Australians on the lowest incomes are being priced out of renting in essentially every corner of the country as prices soared by 47 per cent, a new report has found.
Everybody’s Home Priced Out 2024 report showed the average rent for a unit rose from $372 per week in March 2020 to $547 in September this year in Australia’s capital cities.
As a result, low income earners, defined as households living off Centrelink payments or a minimum wage income, are spending a greater percentage of their income on rent.
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Single households on JobSeeker on average are feeling the cost of living crisis the worst after spending 110 per cent of their income on rent across Australia.
Single households on the age pension or the disability support pension are likely in severe rental stress after they spent 81 per cent of their income on rent.
The international benchmark for how much household income should be spent on rent is 30 per cent.
The report studied how much low income earners were spending on rent in every state and territory, and found there was virtually nowhere in the country where they can afford a rental without falling into crippling housing stress.
“People on JobSeeker are being slammed by sky-high rents and payments below the poverty line – in many areas they’d have to spend all their income plus find more cash just to make the weekly rent,” Everybody’s Home spokesperson Maiy Azize said.
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“People on the lowest incomes are falling through the cracks – they’re becoming homeless, sharehousing well into their adult years, living in overcrowded homes, and unable to move out of the family home because there simply isn’t enough affordable housing for them.”
The report added the record number of people now renting for life are also facing the stress of unfair rent increases and evictions.
The findings come in spite of the federal government’s latest indexation raise to Centrelink payments and a 10 per cent rise to rent assistance.
“Minimal increases to these payments are falling short of what people actually need, being eclipsed by high rents, bills and the cost of essential goods,” Azize said
“To make housing more affordable for more Australians, the federal government must increase Centrelink payments, protect renters from unfair rent increases, scrap unfair tax handouts to property investors, and create much more social housing.
”The time for real action on housing affordability has never been greater but it will only get worse without it.”
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