Landlord defends charging $1,050 for three people to SHARE a single room in her Sydney unit

By SARAH BROOKES - SENIOR REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 06:44, 10 June 2026 | Updated: 06:59, 10 June 2026 A Sydney landlord who supervises group cleaning sessions has sparked fury after listing a single bedroom for an eye-watering $1,050-a-week.  The 'luxury waterfront room' in Manly's prized North Steyne strip is $680-a-week for a single tenant, $400 for couples, or $350 per person if three are willing to share.  The listing boasts 'stunning water views' and access to a heated pool, jacuzzi, sauna and tennis court all wrapped up in what the owner calls a 'great vibe'. The dog-friendly room sits inside an owner-occupied apartment in the Manly Ocean Royal, with prospective tenants urged to text Turkish-Australian author and entrepreneur Angelina Masal Nur Ayo directly for a 'quick response'. Ms Ayo rents the two spare rooms in her 2,000sqm three-bedroom apartment to help cover the $2,000 rent during a cost-of-living squeeze.  But the price tag has triggered fierce backlash online, with critics slamming the listing as 'unbelievable'. 'You're the reason people hate landlords,' one person fumed. 'Why does the price increase per person? Are you running a hotel?' another asked. Angelina Masal Nur Ayo (pictured) rents out the two spare bedrooms in her apartment The listing for the 'luxury waterfront room' in Manly's prized North Steyne strip is pictured The bedroom (pictured) in Manly in Sydney's Northern Beaches is being advertised for $680 for singles and up to $1,050 if three friends want to share  '$1,050 for a room in a share house for three people?! Are you off your head? They can get a two-bed apartment for that.'  But Ms Ayo has a blunt response for the critics: 'You either love it or leave it.' She prefers travellers and students as tenants, believing they are more reliable when it comes to following house rules and paying rent on time.  'It's been interesting - you get to meet lots of different people. People come and go,' she told the Daily Mail on Wednesday.  Ms Ayo runs the home with strict rules, particularly around cleanliness, insisting tenants keep shared spaces spotless. 'My rule from the beginning, you must keep the place clean and tidy, especially the kitchen. You must dry and put things away, straight away,' she said. 'I'm very strict otherwise you can't maintain a peaceful environment.' Ms Ayo said she closely monitors housekeeping standards and even supervises group cleaning sessions. Rents in Manly continue to surge, with Domain data showing unit prices have jumped nearly 45 per cent in five years and more than 10 per cent in the past year alone 'If I don't like their cleaning, I show them how to do it. We do cleaning all together… you do the vacuuming and I supervise,' she said. At one point, Ms Ayo had three young men sharing a bedroom while two girls shared the other spare bedroom. Despite largely positive experiences, Ms Ayo said she had previously been robbed after listing the unit on booking.com, prompting her to favour Airbnb. 'Airbnb is safer but mostly I've been lucky,' she said. The outcry comes as rents in Manly continue to surge, with Domain data showing unit prices have jumped nearly 45 per cent in five years. A one-bedroom unit in the suburb now averages around $750 a week while a two-bedroom can be rented for roughly the same price as Ms Ayo's spare room.  Domain has multiple listings for apartments in Manly from as low as $700-a-week including a two-bedroom, one-bathroom unit on Fairy Bower Road.  It comes as rental vacancy rates sit at record lows across Australia, recorded at just 1.5 per cent nationally in May. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.