This is what Melbourne's rental market has come to: $155 a week for a tin shack in the outer-suburbs of Melbourne with "external" bathroom and toilet.
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Mr Laws has been with the REIV for 20 years and said this was the worst he had seen the rental market. He said a vacancy rate of about 3% was regarded as a balanced market, but Melbourne had a rate of 1%.
The rate within four kilometres of the city is even worse, with one rental property in every 167 available for rent.
"That is a scary figure. I have been in real estate for over 30 years and this is the tightest I have seen it," he said.
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Housing Minister Richard Wynne said he had been working in the public housing sector for nearly 25 years and this was the tightest private rental market he had seen
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Opposition housing spokeswoman Wendy Lovell said the rental market was in crisis. "We are seeing housing waiting lists continue to rise, we are seeing rental accommodation becoming increasingly short and we are seeing people absolutely desperate to access that accommodation and therefore landlords are being able to ask what they want for properties not at the top end of the market," she said.
