A MELBOURNE landlord has been blasted online after a tenant revealed he had installed a coin-operated toilet in the house, requiring the tenants to pay per flush.

That’s right, the stingy landlord and owner of an apartment property in Thornbury has reportedly equipped the toilet with a mechanism that means residents have to pay $1 to flush the dunny.

Unsure about the legality of such a contraption, the tenant posted the story on forum-based social media website reddit to ask the community if the landlord was allowed to do this.

“I understand in our laundry having to pay for the communal washing machine. But I pay the water bill that goes into my apartment,” the tenant wrote.

“[The landlord] said it was a government incentive to save water. But then why does he get to collect the money?”

As you might expect, the tenant said it makes it very awkward to entertain guests.

“The worst thing is not having any dollar coins on hand. Especially when I have guests over. It’s really embarrassing and gross for them.”

Such is the ridiculousness of a coin-operated toilet that the post was initially removed because reddit moderators on the Melbourne subreddit didn’t believe the story was true.

But the tenant later posted “proof” of the situation by sharing a picture of the toilet and the post was republished.

But in all likelihood, the story is an elaborate reddit troll job rather than some nasty landlord.

News.com.au contacted the original poster to inquire about the situation but after two days has not heard back from them, lending considerable weight to the notion the post was a New Years hoax.

Other potential plot holes — widely debated online — include the lack of sophisticated wiring likely needed for a functional coin operator and the fact that a user could presumably just access the flush mechanism by lifting the lid of the toilet tank.

And without genuine clarification from the supposed tenant, one can only assume it was an elaborate trolling exercise rather than some unconscionable penny-pinching landlord.

Despite the seeming dubiousness of the post, plenty of redditors were quick to offer their opinion.

A number of users condemned the landlord’s actions, suggesting it was illegal for him to charge tenants for using the toilet.

“Yes, that is highly illegal,” wrote one.

“This guy is ripping you off in a most heinous way,” wrote another.

The tenant said they have now sought legal advice over the issue.

“At least with the help of others I have been using tips and also a lawyer has sent me her details to help me out with the legal side of things. So I’m glad I made this post,” they wrote.

Even if it was just for the lolz, as they say.