02-06-2025
Monique found a room to rent before driving almost 4,000km across Australia… then came the awkward conversation when she rocked up to the front door
A make-up artist has filmed herself confronting the man who promised to rent her a room in his house but reneged on a few hours' notice, leaving her homeless after relocating to the other side of the country.
Monique Muskens had driven her pink Tesla from Sydney to Perth for a new job and was set to move into a rented room she had secured over a month earlier.
She had been in regular contact with the homeowner, Jamie, who had sent her photos and updates via text and FaceTime.
When Ms Muskens was just four hours away from Perth, Jamie texted her to say she could no longer move in on Saturday as planned, but her room would be ready for Monday.
'I went to the house thinking that I'd sleep on the couch or something but he fully turned me away and said the bed fell off the roof of the car so they're sorting that and moving some stuff around,' she said.
On Sunday, Ms Muskens checked in with Jamie to make sure the room was ready for the following day only to be told she couldn't move in anymore.
She wrote: 'Will I still be homeless tomorrow?'
'I was just about to message you,' Jamie replied. 'My wife had a meltdown over me bringing a woman into this house.
'Definitely check on a few different platforms. It's f***ed cause I held the room for ages and she's pulled this.'
Ms Muskens, whose plight was worsened by the fact she was due to start a new job the next day, decided to confront Jamie and turned up at the house unannounced.
She recorded a video showing the confrontation.
'I'm meant to be living here but apparently not anymore,' she said to which the unknown man replied: 'I don't know anything about that.'
Jamie then came to the door and said 'that's true'.
The make-up artist hit back: 'What's true? That I'm not living here? That's hectic so when did you want to tell me that?'
'I told you today,' Jamie replied.
Ms Muskens said: 'You told me half an hour ago I was meant to move in two days ago.'
Ms Muskens then questioned whether the bed in the advertised room was actually broken, as Jamie had previously claimed. He confirmed that it was.
'And you've decided today that I can't move in tomorrow? I'm mean to start work tomorrow,' she said while Jamie gave her a thumbs up.
'You're looking me in the eye and saying, "Hey I've agreed to let you live here and now you're homeless,"' she said.
'Unfortunately that's the outcome,' Jamie said.
He then told her he had to prioritise his wife's wishes before saying, "It's time to go," and shutting the door in her face.
Ms Muskens later explained that she turned up at Jamie's house to force him to take some accountability for his actions.
She said it was difficult given it was a public holiday weekend for Western Australia Day, and many hotels were fully booked.
Having secured a hotel room, she has shared footage of the encounter online, drawing a strong response from social media users.
'That's actually cooked - I hope you find somewhere soon and hopefully this doesn't ruin your opinion on how beautiful Perth is,' one wrote.
'If there's no contractual agreement you're cooked. Time to find a new house mate,' a second added.
'I absolutely love that you confronted him,' a third said.
Others sided with Jamie
'No means no,' one wrote. 'Anyone can change their mind at any point.'
