It's been described as a Liberal Party frat-house, but with Paddle Pops and Jerry Springer rather than kegs and bucket bongs.

Joe Hockey's self-made millionaire wife Melissa Babbage bought the heritage-listed 1930s Canberra home for a song in 1997 and then charged her husband and his Liberal mates to stay there in parliamentary sitting weeks.

Many a Liberal MP called it their home away from home over the subsequent 18 years, including former opposition leader Brendan Nelson, who infamously stayed in a small, dingy, heating-free room off the detached garage.