I grew up and went to school in Australia. I rented there in my early twenties.

Later, I moved to Belarus (my parents' homeland) and then Poland, where I lived for 5 years.

I want to discuss some differences that surprised me between renting in Australia and European countries.

Note that there is a housing crisis in Australia right now, so things are even worse than I experienced back in 2016.

Renters vs owners markets

Even back in 2016, when things in Australia were "normal". It still was very much an owner's market.

Applying to rent was very competitive; you need to provide lots of documents, and it can be a difficult and time-consuming process to find a place to rent.

Even after applying for a place you like, you could be rejected by the landlord because a better candidate applied. Finding a rental was like finding a job.

What I experienced in Belarus and Poland was the opposite. It was the first time I experienced a renter's market. Landlords could have an empty apartment for several months, so they were very flexible, and there were plenty of apartments to choose from.

Applying to rent & required documents

In Australia, you need lots of documents in your rental application. Applying to rent is a more formal and competitive process than in Poland.

You may need to provide documents such as:

  • Your rental history
  • Your salary and bank account balance
  • A letter of recommendation from your boss
  • A cover letter, introduction, or anything else that might convince a landlord to accept your application.

In my opinion, this is asking way too much, especially asking your salary or bank balance. This is private information that my landlord should not have access to.

The rental history requirement is also problematic. It's similar to how jobs ask candidates for work experience, often resulting in a catch-22 - if you have no rental history, it's harder to find rent, and you can't get rental history.

From the landlord's perspective, it makes sense. They might receive 20 different applications, and of course, they want to filter for only the wealthiest tenants.

They say you can always walk away, that nobody is forcing you to apply. But what's the alternative - living on the street?

In Poland, I didn't need to provide anything except for my passport. When I met the landlord to sign the rental contract, we just had a friendly chat. He asked what I do for work, but more out of interest.

Finding an apartment

Step 1: Find apartments you like
This is the easy part. Every country has a website that lists rental properties. You go through these and shortlist some places you like. That's where the similarities end.

Step 2: Viewing an apartment
In Australia, the viewing will be at a certain time each week - Saturday at 11am is a common one. This is when ALL interested tenants can come and have a look.

The doors are open, there is a sign outside, and the real estate agent is greeting people and letting them through, collecting contact information and applications.

There could be 100+ people at a Sydney viewing.

In Poland, the process was much easier. In both the apartments I rented, it went like this:

  1. I browsed otodom.pl for places that I liked
  2. I reached out to the agent that listed them and arranged a date and time to view the apartment.
  3. Often, the viewing the very next day. I could tell the agent right then if I would take it or not.
  4. Later that week, I met the landlord together with the agent to sign the contract.

In our first week in Warsaw, we visited 5+ apartments - one each day. I moved in less than a week later.

Furnished apartments

In Poland and Belarus, rental apartments are mostly furnished.

They not only have the basics like a fridge and washing machine, but also beds, sofas, a dining table, television, etc. So you don't need to buy lots of stuff when you move in.

In Australia, rental apartments are usually bare. They won't even have appliances like a fridge or washing machine, you need to buy these yourself.

I am, of course, a fan of furnished apartments. I move around a lot. Even in Poland I've lived in different cities, and dragging around furniture would be ridiculous.

Yes, you can use removalists to help you, but what if, for example, the fridge from your previous place doesn't fit in the new kitchen? Furniture requirements depend on the apartment's layout.

I'm not sure about Western Europe. From what I've seen online, countries like France or the Netherlands will be mostly unfurnished.

Most central/eastern European countries will be furnished, and from what I've read, Ireland also has laws for a minimum standard of furnishing.

Who are the renters?

Poland has a 87% home ownership rate, compared to Australia's 66%.

Renters are just 13% of the population - mostly students, young people, or professionals who move around for work.

In other words, in Poland, it's assumed you're only staying for a short term, maybe 1-3 years. It's not a lifelong thing. That's why the apartments are furnished.

In Australia, it's assumed that you could be renting for much longer. Most people will rent for 5-10 years through their twenties or early thirties - until they save up enough to buy a place. A goal that is becoming more impossible in cities like Sydney.

Living in rental properties

When our friends moved into their apartment in Poland, they painted art on the walls, and their landlord was totally ok with it.

This was a huge culture shock for me. When I lived in Australia, you couldn't change anything in an apartment, you can't drill screws to hang anything up. I was very careful not to damage anything, let alone paint the entire apartment!

I learned that in Poland, it's common to repaint the walls and do some minor renovations after a tenant moves out, so it's not a big deal to make minor changes.

There seems to be less flexibility or respect towards renters in Australia.

Besides the frustrating and intrusive application process, renters are often subjected to inspections every 3 months.

It's common to see posts online about how the real estate agent criticized the cleanliness of the apartment, things like dishes in the sink, which do not reflect the state of the apartment.

There are even worse stories, such as people coming home to find the agent had entered without their permission or any warning, to conduct a viewing for the next tenant.

Needless to say, I prefer the experience of renting in Poland.

I would really love to show my girlfriend Australia. I'd love to live there for 6 months or a year.

However, it would take at least a month to find a place to rent. I know we might get rejected from many places because we are both self-employed, and we have no rental history in Australia.

If we finally get a place it's probably going to be unfurnished, so I might have to buy all sorts of furniture.

Overall, these factors make the idea of moving to Australia short-term completely impractical.

As for long-term? There are many reasons I don't want to move back, but one of them is that I don't want to be a renter in Australia.