Flatmates
Australia's biggest share-house site. This is where most rooms in existing households get advertised — start here for a room.
Search Flatmates →
Accommodation
Where Malaysian students actually look, what to check before you hand over money, and our live list of rooms going in Malaysian households.
Sydney's rental market moves fast and every listing assumes you already know how it works.
The short version: decide whether you want a whole place, a room in a share house, or student accommodation. Look on the sites below. Inspect before you pay. And never transfer money to someone you haven't met.
Our own spreadsheet of Malaysian households across NSW with a room going. You get a name and a contact rather than an anonymous listing — so you can ask what the house is actually like before you commit to living in it.
Australia's biggest share-house site. This is where most rooms in existing households get advertised — start here for a room.
Search Flatmates →Whole apartments and houses, with good filters. Use the rented-price history to see what a suburb really costs.
Search Domain →The largest listing site in Australia. Best for whole properties if you're moving in as a group.
Search realestate →Cheap rooms and short stays, and the least moderated of the four. Useful — but read the checklist below first.
Search Gumtree →Student accommodation under Education Malaysia Australia, with a resident club and a built-in Malaysian community. Places are limited — check current availability before you plan around it.
Most places want a bond of four weeks plus two weeks' rent up front before you get the keys, and then there's electricity, gas and internet connection. Check the rented-price history on Domain or realestate.com.au to see what a suburb actually goes for rather than what it's advertised at.
Add it to the housemate list. It takes two minutes, it's free, and it's the fastest way to fill the room with someone you'll actually get along with.
No. Stop, and tell us — we'll warn other students about the listing.
No more than four weeks' rent in NSW, and it has to be lodged with NSW Fair Trading — not kept in a landlord's or head tenant's account.
Harder, not impossible. Offer a longer lease, include your CoE and a scholarship letter or bank statement, and get a reference from a previous landlord or your university's accommodation service.
Your protections can be different from a tenant on the lease. Get the arrangement in writing and check with Tenants' Union NSW if you're unsure where you stand.
We can't give legal advice, but we can point you to Tenants' Union NSW, Legal Aid NSW and your university's accommodation service — and we'll sit with you while you work out what to do.
We can't give you legal advice, but we can read the message thread with you and point you at the people who can.