Latest rental affordability figures are so dire that space in a corridor of a house are being advertised as rentable sleeping areas, and others such as sharing a bunk bed or sleeping on an inflatable mattress in a lounge room with up to six others are fetching between $100 and $170 per week.
The Anglicare Rental Affordability Snapshot – released today by the Anglicare Australia network which includes Anglicare Victoria – shows that in Melbourne, even these types of ‘rentals of last resort’ are unaffordable for single people, particularly those youth on income support.
The annual snapshot targets households living on Commonwealth benefits and the minimum wage, and highlights the housing stress faced by Australians with the least income, who are highly dependent on the private rental market.
Victorian figures show that out of 17,330 private rental listings in Metropolitan Melbourne on the weekend of 2-3 April 2016:
- Only two properties were affordable and appropriate for a single person on the Parenting Payment (approx.0%)
Only three properties were affordable and appropriate for couples with two children on the Newstart Allowance (approx. 0%) - Only four properties were affordable and appropriate for single people on the Newstart Allowance (approx. 0%)
- Only four properties were affordable and appropriate for single people on the Disability Support Pension (approx. 0%)
The Victorian data also shows that:
- Share housing was the only option for single Age Pensioners (4%), despite such housing being inappropriate for their needs
- For singles on the minimum wage, share accommodation was by far the main rental option available. Without share accommodation, access to appropriate/affordable housing dropped to less than 1%.
- While affordability was higher in regional Victoria for some household groups, single people on income support still had little chance of finding affordable and appropriate housing in these areas, with only seven of 4,148 listings being suitable.
Anglicare Victoria Chief Executive Paul McDonald said the State Government continued to let down its most vulnerable communities, by shutting the door on housing opportunities for young people without parental support, single people on the Disability Support or Age pensions, and low income families on either income support or the minimum wage.
“Rental housing in Victoria today is simply – unaffordable – and people on low incomes or on Commonwealth support are resorting to renting a bunk bed in a two-bedroom house with eight tenants for $150, or worse sleeping on a blow up bed or couch in a lounge room with six others for $100 a week.”
“And when a single person on the Age Pension has to resort to sharing a house which is totally inappropriate for their needs, what is that saying about the grim reality of private housing in Victoria?”
He also called for:
- State-funded out of home care to be available to young people up to 21 years of age;
- Dedicated and safe housing for parents and children leaving family violence;
- Greater government investment in targeted social and public housing;
- More head-leasing arrangements by not-for-profit (NFPs) and other organisations; and;
- For governments to incentivise greater stability and accessibility for people on income support on the private rental market.
Head-leasing is commonly undertaken in the community housing sector, where non-Government organisations head-lease housing stock from the private sector (with Government support), and sublease it directly to tenants in need of support.
The Victorian Snapshot covered 30 metropolitan Melbourne local government areas (LGAs), and a selection of 14 regional and coastal areas consistent with Anglicare Victoria service localities.It highlights the serious structural impediments faced by young people in general, and especially those exiting out of home care.
“Vulnerable young people exiting the care system, subsisting on the Youth Allowance or Special Benefit Allowance face spending more than 70% of their week’s income on rent,” Mr McDonald said.
“If you’ve received $216 from the Newstart Allowance and spend $160 of that on rent, that leaves you with $56 for food, electricity and other critical necessities for the entire week.
The Royal Commission into Family Violence report recently acknowledged the dismal state of affairs also highlighted in the 2015 Snapshot, recognising that, even with the availability of Commonwealth Rent Assistance, the vast majority of low-income private renters remain in ‘housing stress’, which occurs when a person pays more than 30 per cent of their income on housing costs.
Anglicare Australia CEO Kasey Chambers said the solution included a reform of the current tax system for cheaper rental housing; a better supply mix of housing that meets the different needs of people; and more social housing.
How the data was collated
The Snapshot focuses on properties that are both affordable and appropriate for a range of household groups on either income support or the minimum wage.
An affordable property was defined as one which costs less than 30% of the household’s total income – a benchmark commonly used as an indicator of housing stress amongst low income households. Appropriateness was defined according to the number of bedrooms required for each household type.
What the data shows
- Figures highlight the continuing and marked absence of affordable and appropriate private rental properties across every region in the state.
- Approximately 0% of rentals were affordable for the majority of household types receiving income support payments.
- Not even share accommodation affordable for singles on income support.
- Share accommodation the only housing option for singles on the minimum wage and singles on the Aged Pension.
- Young people exiting out of home care on the Youth Allowance face spending up to 70% of their weekly income on rent (based on median share house prices collected from Gumtree.com.au)
- Single parent families were excluded from accessing the private rental market.
- All household types receiving the minimum wage fared better than those on income support.
- Double-income minimum wage families had the greatest access to affordable/appropriate rentals at 19%. However this rate decreased sharply to only 3% of rentals for single income couple families, and to only 1% for single income working parent families.
- Without access to share housing, the number of unique properties that were both affordable/appropriate for any household on income support diminished to 106 properties (or 0.75% of listings). The majority of which were for couples on the age pension only.
- The number of unique properties that were both affordable/appropriate for any household on the minimum wage diminished to 3,352 properties (or 23.75% of listings).
Most affordable rentals in Melbourne metro:
The most affordable/appropriate properties for at least one household type on the minimum wage only were:
1. City of Brimbank (521)
2. City of Wyndham (511)
3. City of Casey (504)
4. City of Whittlesea (380)
5. City of Greater Dandenong (289)
6. City of Hume (241)
7. City of Monash (212)
8. City of Melton (190)
9. City of Frankston (189)
10. City of Cardinia (187)
*The number in brackets denotes the number of available listings within the LGA, inclusive of realestate.com.au and gumtree listings.
LGAs with the least access to affordable/appropriate housing include the City of Melbourne, and those in the inner/middle suburban rings such as: Stonnington, Port Phillip, Bayside, Glen Eira, Boroondara, Whitehorse, Yarra, Moreland, Maribyrnong and Moonee Valley. In these LGAs, affordability for couple families both earning the minimum wage (the highest income group in this Snapshot) ranged between 0% and 2%.
Most affordable rentals in Regional Victoria:
The most affordable/appropriate properties out of 4,148 listed on the weekend of 2-3 April 2016, for at least one household type on the minimum wage only were:
1. Greater Geelong (544)
2. Ballarat (431)
3. Greater Bendigo (337)
4. Latrobe (204)
5. Baw Baw (195)
6. Mornington Peninsula (208)
7. Bass Coast (116)
8. Mildura (111)
9. Macedon Ranges (110)
10. Wodonga (100)
11. Campaspe (87)
12. Mount Alexander (71)
13. South Gippsland (44)
14. Swan Hill (31)
*Number denotes number of suitable listings in LGA (inclusive of realestate.com.au and gumtree listings) minimum wage only.
