People online are outraged after an Australian tenant admitted they were tricking their flatmates into unknowingly paying their rent.
The head tenant's call for advice in a Facebook group backfired after they were called out for their deceitful behaviour, instead of being advised on how to continue profiting off their flatmates.
The person explained anonymously in the Sydney Facebook group that they are the head tenant of a five-bedroom house and have been subletting to the other four tenants for two years.
A head tenant is named on the tenancy agreement and is responsible for connecting with the landlord or property manager and finding new flatmates when someone moves out. They are, therefore, the lead decision-maker in the flat.
The Sydney head tenant said the lease renewal is coming up and the other tenants wish to all sign on, which means they will ultimately see the total rent for the house when they add their names to the tenancy agreement.
However, what the other tenants don't know is instead of splitting the rent evenly, the head tenant has been dividing it by four - leaving the housemates to foot their bill.
"The issue is, I have not been very transparent about the relative rental contributions and my rent is actually entirely covered by them. How do I go about navigating this situation?" The head tenant wrote on a private Facebook group for Sydney Inner West renters.
Sydney-based writer Chloe Sargeant shared the head tenant's post on Twitter where it went viral, boasting over 3.8 million views.
"This is what happens when someone has a landlord personality but was born in a generation that was locked out of the housing market," Sargeant wrote.
The tweet has racked up hundreds of comments from people who have been the victim of a similar situation.
"I discovered one of my closest friends was doing this to us in Byron Bay. Super common here," one person commented.
"I was in this situation years ago where the 'head tenant' was not only not paying rent but making a tidy profit off of us," another said.
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Other users were left seething at the head tenant's dishonest actions.
"I've never hated anyone more in my life than this 'head tenant'," one person said.
"Leech spotted," said another.
"It's helpful to be reminded that these sorts of people exist. 'Head tenant' is red-flag enough," a third said.
Ultimately, most commenters were in agreement that the remaining four flatmates would either get a new spare room or a new roommate.
