The rental crisis is having the biggest impact on renters in Brisbane, according to the latest report from Savvy.
By the end of last year, Brisbane had the sharpest decline in rental affordability, representing a historic low point.
Furthermore, Brisbane is the second least affordable city for single pensioners, next to Sydney and ACT.
According to Savvy, more than 640,000 Australian households are under housing stress or are homeless. This is poised to grow to nearly one million by 2041.
Citing data from SGS Economics and Planning, the report said 42% of all low-income households are paying more than 30% of their income on housing.
Single renters receiving JobSeeker, pensioners, and part-time working parents are experiencing “unaffordable” to “extremely unaffordable” market conditions based on the Rental Affordability Index (RAI).
This means that for these groups of renters, they spend 30% to 60% of their gross income on rent.
“Tenants are still grappling with unsustainable rent increases. Rental hikes are outpacing wages, leaving no realistic prospect of renting, or buying for many individuals,” the report said.
According to CoreLogic, rents increased by 10.2% over the year to December 2022.
“With costs consuming a disproportionately high amount of renters’ income, it is important to note that the rental affordability index only considers rent against income, meaning many households are dealing with additional financial pressures on top of the already-high rental rates,” the Savvy report said.
This indicates that on top of soaring rents, tenants also face the increasing costs of utilities, healthcare, and other daily expenses.
To help solve the crisis, the report suggests building more well-located housing that is affordable for low-income renters.
“This can be achieved by fast-tracking the supply and resolving conflict between landlords, tenants and agents for a stronger community.”
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