Ryan Wright and his partner decided to buy after their landlord tried to increase their rent by more than $200 per week.Credit:James Brickwood
The sharp hikes have pushed more fortunate tenants such as Sydney marketing professional Ryan Wright to buy property.
His landlord tried to hike the rent on his Waterloo apartment by $200 per week last year,and while he and his partner negotiated a smaller increase,they knew further rises were likely. Unit rents in the suburbs lifted 21 per cent over the year to March.
“We were paying $875 per week,but then the landlord tried to raise the rent to more than $1000. We negotiated a $75 per week rise.
“The laws mean landlords can only raise the rent every 12 months,so when the lease expired in March,we decided to buy because the repayments on our home loan are less than $1100 per week.”
That is cheaper than some advertised rents for two and three-bedroom apartments in the suburb,Wright said.
“We’re in a very privileged position because we can afford to buy,but there are so many people just being pushed out because they can’t afford the rent increases,” Wright said.
Barry Plant Melbourne executive director Mike McCarthy said tenants were making tough decisions about where and what they are renting.
“It’s like the stress we have seen for people purchasing a home who have had to readjust their budgets as interest rates rise,we’re now seeing that phenomenon extend to the rental market,” McCarthy said.
“People are changing the type of property they want to rent and changing it to a less expensive property like a townhouse or an apartment,” he said.
Anglicare Australia acting executive director Maiy Azize said a growing number of working Australians were unable to afford their rent and rising living costs.
“Rents have been surging for years …[and] wages are not keeping up,” she said.
Fewer available rentals is adding pressure to a tight market.Credit:Flavio Brancaleone
The situation was worse for those on the pension or other support payments,she said. More people were sleeping rough,and homelessness services were having to turn away one in three people in need.
“Some people are couch-surfing for months at a time or sleeping in cars,” she said.
“Even average people who are working are finding themselves in rentals they just can’t afford,and they’re not sleeping rough,but they’re being completely wiped out[financially by rent increases].”
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Azize said more social and affordable housing was desperately needed to help address the crisis,and payments such as JobSeeker and Youth Allowance needed to be increased.
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