Help centre
Quick answers on finding a room, listing one, costs, renting rules and staying safe in Australia.
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Room Buddy is an Australian room and flatmate finder. People with a spare room list it for free, people looking for a room create a free Buddy profile, and both sides can message each other for free.
Yes. Listing a room, creating a Buddy profile and messaging are all free. Optional paid plans (from $9.99 a month) and one-off boosts add extra visibility, but you never have to pay to contact someone.
Tap Sign up and use your email or Google account. Then either list a room or create a Buddy profile if you are looking.
Yes. You can browse rooms and people looking without signing up. You need a free account to send messages, save listings and get alerts.
All of Australia, including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Hobart, Darwin, the Sunshine Coast and regional areas. See rooms for rent by city.
Search by suburb, city or uni on the rooms page, then filter by price, room type, amenities and preferences. You can also start from a city page like rooms for rent in Sydney.
It is your profile as someone looking for a room: your budget, preferred area, move date, how long you want to stay and a bit about you. Listers can find you and message you, so a complete profile gets more offers.
When you have a Buddy profile, rooms show a match score out of 100. It is based on your budget, distance from where you want to live, room type, move date, stay length and lifestyle, like pets or smoking. Only you can see your scores. The score is free; Essential and Premium also show the full breakdown and every match.
Yes. Set your filters, tap Save search and we will email you when a matching room is listed. Free accounts get one saved search with a daily email; Essential and Premium get up to 10 with instant alerts. Manage alerts any time in Saved searches.
Yes. Tap the heart on any listing to add it to your Shortlist, which you can find in your account menu.
For everyone's privacy, listings show the suburb and an approximate map area, not the street address. The lister shares the address when you arrange an inspection.
Tap List a room and follow the steps: photos, weekly rent, bond, bills, when it is available and who you are looking for. It goes live straight away and it is free.
Use the free room price guide. It estimates weekly rent from what similar rooms in your suburb list for right now, and shows how many people are looking in your area.
Bright photos of the room and shared spaces, a price close to the local median, being clear about bills and bond, and a short description of the house and who would fit in.
Browse people looking in your area and message them free. Your listing also shows "People who would suit your room", matched on budget, area and move date.
Yes. Edit rent, photos, availability or details any time from your account. If the room is taken, mark it unavailable so you stop getting messages.
Free includes one room listing, one Buddy profile and free messaging. Essential ($9.99 a month) adds a second listing and profile, verified status, full match breakdowns and instant alerts for up to 10 saved searches. Premium ($14.99 a month) adds unlimited listings, phone and socials reveal, Featured in search and priority support. Paying yearly saves 25%. See pricing.
A one-off payment, not a subscription. Bump to top ($4.99) puts your room at the top of search for 3 days. Featured ($9.99) adds the Featured tag and top placement for 7 days. If the room is taken while boosted, message us and we will move the boost to your next listing.
Yes, any time from your account. You keep your plan until the end of the billing period, then drop back to Free. Anything over the Free allowance is hidden, not deleted.
Yes. Payments are processed by Stripe and we never see or store your card details. All prices are in Australian dollars with no hidden fees.
No. Room Buddy does not handle rent or bond between members. Pay the person you are renting from directly, and only after you have inspected the room and agreed everything in writing.
It depends on your setup. If you are on the lease you are usually a tenant. If you rent from the head tenant you may be a subtenant, and if you live with the owner you are often a lodger or boarder. Your rights differ for each, and the rules vary by state.
Many share houses ask for a bond, often two to four weeks' rent. When the room is part of a formal tenancy, bond is usually lodged with your state's bond authority. In informal arrangements, get a written receipt and agree how it is returned.
Either bills are included in the weekly rent, or housemates split each bill as it arrives. Agree which in writing before you move in, including internet, power, gas and water.
Your state's tenancy body: NSW Fair Trading, Consumer Affairs Victoria, RTA Queensland, Consumer Protection WA, CBS South Australia, Access Canberra, CBOS Tasmania and NT Consumer Affairs.
Never pay rent or bond before you have inspected the room, in person or on a live video call. Be wary of prices far below the area's typical rent, "landlords" who are overseas, pressure to pay fast and requests to move off the platform. Keep your chats on Room Buddy.
Members with the shield next to their name have verified their identity with a photo ID. It is a good sign, but still inspect the room and agree everything in writing.
Use the Report button on their profile, listing or message, or email hello@roombuddy.com.au. We review every report.
Your name, photos and what you choose to write. Listings show the suburb, not your street address, and your email stays private. You decide what to share in messages.
Our small Aussie team reads every message. We usually reply within one business day.
Room Buddy is dedicated to simplifying the search for flatmates and rooms for rent. Our platform is designed to make the process smooth and stress-free.