“Our housing system is failing millions of Australians. Rents have been rising much faster than people’s incomes. And we don’t have enough secure, affordable rentals. This year’s Rental Affordability Snapshot shows that we need action now to stop more and more people from falling into rental stress and hardship.”

Anglicare’s Rental Affordability Snapshot 2018 again shows that people on Newstart, an aged pension, Youth Allowance, a disability pension or the minimum wage have little choice available to them which is both appropriate and affordable. Of the 67,365 properties surveyed only 6% were affordable for those households on government income support payments. But if you were single and receiving Youth Allowance or Newstart there were just three properties in the whole country that were affordable and suitable. These are just some of the alarming results. For a full breakdown click on the link included at the end of this article.

Anglicare have suggested that the following steps be taken to address the ever-increasing affordability crisis:

• Fund homes for people on low incomes by fixing the tax system with changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax exemptions.

“Billions more of public funding goes towards supporting housing speculators and investors, rather than ensuring everybody has a home.”

• Relief for people struggling to pay rent by raising CRA to accurately reflect the real cost of renting in the private market.

“There has been no relief for people on low incomes looking for affordable and suitable homes in our major cities. For people on minimum wage, options are also becoming limited.”

• Adopting a ‘housing first’ approach asking Federal and state governments to move to a system which ensures that anyone who finds themselves without can have a home and the support to maintain it.
• A better deal for renters by reforming the tenancy laws to address the lopsided power granted to landlords.

“People cannot make where they rent their home if they can be evicted with little notice and no cause… Anglicare Australia is calling for the immediate development of a single tenancy system that delivers fair and consistent renting rights such as these for all Australians.”

 

The full report is available at: Rental Affordability Snapshot 2018