuckheads, if you see this tweet, just scroll on.”

“There was a real opportunity here for news.com.au to scrutinise the absurdity of a system where the first tenant to rent a new build is slugged with a $300 connection fee to access the NBN. They’ve not done that, but I encourage them to do so.”

“You don’t know anything about my financial situation. And I am speaking on behalf of any renter who is being asked to pay this fee. My personal circumstances are irrelevant. Again, you are fighting the wrong side.”

“I’d just like to add a general thank you to everyone on here who understood the issue I was raising and didn’t use it as an opportunity to blame renters or tell me to buy a house. Cheers to all you good eggs out there.”

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