When Chinese international student Jiaying Wan first arrived in Sydney to study accounting in 2018, she was forced to pay more than $8,000 up-front for her four-month lease and bond.

Key points: The report is based on 2,440 international student responses

The report is based on 2,440 international student responses Students in share housing are most often affected by poor living conditions

Students in share housing are most often affected by poor living conditions The report's author says exploitation is thriving in the student housing sector

Her landlord also charged her a weekly cleaning fee of $165 and a one-off mattress protector fee of $75 for her student accommodation.

"Before I even moved in, I realised I was exploited. I have never seen the mattress protector," the 24-year-old said.

"I have never experienced this situation before, I didn't know how to handle it at the time, I felt I was stuck in that room."

She found the private room, in accommodation described to her as a "boarding house", online before arriving in Australia.

Ms Wan had been communicating with the housing provider through social media platform WeChat.

Eventually, she sought help from legal services.

Redfern Legal Centre subsequently took the landlord to the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

The tribunal ordered the landlord to refund Ms Wan $3,600 in additional fees and bond, including a $1,000 unauthorised credit card charge.

"Now I feel extra careful whenever I rent a place, I need to know what's the catch first," Ms Wan said.

Ms Wan said her living conditions contributed to financial and mental stress she suffered while studying in Sydney.

Academics said exploitation of international students in Australia's rental housing market is "thriving". ( ABC News: Mark Farnell )

'A perfect storm for exploitation to flourish'

Jiaying Wan's story comes as a new report released today found international students were being frequently exploited by landlords across Australia.

The joint study by the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) and the University of New South Wales (UNSW) found more than half of the 2,440 students surveyed living in share housing encountered deceptive and illegal conduct or poor living conditions.

Other key issues identified in the report included students being charged exorbitant amounts of rent up-front, overcrowded and unsafe conditions, and intimidation and harassment of tenants.

UTS senior law lecturer and report co-author Dr Laurie Berg said exploitation was "thriving unchecked" in the "wild west" of the share house market.

"We have a perfect storm for exploitation to flourish," she said.

"International students are extremely vulnerable, they are far from home, they often don't know their rights, they don't have family or friends here to guide them.

"They need an affordable roof over their [head] in what is, as we know, a really crowded rental market.

"The regulation in this area and investigation and enforcement is weak … rogue landlords continue to prey on international students, because they know they will get away with it."

There are nearly 900,000 international students in Australia. ( Pexels.com )

'They don't care about us as humans'

Former international student Akanksha — who did not want her last name used — lived in an overcrowded single room with two other tenants for several months, after arriving in Melbourne from India to study project management in 2016.

She said the kitchen had no sink and she was living in constant fear of getting "injured" living in such confined spaces.

"It was not at all safe to live in," Akanksha said.

"Landlords just want to make money, they don't care about us as humans and they feed off our desperation to find that home."

Dr Berg said stories of exploitation in the media are just "the tip of the iceberg" and authorities needed to make reforms.

"The government rarely takes action. When they do, the penalties are weak, so there's not a huge incentive to avoid this opportunistic exploitation," she said.

The report made seven recommendations including that universities and government needed to provide stronger housing services, better legal assistance and make landlords more accountable.

In 2018, there was a record 876,000 international students at universities, vocational colleges, English colleges and schools in Australia.

"If we want students to come to Australia over other destinations, then we really do need to urgently implement changes to make sure they are not exploited and can come forward when they are," Dr Berg said.