Renters reaching affordability cliff as costs keep climbing

Everybody's Home

More renters are facing an affordability tipping point and being priced out of having a secure home as new data shows rents continue increasing, Everybody’s Home says.

New quarterly data by CoreLogic and Domain show rents continue to climb across most capital cities. Rents for combined regionals were also up.

Everybody’s Home spokesperson Maiy Azize said there’s only so much people can stretch their budgets.

“No matter what data you look at, rents are climbing across Australia and remain stubbornly high. More and more renters are hurting and reaching an affordability cliff,” Ms Azize said.

“Cutting back on meals, medicines, and heating are becoming terrifying realities for many tenants as they try to keep up with eye watering rents. The worst housing crisis in living memory is stopping people from pursuing their life dreams like starting a family.

“We can’t accept more people making unhealthy sacrifices to make the rent, and we can’t accept escalating rents becoming the norm. Each time a quarterly snapshot or report is published, it’s expected that we’ll see rents go up. National rents are more than 27 percent higher since the onset of COVID-19.

“The best way to end this crisis is to limit unfair increases, and build more affordable and social housing. That’s the simple truth.

“Social housing doesn’t just help those who need it most, it also frees up more rentals in the process.

“We continue to call for the Federal Government to build 25,000 social homes every year to fix the housing emergency – and push state governments for limits to rent increases.”

/Public Release.