People are sleeping in strangers' beds to save on rent

The latest method people are using to try and save money in the face of inflation, rising rent costs, and a cost of living crisis has been dubbed “hot bedding”.

Whilst many have turned to having roommates to cut down on rent, some have gone one step further, and share a bed with a stranger, often sleeping in shifts.

One 19-year-old woman, an international college student from India who is studying in Melbourne, Australia, told SBS News that she splits $550 to rent a room with a truck driver who works night shifts. The woman, who used the pseudonym “Priyanka,” told SBS that she sleeps in the bed at night while the truck driver sleeps in the same bed during the day. When the truck driver isn’t working, Priyanka has to squeeze a mattresses into a “storeroom” in the house and sleep there.

Priyanka said that she had casual work in a warehouse alongside her full-time nursing degree, but was stood down in March after the Australian government reintroduced international work hour caps.

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Student visa holders were able to work up to 40 hours a fortnight prior to the pandemic, but in January 2022 the cap was removed so critical workforce gaps that opened in the pandemic could be filled.

However, from July 1 the cap returned to all sectors, except age care, and meant student visa holders could only work 48 hours a fortnight.

As prices rise across the globe many are seeking solutions to rising living costs, especially young people such as Priyanka.

The University of Technology Sydney conducted a survey in 2021, polling 7000 international students living in Sydney and Melbourne. Of the students surveyed, 3 per cent reported hot-bedding to save on rent. Whilst four out of 10 students said they skipped meals due to financial costs.

A Canadian landlord had posted an ad on the classifieds website Kijiji for a $550 room, but there was a catch: the tenant would have to share a king-sized bed with a stranger. It is not known if anyone took the offer, as the room is listed as no longer available.

Priyanka told SBS News that her family had made financial sacrifices to send her to Australia, yet she continues to struggle to afford basics such as food, rent, and transportation. She has not disclosed the extent of her living situation with her family.

“I am so stressed all the time, and very anxious,” Priyanka said. “To not have even a peaceful place to lay my head and relax while I study feels terrible.”

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