Listing a room that fills: tips for hosts
The rooms that fill fastest are honest, clear and easy to say yes to. Here's what works.
Lead with the rules
Say exactly where tobacco, vapes and 420 are allowed. The right person will message you because of it, and the wrong one won't waste an inspection. If the house has a smoking spot, name it. Check the lease first: your rules can't go further than it does.
Write a headline that does the work
Room, place and one reason to click: "Big room near Noble Park station, smokers welcome" beats "Room available". Keep phone numbers and emails out; messages come to you through SmokoShare.
Describe the house, not just the room
- Who lives there now, and what the household is like day to day.
- What's nearby: train, buses, shops, work hubs.
- What's included: furniture, bills, internet, parking.
- How the room is offered: joining the lease, replacing someone, or a sublet. Why it matters.
Photos
Four to six photos in daylight: the room from the doorway, the kitchen, the bathroom, the living area and the smoking spot. Landscape works best. Leave out people, mail and anything with your address on it. You can add photos any time from your private link (lost it?).
Price it fairly
Look at similar rooms nearby, and be clear about bills. "Plus bills" with a rough monthly figure is more useful than "plus bills" on its own.
Reply quickly
The first host to reply often gets the housemate. Answer within a day, offer two or three inspection times, and mark the room as filled when it is, so people stop waiting on you.
Inspect safely
Have a housemate home for inspections, and don't take money before someone has seen the room and met the house (more safety tips). When you've found the person, sort out the landlord's consent and the bond properly, and agree the house smoking rules before they move in.
Spread the word
Your private link has ready-to-paste text for Facebook groups, Gumtree, Flatmates and Reddit, and a printable flyer with tear-off tabs and a QR code. A smoker knows a smoker: send the listing to a mate.
Renting rooms to 4 or more people? The property may be a rooming or boarding house, which we can't list yet.