Pensioner defends offering camping tent in backyard for $125 a week: 'Doing my bit'

With no signs the housing crisis sweeping Australia is slowing down, Australians everywhere are resorting to drastic measures to find a roof over their head. But one man's offer of a patch of grass and a tent in his backyard for $125 has gone down like a lead balloon — with some branding the offer "shameful".

The controversy erupted last week when a well-meaning man named Mark offered a tent in his Tasmanian backyard for anyone who may need it. "Emergency accommodation for a single person," the advertisement which was posted on Saturday read. The four-man tent was listed for $125 per week with no bills and specified that it didn't include food.

But Mark, the disability pensioner behind the offer claims he is just trying to help people who find themselves homeless. The man, who pays $450 a week in rent for his home says he has seven people living at his home in Risdon Vale, an outer suburb of Hobart.

"Many times I’ve supported people totally who have no finances at all," he told The Mercury. "One guy was here for two years and wasn’t able to pay anything. I’ve been stolen from and physically abused by people with anger issues."

He said he's opened his home up to ex-prisoners who had nowhere else to go with their families and offers a sense of community.

Aussie claims he's 'doing his bit' with tent offer

Mark, who declares payments he receives from Centrelink, also has a refurbished tin shed he rents out and a lady who lives in his caravan, claiming she lived outside a Kmart before he took her in.

“I’m trying to do my bit," he told The Mercury. “If people went to the showgrounds they’d be charged $40 or more a night.

A friend of Mark's who originally posted the tent offer said he's "not trying to make a buck" from anyone, but simply "knows people are struggling".

According to the Tenants' Union of Tasmania, the average renter in the state is paying $7,000 a year more to keep a roof over their head than they were five years ago. What's more, reports suggest rent is rising 10 times faster than income support payments.

It's the same story across the rest of the country, with Australia's median rent reaching a record high of $627 a week in April according to CoreLogic.

Aussies are doing their best to make ends meet as the cost-of-living crisis rages on, including breaking up with the major supermarkets and even turning to dumpster diving with surprising results.

But sadly, some efforts aren't enough to keep people off the streets, something that is an ongoing challenge in Brisbane.

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People react to $125 weekly tent offer

Aussies were less than impressed by the offer, with some branding it "shameless".

"I'd rather be set up under the overpass along the highway than pay some f**kwit $125 for the pleasure of their freezing backyard," said one.

"Shameful. I know of someone who was trying to charge a pet sitter to look after their pet. This is much worse than that," said another.

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