The major parties need to step up ahead of the Federal Election to help vulnerable people grappling with rental affordability and the rising cost of living, Anglicare Victoria said as it released the 2022 Rental Affordability Snapshot.
The snapshot analysed 18,934 Victorian private rental listings from 19 March 2022, a fall of more than 40 per cent compared to the year before. Regional Victoria is facing a critical shortage of properties. Two thirds of regional areas did not have a single rental listing on the day of the survey, and regional rents have risen 6.7 per cent, faster than the pace of inflation.
Only 2 per cent of the listed rental properties were suitable for any type of household on income support without putting them into housing stress. For families or single parents relying on JobSeeker to get by, less than 0.1 per cent of properties were affordable.
Anglicare Victoria CEO Paul McDonald said rental affordability was a slow-moving car crash that had been ignored by the Federal Government for many years.
“Intense competition for properties continues to drive rents higher, both in Melbourne and the regions. While the Victorian Government has recognised the seriousness of the situation and is acting to build a record amount of social housing, the problem barely enjoys the most cursory lip service from the Morrison Government,” Mr McDonald said.
“It’s time both major parties at the federal level started to take this problem seriously in the run-up to the Federal Election, at a critical time when the cost of everyday essentials is on the up.”
2022 is the 12th time the Rental Affordability Snapshot has been conducted. It is a national study coordinated by Anglicare Australia – the national figures are available on the Anglicare Australia website.
“Our agency is seeing dozens of single mums who have had to flee domestic violence situations – often with just the bare essentials – and are finding it hard to get rentals they can afford. This year there were just seven properties out of almost 19,000 which were affordable for single parents on income support,” Mr McDonald said.
“Petrol, utilities and groceries make up a huge proportion of the expenses for people on minimum wage or income support. With all of them rising in cost recently and rents going the same way, vulnerable people will need to make choices that no-one should have to make to keep a roof over their heads. We know from experience that this can include regularly skipping meals and turning off heating in winter.”
Some policy solutions for the Commonwealth to assist vulnerable people in rental stress include: reforming Commonwealth Rent Assistance; increasing the rate of JobSeeker; building more social housing; better targeted tax incentives; and the expansion of ‘head leasing programs’ which are set up to help specific categories of vulnerable people.
The headline trends from the 2022 Rental Affordability Snapshot are as follows:
- The combination of acute housing stress and the rising cost of living means it is harder for vulnerable families to make ends meet. With household essentials pushing higher, many people on income support will be forced to make difficult choices – such as skipping meals or switching off heating during winter – to keep a roof over their heads.
- Availability of regional rental listings is dire, continuing a trend from 2021. Only 1423 (7.5 per cent) of this year’s 18,934 private rental listings were in regional Victoria. Only one third (16 of 48) LGAs had any rental listings at all.
- Weekly rent in the regions ($395 median) is the highest it has ever been. This compares to median weekly rent of $370 in regional Victoria a year ago and $350 in 2020. The increased flexibility of working conditions enables people to live and work from locations within an hour or two’s drive of Melbourne and travel to the office a few times a week.
- Rents are higher across the board. The median weekly rent of available regional listings rose from $370 to $395 (an increase of 6.8 per cent), while the median Melbourne rent increased from $395 to $420 (a rise of 6.3 per cent).
- About 2 per cent (371 properties) of rental listings across the state were affordable and suitable for at least one type of household on income support without placing them into housing stress. This includes sharehouses. The number of suitable properties in Melbourne for those on income support fell almost two thirds from 2021, declining from 614 to 220.
- Families and single parents on income benefits were among the worst affected, with almost no properties affordable and suitable. Just 13 listings (less than 0.1 per cent) out of 18,934 were affordable for a couple with two children subsisting on the JobSeeker payment. Seven properties (less than 0.1 per cent) were affordable for a single parent with one child.
- 5 per cent of properties (4444) across Victoria were suitable for at least one household type living on minimum wage.
- Singles do it tough. Just 181 (0.1 per cent) of properties were affordable and appropriate across all of Victoria for singles (with and without children) on the minimum wage, while 0.0 per cent of listings were affordable for singles on JobSeeker or Youth Allowance.
- Airbnb and holiday letting conversions continue to affect long-term rental availability. Regional tourism is still the norm for most Australians following the pandemic. Landlords responded during the pandemic by turning many rentals to holiday lets on Airbnb and other platforms to take advantage of this increased demand for accommodation.
The 2022 Victorian Rental Affordability Snapshot is available from the Anglicare Victoria website.
The national report is available from the Anglicare Australia website.
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For an interview or photo opportunity with Anglicare Victoria CEO Paul McDonald, please contact: Mark Bretherton, Anglicare Victoria Media and Advocacy Manager on 0439 806 072 or mark.bretherton@anglicarevic.org.au.
