Platforms like Airbnb have been blamed for reducing the rental housing supply and pushing up rents. But investors seeking more security might now want to offer their properties to long-term renters.
Housing is our first line of defence against coronavirus, so leaving someone homeless increases the risk for everyone. Australia should follow other countries in imposing a moratorium on evictions.
More older Australians are carrying housing debt later in life, or not owning homes at all, but lack suitable alternatives to the family home. The result is lower incomes in retirement.
One in four Australian households now rent their homes in the private rental market. Flexibility and lifestyle are key reasons some choose to rent even if they can afford to buy a home.
Morrison government assistant minister Luke Howarth argues that finding jobs for people in social housing will help free up dwellings for other people on the waiting list.
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Helping tenants find work supposedly creates a pathway into private rental housing, freeing up social housing for others. Private rental costs and the situations of many tenants make that unrealistic.
Rental stress leaves hundreds of thousands of Australians struggling for years to cover all the other costs of living.
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After paying rent, more than half of low-income tenants don’t have enough left over for other essentials. And the latest evidence shows nearly half of them are stuck in this situation for years.
Prospective tenants need to make a good impression on the real estate agent who will decide who gets to rent the property.
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Two-thirds of tenants in Australia rent through an agent, so making a good impression on the agent matters. Certain characteristics count in tenants’ favour, but some factors are beyond their control.
Labor’s rental affordability scheme had its problems, but let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Even when sharing a house, the average cost of rent means very little is left over from the Newstart allowance for food and living costs.
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Once rent is paid, having to live on only $14 a day doesn’t cover the costs of job seeking. The evidence of the need to increase Newstart and Rent Allowance is overwhelming.
Building an extra 50,000 homes each year for a decade could make prices and rents 20% cheaper.
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The key to arresting galloping inequality in Australia comes down to housing policy and reversing spiralling housing costs.
With more than 80% of Singaporeans living in state-provided housing, the city rates well for affordability compared to Sydney, where the figure is just 5.5%.
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A coordinated mix of policies does more to keep housing affordable for a significant proportion of a city’s residents than the unbalanced approach we see in Sydney.
Labor’s so-called Rental Affordability Scheme did little to make those who most needed it, but it helped landlords.
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The housing aspirations of young Australians change as they enter their late 20s and early 30s. But having somewhere safe and secure to call home is the top priority for all young adults.
Older Australians aspire to the security of owning their own home, but prefer smaller houses in their later years.
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Most older Australians want to live in a home they own, preferably in the middle and outer suburbs of a city. But increasing numbers look unlikely to realise their housing aspirations.
Governments have been more focused on managing waiting lists than heeding calls to invest in increasing the stock of social housing.
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The need to manage long waiting lists for social housing, rather than serving the best interests of tenants and prospective tenants, is a major driver of policymakers’ approach.
“Churning” out of and back in to home ownership is becoming common. We haven’t caught up.
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Not all landlords see their properties purely as investments. As welfare reforms take hold, some are starting to take greater responsibility for the well-being of their tenants.
People living in private rental housing were much more likely than social housing residents to say they felt lonely.
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Increasing numbers of older Australians don’t own their homes. Whether they are private renters or live in social housing can make a big difference to their risk of loneliness and anxiety.
Professor of Social Epidemiology and Director of the Centre of Research Excellence in Healthy Housing at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne
Professor; School of Economics, Finance and Property, and Director, Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, Curtin Research Centre, Curtin University