Soaring rents push people further from jobs, community
Packaged inspections, skyrocketing rents and fears of price rises are leaving fears as vacancy rates fall to slide lower, a report has found.
Kotalite (formerly corelogic) says in its quarterly rent review that the cost of putting a roof over your head on your own in the capital has risen by 44 per cent in five years for the first time.
And rentals are harder than ever to find, with just 1.47 percent, or roughly one in every 68 properties, available for rental, less than half the average.
Limited listings and packaged inspections put pressure on tenants to apply for properties that are not suitable for tenants or renters, says Leo Patterson Ross of the NSW Tenants Union.
“It’s very scary when these large groups are trying to cover the same place,” AAP said.
“So people are moving further and further away from employment, from their communities, and all of that is very devastating.”
Meanwhile, many at existing leases said their landlords did not report repair needs out of fear that it would further impact rents.
“You’re having to avoid a rent increase or moving house in a really competitive market, so everything is pressing throughout the tenancy experience,” he said.
While reforms to ban rental evictions and limit the frequency of rent increases have been widely implemented across Australian jurisdictions, only the Act has developed an “excessive rent increase” guideline linked to the consumer price index (CPI).
“In other key areas like water or energy, we put pricing structures in place to make sure the community is getting a fair deal,” Patterson Ross said.
“We didn’t do this when we rented.”
Nearly one in three Australian households rent their home, according to census figures.
Sydney remains the least affordable city to live in, with a median price of $807, along with Perth ($729) and Brisbane ($696), while Hobart is the cheapest at $584 a week.
Darwin recorded the biggest increase in rental prices, at almost eight per cent, or an extra increase of $49 to $687 per week on average, while Melbourne recorded the smallest increase, at 1.4 per cent, to a price of $615.
It said regional rents were relatively affordable at $591 a week, but were rising rapidly, with a rise of 3.7 per cent in capital cities and 5.9 per cent nationally, compared with 4.3 per cent and 4.3 per cent nationally.
“Limited supply continues to be a major catalyst for rising rents, with the number of rental listings nationally at this time of year trailing around 25 per cent of the previous five-year average,” he said.
And while price growth may ease for certain goods, rising rents could complicate the outlook for further interest rate cuts.
“’With rents paying a significant component of the consumer price index (CPI), the accelerated pace of rental value growth seen in recent months could drive inflation further,” he said.
“This renewed momentum in rents could cause inflation to exceed RBA forecasts, which could push the cash rate higher for longer.”
Australian Associated Press, The Beating Heart of Australian News. AAP is Australia’s only independent National Newswire and has been providing accurate, reliable and fast news content to the media industry, government and corporate sectors for 85 years. We inform Australia.
