Victorian renters need housing solutions

As a community housing conference gets underway in Melbourne today, new analysis shows the city’s typical renter could be thousands of dollars worse off over the next year if rents rise in line with forecasts. Analysis by Community Housing Industry Association Victoria (CHIA Vic) shows by early next year, tenants in Melbourne would spend an extra $64 per week, or $3800 extra in a year, if advertised rents rise by 11.5 per cent in 2023 as some economists predict. CHIA Vic’s two-day conference kicks off today and will feature a range of speakers who will unpack the housing demand in Victoria. Acting chief executive Jason Perdriau said there is increasing pressure to build more social and affordable housing. “More and more Victorians are finding themselves in housing stress, unable to pay the unsustainable rises in rent,” Mr Perdriau said. “The Big Housing Build has and will continue to be life changing for many Victorians but funding is drying up. The Victorian Government can continue the momentum of this historic investment by investing $6 billion in a Social Housing Investment Fund to deliver 20,000 social homes over the next decade.” Among the conference speakers is one of Australia’s most insightful pollsters, Kos Samaras, who will speak to analysis of the political and social impact of Victoria’s housing crisis. “Housing is one of the top issues affecting Victorians and it’s fuelling political realignments, particularly among millennials who are increasingly dominating electorates and using their votes tactically by abandoning major parties,” Mr Samaras said. “Rental and mortgage stress and the financial uncertainty regarding interest rates are contributing to a febrile political environment. “The government’s housing agenda should focus on increasing social and affordable housing to address the crisis unfolding.”