tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/rental-affordability-24784/articlesRental affordability – The Conversation2023-08-15T04:19:05Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2112752023-08-15T04:19:05Z2023-08-15T04:19:05ZThe rental housing crisis is hurting our most vulnerable and demands a range of solutions (but capping rents isn’t one of them)<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542464/original/file-20230813-44910-n4xgos.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C763%2C2012%2C1339&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Emma Baker</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Roughly <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/housing/housing-occupancy-and-costs/2019-20">one in three Australians</a> rent their homes. It’s Australia’s fastest-growing tenure, but renting is increasingly unaffordable. From 2020 to 2022, our <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4253168">research</a> found a large increase in the proportion of renters who said their housing was unaffordable. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542737/original/file-20230815-25187-p7vxqo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="horizontal bar chart showing changes in Australian renters' assessments of affordability form 2020 to 2022" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542737/original/file-20230815-25187-p7vxqo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/542737/original/file-20230815-25187-p7vxqo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=217&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542737/original/file-20230815-25187-p7vxqo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=217&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542737/original/file-20230815-25187-p7vxqo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=217&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542737/original/file-20230815-25187-p7vxqo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=273&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542737/original/file-20230815-25187-p7vxqo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=273&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/542737/original/file-20230815-25187-p7vxqo.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=273&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Change in Australian renters’ assessments of affordability from 2020 to 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Baker, Daniel, Beer, et al, forthcoming, The Australian Housing Conditions Dataset, doi:10.26193/SLCU9J, ADA Dataverse</span></span>
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<p>Australians are concerned about the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jul/05/rents-rise-again-across-australia-with-sydney-seeing-fastest-rise-in-20-years">pace</a> of <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/how-much-has-rent-increased-around-australia/8ljlnf0zm">rent rises</a>. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese <a href="https://www.pm.gov.au/media/national-cabinet-meeting">says</a> increasing housing supply and affordability is the “key priority” for tomorrow’s national cabinet meeting. </p>
<p>The crisis has impacts well beyond affordability. The rental sector is where the worst housing accommodates the poorest Australians with the worst health. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ageing-in-a-housing-crisis-growing-numbers-of-older-australians-are-facing-a-bleak-future-209237">Ageing in a housing crisis: growing numbers of older Australians are facing a bleak future</a>
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<h2>The unhealthy state of rental housing</h2>
<p>Forthcoming data from the <a href="https://dataverse.ada.edu.au/dataverse/ahcdi">Australian Housing Conditions Dataset</a> highlight some of these parallel challenges:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>it’s often insecure – the average lease is less than 12 months, and less than a third of formal rental agreements extend beyond 12 months</p></li>
<li><p>rental housing quality is often very poor – 45% of renters rate the condition of their dwelling as “average, poor, or very poor”</p></li>
<li><p>poor housing conditions put the health of renters at risk – 43% report problems with damp or mould, and 35% have difficulty keeping their homes warm in winter or cool in summer</p></li>
<li><p>compounding these health risks, people with poorer health are over-represented in the rental sector. Renters are almost twice as likely as mortgage holders to have poorer general health.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Measures that potentially restrict the supply of lower-cost rental housing – such as rent caps – will <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4253168">worsen these impacts</a>. More households will be left searching in a shrinking pool of affordable housing. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-soul-destroying-how-people-on-a-housing-wait-list-of-175-000-describe-their-years-of-waiting-210705">'It's soul-destroying': how people on a housing wait list of 175,000 describe their years of waiting</a>
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<h2>It’s all about supply</h2>
<p>Fixing the rental crisis needs more than a single focus on private rental housing. The movement between households over time between renting and buying homes means the best solutions are those that boost the supply of affordable housing generally. No one policy can provide all the answers.</p>
<p>Governments should be looking at multiple actions, including:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>requiring local councils to adopt affordable housing strategies as well as mandating <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/analysis/brief/understanding-inclusionary-zoning">inclusionary zoning</a>, which requires developments to include a proportion of affordable homes</p></li>
<li><p>improving land supply through better forecasting at the national, state and local levels</p></li>
<li><p>giving housing and planning ministers the power to deliver affordable housing targets by providing support for demonstration projects, subsidised land to social housing providers and access to surplus land</p></li>
<li><p>boosting the recruitment and retention of skilled construction workers from both domestic and international sources.</p></li>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-housing-crisis-is-deepening-here-are-10-policies-to-get-us-out-of-it-204026">Australia’s housing crisis is deepening. Here are 10 policies to get us out of it</a>
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<h2>The biggest landlord subsidy isn’t helping</h2>
<p>More than <a href="https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/taxation-statistics-2020-21/resource/ebbd32e3-4556-41e1-a8b9-33387457d518">1 million Australians</a> claim a net rent loss (negative gearing) each year. Even though negative gearing is focused on rental investment losses, it is not strictly a housing policy as it applies to many types of investment. </p>
<p>The impact of negative gearing on the housing system is untargeted and largely uncontrolled. As a result, it’s driving outcomes that are sometimes at odds with the need to supply well-located affordable housing.</p>
<p>The most impactful action the Australian government could take to deliver more affordable rental housing nationwide would involve refining negative-gearing arrangements to boost the supply of low-income rentals. These measures may involve</p>
<ul>
<li>limiting negative gearing to dwellings less than ten years old</li>
<li>introducing a low-income tax credit scheme similar to the one in the United States.</li>
</ul>
<p>We can learn much from the US, where the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (<a href="https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/lihtc.html">LIHTC</a>) scheme subsidises the acquisition, construction and renovation of affordable rental housing for tenants on low to moderate incomes. Since the mid-1990s, the program has supported the construction or renovation of about 110,000 affordable rental units each year. That adds up to over <a href="https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/what-low-income-housing-tax-credit-and-how-does-it-work">2 million units</a> at an estimated annual cost of US$9billion (A$13.8billion). </p>
<p>This scheme is much less expensive per unit of affordable housing delivered than Australia’s system of negative gearing.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/4-ways-to-bring-down-rent-and-build-homes-faster-than-labors-10billion-housing-fund-205643">4 ways to bring down rent and build homes faster than Labor's $10 billion housing fund</a>
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<p>Closer to home, the previous National Rental Affordability Scheme showed the value of targeted financial incentives in encouraging affordable housing. This scheme, available to private and disproved investors, generated positive outcomes for tenants. The benefits included better health for low-income tenants who were able to moved into quality new housing. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://cityfutures.ada.unsw.edu.au/documents/81/Next_moves_report.pdf">raft</a> of <a href="https://apo.org.au/node/260431">evaluations</a> have <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/267">demonstrated</a> the achievements of this scheme.</p>
<h2>Crisis calls for lasting solutions</h2>
<p>Short-term measures such as rent caps or eviction bans will not provide a solution in the near future or even the medium or long term. Instead, these are likely to worsen both the housing costs and health of low-income tenants.</p>
<p>Reform focused on ongoing needs is called for. Solutions that can be implemented quickly include the tighter targeting of negative gearing and the introduction of a low-income housing tax credit. </p>
<p>Talking about change, as the national cabinet is doing, will begin that process of transformation, but it must be backed up by a range of measures to boost the supply of affordable housing. This, in turn, will improve the housing market overall as affordable options become more widely available.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/211275/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Beer receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Australian Research Council, the OECD, and the Australian Housing and Research Institute. He is a member of the Board of the South Australian Housing Trust and is the Executive Dean of UniSA Business. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emma Baker receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the National Health and Medical Research Council and The Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute. She is affiliated with the University of Adelaide. </span></em></p>The people with the worst health often live in rental homes likely to make them sicker, and poor policy could make it worse.Andrew Beer, Executive Dean, UniSA Business, University of South AustraliaEmma Baker, Professor of Housing Research, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2055812023-06-04T20:05:17Z2023-06-04T20:05:17ZLabor and the Greens don’t get along. Here’s why<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529691/original/file-20230602-27-jsaz8u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lukas Coch/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Relations between a centrist Labor government feeling its way and an ascendant Greens party have become surprisingly strained of late.</p>
<p>The rancorous tone of public exchanges reveals deep-seated enmities born of an increasingly direct electoral contest in the inner cities, legitimate policy differences, and a hyper-sensitivity to criticisms made of each other.</p>
<p>A current flashpoint is Labor’s housing policy, or, as the Greens would describe it, Labor’s failure to square up to a full-blown rental affordability crisis.</p>
<p>Among its suite of policies, Labor proposes a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/mar/22/what-is-labors-10bn-social-housing-fund-and-will-it-be-torn-down-by-parliament">Housing Australia Future Fund</a> (HAFF), which would use the earnings only on $10 billion in capital (up to a cap of $500 million a year) to build 30,000 social and affordable homes over three years.</p>
<p>Labor’s bill to create the HAFF is currently before the parliament. But it faces a difficult future with the Greens flagging they will join with the Coalition in the Senate to vote it down, insisting it lacks ambition. This is essentially the same rationale the Greens relied on to justify defeating the Rudd government’s 2009 Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Bill, which they said at the time, “locks in failure”.</p>
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<p>Labor is apoplectic. It accuses the smaller party of hypocrisy in claiming to speak for society’s most vulnerable while lining up with the conservatives to deliver no new social and affordable housing.</p>
<p>In parliament, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has described the Greens’ calls for a nationwide rent freeze - incentivised by a $1 billion federal fund - and a five-fold increase in social housing expenditure as “absolute pixie dust”.</p>
<p>Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who is also government leader in the Senate, rounded on the minor party’s housing spokesperson, Max Chandler-Mather, claiming he was engaging in stunts to boost his profile.</p>
<p>Responding to Greens senator Nick McKim in the Senate on May 11, a furious Wong <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2023/may/11/australia-politics-live-dutton-prepares-budget-response-trade-minister-flies-to-china-welfare-space-brittany-higgins?page=with:block-645c23398f08e5a61abaf559">said</a>: “Your spokesman on housing (Chandler-Mather sits in the lower house) is now prioritising media attention (before) housing for women and kids fleeing domestic violence. That’s shameful you know, this man’s ego.”</p>
<p>McKim hit back, saying Wong’s anger showed “that Mr Chandler-Mather is getting right under the skin of this government”.</p>
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<p>Such bitterness might seem curious given both Albanese and Wong hail from Labor’s left, the faction closest in values to the Greens party. But perhaps that closeness on the political spectrum is actually the problem.</p>
<p>Just as it is drily observed that the arguments in academia are so bitter because the stakes are so low, there is a sense that the deepest vitriol in parliamentary politics is actually reserved for parties of a similar philosophical hue: that is, parties competing for the same voters’ affections.</p>
<p>This tendency is not confined to the left. Even within the Coalition, subterranean antipathies between Liberal MPs holding rural-regional seats and Nationals occasionally bubble to the surface.</p>
<p>Liberals have also gone to extreme lengths to see off smaller right–wing parties. One notable case involved Tony Abbott in the late 1990s, when he urged One Nation members to take legal action against their fledgling party’s founder, Pauline Hanson. Abbott <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/abbotts-role-in-helping-ruin-hanson-20030826-gdw8q9.html">said</a> in 2003:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I met with numerous One Nation dissidents back in 1998 because I was very keen to bring about an end to what I thought was the counterproductive and destabilising influence of One Nation.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>While Labor MPs would be unlikely to say so publicly, it is likely many regard the Greens as a similarly “destabilising influence” on their end of the spectrum, if only because Greens MPs can propose spending, uninhibited by the likelihood of having to balance an entire budget themselves.</p>
<p>Current hostilities go back a long way. Labor resents being sniped at from its left flank for not moving fast enough on matters of climate, social policy and economic redistribution.</p>
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<p>For its part, the Greens bristle at being labelled “ideologically pure” – a tag clearly intended in the pejorative sense. </p>
<p>Bad blood lingers from the legislative <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-the-10-year-anniversary-of-our-climate-policy-abyss-but-dont-blame-the-greens-128239">failure of Rudd’s CPRS</a>. The country ended up with no economy-wide mechanism for emissions reduction. That situation continues to this day.</p>
<p>Indeed, it was probably memories of this that led to a compromise on the Albanese government’s toughened safeguards mechanism on industrial polluters earlier this year. This succeeded despite the Greens grumbling that the mechanism amounted to trying to put the climate fire out while pouring petrol on it.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-safeguard-mechanism-deal-is-only-a-half-win-for-the-greens-and-for-the-climate-202612">Australia's safeguard mechanism deal is only a half-win for the Greens, and for the climate</a>
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<p>However, on housing, the smaller party is taking a harder line.</p>
<p>How much of this is principle and how much is political positioning depends on perspective.</p>
<p>As the major parties’ share of first preference votes erodes, the minor party believes it can take a greater slice of the more progressive, younger vote by styling the Greens as the natural party of renters.</p>
<p>With Labor and the Coalition reluctant to curb generous tax breaks for property investors – negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions – the Greens believe they can specifically speak for those locked out of home ownership.</p>
<p>Speaking to the ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday, Chandler-Mather <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-04/greens-housing-spokesperson-max-chandler-mather/102438374">made that ambition manifest</a>: </p>
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<p>Last year, they recalled parliament around the country to put caps on energy prices, you see the treasurer get up and say, ‘we’ve put caps on energy prices. But all of a sudden, rents don’t matter. Why is it that a third of the country don’t get the sort of representation - renters - that a lot of other people in this country do?’.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>At just 30, Chandler-Mather scored one the last election’s most surprising upsets when he seized the Labor-held Brisbane seat of Griffith for the minor party. It was one of three lower house seats the Greens won in Queensland, which along with Melbourne, held by party leader Adam Bandt, took their total to four.</p>
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<span class="caption">At just 30, the Greens’ Max Chandler-Mather won the Queensland seat of Griffith from Labor at the 2022 federal election. He is now the party’s spokesperson on housing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mick Tsikas/AAP</span></span>
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<p>A savvier political operator than any of his predecessors, Bandt has proved to be a shrewd negotiator. He is also a clear communicator, capable of delivering sharp attack lines against the government even as he reaches compromises.</p>
<p>His brand of assertive, values-based politics, tempered with a higher degree of political realism, has proved effective with his party room now 16–strong.</p>
<p>But, in politics, growth brings its own challenges.</p>
<p>Presenting as a party of immovable principle, rather than one of practical government, means that backing down in order to achieve some level of progress can become difficult. Party members may view compromise as retreat, failure or, even worse, as the politics of orthodoxy, major-party style.</p>
<p>This probably explains why, when Bandt’s party eventually supported Labor’s safeguard mechanism legislation in March, its votes came wrapped in scathing rhetoric more consistent with having opposed the bill. Bandt <a href="https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/politics/government-still-captured-by-the-coal-and-gas-corporations-greens-leader/video/29227e5a10d4380cdc48ebc08e4e766c">said</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It’s become readily apparent that we are dealing here in this parliament with a government that is still captured by the coal and gas corporations.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>A further difficulty for parties built on unwavering fidelity to principles, above all else, arises when strongly professed standards are not lived up to internally.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/greens-senator-says-shes-faced-racism-within-party-as-leader-acknowledges-problem/g8b2kraf1">Claims of racism</a> within the party – first made by a Victorian First Nations senator, Lidia Thorpe, who has become an independent senator, and then <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/may/30/mehreen-faruqi-reveals-she-has-experienced-racism-in-the-greens">by a current Greens frontbencher</a>, Pakistan-born NSW senator Mehreen Faruqi, present Bandt with a conundrum.</p>
<p>The Greens leader must be seen to be doing all he can to establish the facts behind the allegations while his instincts – just like his major party competitors – will be to reject the suggestions to protect the party’s reputation as uniquely enlightened.</p>
<p>“The Greens are an anti-racist party, the Greens are an anti-hate party,” he told Radio National Breakfast following the allegations.</p>
<p>There’s no doubt that this is his party’s policy, but is it also its practice in every interaction? It’s a big call, and another example of the interface between good intentions and competitive politics on the ground.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205581/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Kenny does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As they fight for the affections of the same voters, the two parties have engaged in a particularly nasty debate over housing.Mark Kenny, Professor, Australian Studies Institute, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1985092023-02-08T00:34:09Z2023-02-08T00:34:09ZAlbanese government tackles housing crisis on 3 fronts, but there’s still more to do<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508564/original/file-20230207-17-vww1au.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6000%2C4023&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Albanese government’s housing package moved a step closer to delivery with the recent release of <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/consultation/c2022-343652">draft legislation</a>. The bills are expected to be tabled in parliament soon. After a decade of general <a href="https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/housing-affordability-a-key-plank-of-federal-budget-20200805-p55in9">federal disengagement</a> from housing policy (first home ownership being the main exception), this is more than welcome. </p>
<p>At the same time, the proposed laws don’t give enough priority to the need for a coherent approach to a complex housing system. Multi-faceted problems such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/homeless-numbers-have-jumped-since-covid-housing-efforts-ended-and-the-problem-is-spreading-beyond-the-big-cities-194624">homelessness</a>, <a href="https://www.anglicare.asn.au/research-advocacy/rental-affordability/">unaffordable rents</a>, <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/money/borrowing/plan-ahead-mortgage-stress-to-rise-as-further-rate-rises-predicted-20230126-p5cfpk.html">mortgage stress</a> and a <a href="https://cityfutures.ada.unsw.edu.au/social-and-affordable-housing-needs-costs-and-subsidy-gaps-by-region/">lack of social housing</a> demand joined-up solutions. Housing knowledge and policy-making capacity within government have been badly eroded and must be restored.</p>
<p>The draft legislative package comprised three bills (and a helpful <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-12/c2022-343652-explanatory-material-dec.pdf">explanatory memorandum</a>):</p>
<ul>
<li><p>National Housing Supply and Affordability Council Bill</p></li>
<li><p>Housing Australia Future Fund Bill</p></li>
<li><p>Treasury Laws Amendment (Housing Measures) Bill.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Beyond this, the <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/housing-support-programs-services-housing/national-housing-and-homelessness-plan">National Housing and Homelessness Plan</a> now being developed by the government should provide the vital strategic framework that has been so glaringly absent. This means it could be even more important than the measures in the draft bills. Arguably, the plan should also be enshrined in law.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/homeless-numbers-have-jumped-since-covid-housing-efforts-ended-and-the-problem-is-spreading-beyond-the-big-cities-194624">Homeless numbers have jumped since COVID housing efforts ended – and the problem is spreading beyond the big cities</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What’s good about the package?</h2>
<p>In <a href="https://cityfutures.ada.unsw.edu.au/documents/701/Draft_housing_legislation_package_-_CFRC_submission_v2.pdf">our submission</a> on the draft package, we commend the progress towards reasserting Commonwealth leadership on housing. State and territory commitments and actions are vital, too, in confronting Australia’s mounting and complex housing challenges. But federal engagement and ambition are essential to make any significant and lasting progress.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1547824646778523649"}"></div></p>
<p>The <a href="https://ministers.treasury.gov.au/ministers/julie-collins-2022/media-releases/interim-national-housing-supply-and-affordability">National Housing Supply and Affordability Council</a> promises to restore the foundation for evidence-based policy once provided by the former National Housing Supply Council. </p>
<p>Similarly, after more than ten years of <a href="https://blogs.unsw.edu.au/cityfutures/blog/2021/01/social-housing-production-continues-to-languish-while-demand-is-soaring/">negligible investment</a> in new social and affordable housing, the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/affordable-housing-legislation-to-come-before-parliament-in-next-few-months-collins-20221013-p5bphr.html">$10 billion</a> Housing Australia Future Fund is certainly a laudable commitment. However, the aim of building 30,000 new social and affordable housing units over five years is relatively modest. We estimate current unmet need for social housing equates to <a href="https://cityfutures.ada.unsw.edu.au/social-and-affordable-housing-needs-costs-and-subsidy-gaps-by-region/">437,000 households</a>. </p>
<p>The recent <a href="https://ministers.treasury.gov.au/sites/ministers.treasury.gov.au/files/2022-10/national-housing-accord-2022.pdf">National Housing Accord</a> on expanded construction output could also play a meaningful role. Full details are yet to be released.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508725/original/file-20230207-13-ljon5n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Vertical bar chart showing state-by-state changes in social housing stock and population" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508725/original/file-20230207-13-ljon5n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508725/original/file-20230207-13-ljon5n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508725/original/file-20230207-13-ljon5n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508725/original/file-20230207-13-ljon5n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508725/original/file-20230207-13-ljon5n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508725/original/file-20230207-13-ljon5n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508725/original/file-20230207-13-ljon5n.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Chart: The Conversation. Data: Author provided from Productivity Commission Reports on Government Services, Australian Bureau of Statistics</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/1-million-homes-target-makes-headlines-but-cant-mask-modest-ambition-of-budgets-housing-plans-193289">1 million homes target makes headlines, but can't mask modest ambition of budget's housing plans</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>And what will it take to fix the housing system?</h2>
<p>As argued in <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-15-0780-9">our book</a>, the declining performance of Australia’s housing system is not just a matter of historically miserly government funding. It’s also a result of policymaking failure. </p>
<p>That failure reflects the long-term deterioration and fragmentation of governmental capacity in this realm. At both federal and state levels, the past 25 years have seen the progressive disappearance or downgrading of ministerial housing portfolios and associated departments. At the same time, housing policy has been increasingly viewed as a narrowly defined subset of welfare policy. </p>
<p>These changes have <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-8500.2011.00746.x">eroded housing policy knowledge and policymaking capacity</a> within government. They’re an aspect of the <a href="https://www.quarterlyessay.com.au/essay/2015/12/political-amnesia">hollowing out of government</a> across many policy fields in Australia and overseas. Arguably, it has had particularly far-reaching impacts on housing in Australia.</p>
<p>Partly for these reasons, the proposed <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/news/what-new-housing-and-urban-policies-can-be-expected-incoming-federal-government">upgrading</a> of the <a href="https://www.nhfic.gov.au/">National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation</a> to a national housing agency, Housing Australia, is another commendable aspect of the legislation.</p>
<h2>What more should the government do?</h2>
<p>Potentially more of a game-changer than the measures in the draft bills is the promised <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/aug/03/labors-housing-minister-vows-to-do-more-to-fix-homelessness-as-serious-crisis-spreads">National Housing and Homelessness Plan</a>. Since housing is a complex and interactive system, micro-measures targeting selected aspects of that system are liable to have minimal or even counter-productive impacts. Housing therefore <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-15-0780-9">demands strategic policymaking</a> (rather than an incremental or reactive approach).</p>
<p>This is why Australia <a href="https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/n-11.2/index.html">should emulate the Canadian government</a> by enshrining the National Housing and Homelessness Plan in law. Doing so would reduce the risk of a future administration emasculating or abandoning the structure.</p>
<p>As for the three draft bills, a crucial enhancement would be to strengthen the status, capacity and responsibilities of Housing Australia. </p>
<p>Here we again take inspiration from across the north Pacific. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has played a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02673037.2013.760028">crucial strategic role</a> as a national housing agency over decades. The UK’s <a href="https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=98b890332f365f26370d256c9ae00d5c9708f626">Scottish Homes</a> (1989-2001) and <a href="https://archive.org/details/movinghomeshousi0000muri">Housing Corporation</a> (1964-2008) were similarly influential in informing, co-ordinating and delivering housing policy. Importantly, they also championed housing within government. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1569844861247029257"}"></div></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-market-has-failed-to-give-australians-affordable-housing-so-dont-expect-it-to-solve-the-crisis-192177">The market has failed to give Australians affordable housing, so don't expect it to solve the crisis</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>With these examples in mind, there is a strong case for Housing Australia to be:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>given a wider analytical and research role to inform policymaking and support the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council</p></li>
<li><p>tasked with formulating the National Housing and Homelessness Plan and co-ordinating its implementation and review</p></li>
<li><p>made responsible for the progress and oversight of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/1-million-homes-target-makes-headlines-but-cant-mask-modest-ambition-of-budgets-housing-plans-193289">National Housing Accord</a></p></li>
<li><p>charged with informing the re-negotiation of the <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/housing-support-programs-services-homelessness/national-housing-and-homelessness-agreement">National Housing and Homelessness Agreement</a> between the Commonwealth, states and territories.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>In short, to boost the chances that the current housing policy impetus can be sustained, the proposed institutional reforms must be both strengthened and embedded.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198509/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hal Pawson receives funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, the Australian Research Council, the Queensland Council of Social Service and Crisis UK. Hal Pawson is a Board Director of Community Housing Canberra</span></em></p>Three bills to go before parliament confirm the Albanese government is restoring the Commonwealth to a leadership role on housing issues. But there are still gaps in its approach.Hal Pawson, Professor of Housing Research and Policy, and Associate Director, City Futures Research Centre, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1901262022-09-08T20:06:29Z2022-09-08T20:06:29ZIf your landlord wants to increase your rent, here are your rights<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/483410/original/file-20220908-20-28oq74.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C5%2C3395%2C1898&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Inflation is pushing up interest rates. Interest rates are pushing up mortgage costs. There’s talk of a rental supply crisis. This means there’s a good chance your landlord wants to increase your rent.</p>
<p>So what are your rights as a renter? That depends on where you live, because residential tenancy laws are determined by state and territory governments. There are, however, many commonalities. Here’s a rundown.</p>
<h2>When can your landlord raise the rent?</h2>
<p>In every state and territory there are limits on when and how often your landlord can raise the rent.</p>
<p>If you are on a fixed-term lease your rent cannot be increased during the lease period, unless the lease itself specifically provides for such an increase. This makes it worthwhile to negotiate a longer fixed-term lease if you can.</p>
<p>If you are on a periodic (month-to-month) lease, state and territory laws set limits on the frequency with which the rent can be increased. For the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia, rent can be raised every six months. Elsewhere, it is every 12 months. </p>
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<hr>
<h2>What must the landlord inform me of?</h2>
<p>Landlords do not need to provide a reason for increasing the rent. </p>
<p>They are, however, required to strictly follow notification procedures – informing you in writing, using forms that are specified in relevant regulations, and giving you advance notice of the increase.</p>
<p>Minimum notice periods are about 60 days in most states and territories (see the table above) and 30 days in the Northern Territory.</p>
<p>If your landlord does not comply with these requirements, you are not obliged to pay the higher rent.</p>
<h2>Is there any limit on how much my rent can increase?</h2>
<p>The Australian Capital Territory is the only jurisdiction that puts a cap on rent increases. They are limited to no more than 10% above the Consumer Price Index for Canberra. Any larger increase must be approved by the <a href="https://www.acat.act.gov.au/case-types/rental-disputes/rent-increases">ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal</a>.</p>
<p>In all jurisdictions, however, you can appeal to the tribunal or court that oversees residential tenancy laws if you believe a rent increase is excessive. </p>
<p>These bodies have the power to reduce or refuse the increase. They can also order landlords to reduce the rent in some circumstances (such as if disrepair or damage makes the property less fit for living). </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-5-key-tenancy-reforms-are-affecting-renters-and-landlords-around-australia-187779">How 5 key tenancy reforms are affecting renters and landlords around Australia</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>No state and territory residential tenancy legislation defines what makes rent “excessive”. But they do include similar lists of things a tribunal or court may consider to determine whether rent is excessive. </p>
<p>These include the rent of comparable premises, and the property’s value and condition. You will need to provide this evidence, because the burden of proving your rent is excessive is on you.</p>
<h2>Can I be evicted so the landlord can charge more rent?</h2>
<p>A landlord can terminate a fixed-term lease at its expiry for any reason (as long as they follow the notice provisions).</p>
<p>They cannot terminate a fixed-term lease earlier than its expiry just so they can raise the rent for new tenants. They must have a legitimate reason, for instance if you are continually breaching the terms of the lease, or making the property uninhabitable. They must provide the reason in writing.</p>
<p>With the exception of Victoria, a landlord can terminate a periodic lease for any reason. The only requirement is a minimum notice period. In Victoria, your landlord must give and substantiate a valid reason. Wanting to lease out the property at a higher rent is not a valid reason.</p>
<h2>In short, what to check?</h2>
<p>1) Check your lease. If it’s a fixed-term lease, look to see if the terms allow for a rent increase.</p>
<p>2) Check your landlord has used the correct form for the notice and given you at least the minimum notice period. </p>
<p>3) Seek advice from your local tenants’ advisory service or relevant government tribunal or agency if you are in doubt. The organisations in the following table are a good place to start.</p>
<hr>
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<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/rent-crisis-average-rents-are-increasing-less-than-you-might-think-189154">Rent crisis? Average rents are increasing less than you might think</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Correction: This article has been amended to correct the minimum notice period in NSW. It is 60 days, not 90 days as originally stated.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/190126/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Your rights as a renter in Australia vary according to where you live. Here’s what you need to know.Brendan Grigg, Senior Lecturer in Law, Flinders UniversityHossein Esmaeili, Associate professor, Flinders UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1883562022-08-19T02:08:57Z2022-08-19T02:08:57Z‘We’ve all done the right things’: in Under Cover, older women tell their stories of becoming homeless<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479786/original/file-20220818-18-35m58w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=38%2C0%2C803%2C527&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.undercoverdocumentary.com/">Under Cover/SA Films</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Australian documentary Under Cover, premiering at the <a href="https://miff.com.au/program/film/under-cover">Melbourne International Film Festival</a>, presents the voices and faces of older women’s housing insecurity. Many of us would have seen the figures: the number of homeless people aged 55 years or above <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/housing/census-population-and-housing-estimating-homelessness/latest-release">increased</a> 28% between 2011 and 2016. And single women of that age are the <a href="https://www.oldertenants.org.au/content/women-over-55-are-australias-fastest-growing-group-homeless">fastest-growing</a> homeless group in Australia. </p>
<p>But knowing the statistics is different from witnessing the reality. In Under Cover, filmmaker Sue Thomson depicts the stories of ten older women who have experienced housing insecurity and homelessness. They live in hostels, community housing, their cars, vans, caravan parks. </p>
<p>All have travelled different routes, but leading to each individual experience is a chain of similar factors: taking time off work to care for children, having little or no superannuation, experiencing relationship breakdown that leaves them without money or assets, eviction. For some, additional factors include family violence and the enduring impacts of colonisation. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/i-left-with-the-kids-and-ended-up-homeless-with-them-the-nightmare-of-housing-wait-lists-for-people-fleeing-domestic-violence-187687">'I left with the kids and ended up homeless with them': the nightmare of housing wait lists for people fleeing domestic violence</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>These women filled the role in society that women are expected to, caring for husbands, elderly parents and children. As one of them points out:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>We’ve all done the right things, you know. We got married, we stayed at home, we’ve raised our children. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>They feel shock, grief and frustration that, in return for their service, they have ended up here, beyond the edge of poverty. For many, the routine acts of waking and washing, food preparation, seeking an income, maintaining precious belongings, sleeping and staying safe take place in spaces of transience and mobility.</p>
<p>Many of the women say they never thought they would end up homeless; it was something that happened to other people. They are articulate, reflective, everyday women who were blindsided. As one of them says: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I had never ever considered that I would be homeless. Never.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Indeed, in advocating for political change, the film powerfully presents the idea that homelessness can happen to anyone.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Bq0SJbia8g4?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The Margot Robbie–narrated documentary Under Cover gives voice to older women who are facing homelessness.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Risks are rising with rental and living costs</h2>
<p>The pressures that lead to people becoming homeless are increasing. Rental and living costs are soaring.</p>
<p>Anglicare’s <a href="https://www.anglicare.asn.au/publications/rental-affordability-snapshot-2022/">Rental Affordability Snapshot</a> shows rents are more unaffordable than ever before, especially for people on low incomes. Nationally, only 0.7% of listed private rental homes were affordable for a single adult on the aged pension. Only 1.4% were affordable for couples on the aged pension. </p>
<p>An Australian property market geared to make profits, rather than provide housing as a basic human right, is having stark long-term impacts. When the next Census <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/housing/census-population-and-housing-estimating-homelessness">homelessness estimates</a> are released in 2023, it’s likely we will see more older women are at risk of homelessness – and more Australians across all age groups and genders with first-hand experience of not having a home.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Older women looking pensive" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479790/original/file-20220818-15-g8grbj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479790/original/file-20220818-15-g8grbj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479790/original/file-20220818-15-g8grbj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479790/original/file-20220818-15-g8grbj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479790/original/file-20220818-15-g8grbj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479790/original/file-20220818-15-g8grbj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479790/original/file-20220818-15-g8grbj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many of the women in Under Cover never thought they would end up being homeless.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.undercoverdocumentary.com/">Under Cover/SA Films</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/more-affordable-housing-with-less-homelessness-is-possible-if-only-australia-would-learn-from-nordic-nations-182049">More affordable housing with less homelessness is possible – if only Australia would learn from Nordic nations</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Solutions must include more affordable housing</h2>
<p>The film highlights some important <a href="https://housingallaustralians.org.au/about-us/">programs</a> and <a href="https://www.womenscommunityshelters.org.au/">organisations</a> that are helping homeless women. But, as Margot Robbie’s narration makes clear, non-government organisations cannot do the work without government support. </p>
<p>Currently available social or affordable housing may be located far from women’s social networks and community. They may be given a stable home but at the cost of their sense of belonging. </p>
<p>Significantly more social and affordable housing is needed. This will ensure people have suitable options and don’t have to move long distances to receive shelter. Temporary housing is also necessary but insufficient. </p>
<p>Recent research also <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/378">assesses</a> innovative housing models for older people. Suggested solutions include <a href="https://theconversation.com/more-affordable-housing-with-less-homelessness-is-possible-if-only-australia-would-learn-from-nordic-nations-182049">co-operative living</a> and shared-equity schemes. These are consistent with the <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/317">reported aspirations</a> of older Australians who require safe, secure housing to age well. Options include <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/325">downsizing</a> or “rightsizing” in later life. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-sort-of-housing-do-older-australians-want-and-where-do-they-want-to-live-120987">What sort of housing do older Australians want and where do they want to live?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Having stable, alternative housing available will help older people who cannot stay in the family home, whether because their relationship breaks down or they never owned property. </p>
<p>More broadly, Australian housing policy needs to understand housing as a human right that is fundamental to people’s wellbeing. Housing should be safeguarded as <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-social-housing-essential-infrastructure-how-we-think-about-it-does-matter-110777">essential social infrastructure</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Older woman cuddles a cat" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479791/original/file-20220818-24-35m58w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/479791/original/file-20220818-24-35m58w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479791/original/file-20220818-24-35m58w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479791/original/file-20220818-24-35m58w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479791/original/file-20220818-24-35m58w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479791/original/file-20220818-24-35m58w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/479791/original/file-20220818-24-35m58w.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Housing needs to be recognised as a human right that is fundamental to people’s wellbeing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.undercoverdocumentary.com/">Under Cover/SA Films</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-social-housing-essential-infrastructure-how-we-think-about-it-does-matter-110777">Is social housing essential infrastructure? How we think about it does matter</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Broader social policy changes are essential too</h2>
<p>Other measures to prevent older women from becoming homeless will require policy beyond housing: better parental leave schemes, pay equality, domestic violence responses, closing the superannuation gender gap. In short, it depends on overcoming gender inequality on all levels and scales. These are big tasks, but they must be undertaken for a fair and just society. </p>
<p>Under Cover makes it clear we cannot continue the way we are, or these problems will continue through to the next generations. Today’s young women will be tomorrow’s older homeless women, wondering how on Earth they ended up here. As one woman in the film says: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I couldn’t believe this was me. I couldn’t believe after all these years that I would be in this situation.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The need for both <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research-in-progress/Gendered-housing-opportunities-pathways-assistance-and-impacts">gender-focused</a> and <a href="https://www.oldertenants.org.au/publications">age-focused</a> housing solutions is urgent.</p>
<p>People experiencing homelessness are often regarded as invisible, as are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/dec/30/women-and-ageing-ive-developed-the-courage-to-live-my-own-truth-picture-essay">older</a> <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/any-woman-above-a-certain-age-can-tell-you-what-it-s-like-to-become-invisible-20201008-p5638g.html">women</a>. Homeless older women may be doubly invisible. But by getting into the specifics of their homelessness, Under Cover brings their experiences into the light. </p>
<p>You can’t make policy about something you can’t (or don’t want to) see. With the federal government’s commitment to national <a href="https://twitter.com/JulieCollinsMP/status/1547811749516443648">co-ordinated housing policy</a>, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s open discussion of being raised by a single mother in public housing, perhaps there is a fairer Australian housing landscape on the horizon. </p>
<p>A sequel to Under Cover that focuses on “how older women’s housing insecurity and homelessness was solved” would be welcome. In the meantime, government action, supported by research that increases understanding of age, gender and other intertwined vulnerabilities, is badly needed. Also critical are the conversations at kitchen tables, in local neighbourhoods, in workplaces, among friends and in news media that Under Cover will provoke.</p>
<hr>
<p><em><a href="https://miff.com.au/program/film/under-cover">Under Cover</a> is screening at the Melbourne International Film Festival until August 20 and is streaming at <a href="https://play.miff.com.au/film/under-cover/">MIFF Play</a> until August 28.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188356/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Zoe Goodall has received funding from the Victorian Government and the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) and receives an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Margaret Reynolds receives funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) and Housing for the Aged Action Group (HAAG).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Piret Veeroja receives funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC), the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI), Housing for the Aged Action Group (HAAG), Kids Under Cover (KUC) and has previously received funding from Victorian Government. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wendy Stone receives funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC), the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI), Housing for the Aged Action Group (HAAG), Kids Under Cover (KUC) and has previously received research funding from the Victorian Government. </span></em></p>A new Australian documentary gives voice to the women in urgent need of policy action on housing insecurity and homelessness.Zoe Goodall, Research Associate, Centre for Urban Transitions, Swinburne University of TechnologyMargaret Reynolds, Research Fellow, Centre for Urban Transitions, Swinburne University of TechnologyPiret Veeroja, Research Fellow, Centre for Urban Transitions, Swinburne University of TechnologyWendy Stone, Professor of Housing & Social Policy, Centre for Urban Transitions, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1823282022-05-09T04:36:10Z2022-05-09T04:36:10ZTiny and alternate houses can help ease Australia’s rental affordability crisis<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461899/original/file-20220509-24-5ku8rx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C114%2C2474%2C1294&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Rental housing in Australia <a href="https://www.anglicare.asn.au/publications/rental-affordability-snapshot-2022/">is less affordable</a> than ever before. It is no exaggeration to call the situation a crisis, with vacancy rates at <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/research/vacancy-rates-april-2022-1135506/">record lows</a>.</p>
<p>But there are some relatively simple, easy-to-implement and cost-effective things that can be done to ease rental affordability pressures. </p>
<p>These include relaxing planning restrictions on small and non-traditional houses, allowing granny flats to be rented to anyone, permitting property owners to let space to tiny house dwellers, and possibly even subsidising the building of granny flats or modification of houses for dual occupancy.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/stability-and-security-the-keys-to-closing-the-mental-health-gap-between-renters-and-home-owners-179481">Stability and security: the keys to closing the mental health gap between renters and home owners</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>‘Dependant’ persons only</h2>
<p>The degree to which local councils permit very small dwellings depends on factors such as dwelling type, lot characteristics, planning scheme zoning and overlays, and state regulations. </p>
<p>Subject to these constraints, granny flats are generally legal in Australia, though states such as Queensland and Victoria restrict who can live in them.</p>
<p>In Queensland, most councils limit occupancy to members of the same household, <a href="https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/planning-and-building/planning-guidelines-and-tools/brisbane-city-plan-2014/supporting-information/granny-flats">defined as</a> a group who “live together on a long-term basis and make common provision for food or other essentials for living”.</p>
<p>In Victoria, granny flats can only “provide accommodation for a person who is dependant on a resident of the existing dwelling” (and are hence called <a href="https://www.casey.vic.gov.au/dependant-person%E2%80%99s-unit-granny-flat">Dependant Person’s Units</a>). </p>
<p>While these laws are sometimes ignored, they limit the potential for this affordable housing option for other individuals who struggle in the housing market. Extra council regulations and fees also make building a granny flat complicated, time-consuming and expensive, particularly if they incur infrastructure charges. </p>
<h2>Desperately seeking parking space</h2>
<p>Tiny houses, especially those on wheels, are typically not approved for permanent residence. Councils consider them caravans, with periods of permitted occupancy ranging from zero to about three months. </p>
<p>Some councils will tolerate them but, if receiving a complaint, can demand the tiny house be removed at short notice. </p>
<p>This can cause extreme distress. Some tiny house owners report living in constant fear of being moved on. In recent years we’ve seen increasing numbers of posts on tiny house social media pages pleading for “parking space”. </p>
<p>Because of these barriers, most tiny houses in Australia aren’t in urban areas, where demand for rental properties is highest, but hidden “under the radar” in more rural areas. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461878/original/file-20220509-18-vzu2lp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Tiny house in a rural setting." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461878/original/file-20220509-18-vzu2lp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461878/original/file-20220509-18-vzu2lp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461878/original/file-20220509-18-vzu2lp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461878/original/file-20220509-18-vzu2lp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461878/original/file-20220509-18-vzu2lp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461878/original/file-20220509-18-vzu2lp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461878/original/file-20220509-18-vzu2lp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Planning laws have made it difficult for tiny houses in urban areas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These areas typically have poorer access to public transport, employment, education and health services. If unknown to authorities, tiny house dwellers may also be at higher risk from natural disasters such as bushfires and floods. </p>
<hr>
<p><iframe id="Ftd3Y" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/Ftd3Y/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<hr>
<h2>Benefits from easing restrictions</h2>
<p>Removing some restrictions on letting granny flats and permitting and regulating longer-term occupancy for tiny house dwellers can help ease these rental affordability challenges. </p>
<p>There are other benefits too. For local councils trying to limit unsustainable, low-density expansion on their fringes, these changes enable a relatively gentle and unobtrusive form of densification in places where resistance to change is common.</p>
<p>It could also support more <a href="https://www.irt.org.au/the-good-life/ageing-in-place-what-does-it-mean/">ageing in place</a> (enabling the elderly to downsize while staying in their neighbourhood), reduce development pressures on the natural environment, and provide valuable income both for home owners and give local councils a new stream of rate income. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/so-you-want-to-live-tiny-heres-what-to-consider-when-choosing-a-house-van-or-caravan-129790">So, you want to live tiny? Here's what to consider when choosing a house, van or caravan</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Allowing property owners to let space to a tiny-house dweller (with appropriate regulations on aesthetic appearance, safety features and environmental impacts) could be a cost-effective and rapid way to increase rental supply for some demographics. Single women over 50, for example, are at high risk of homelessness and also the demographic <a href="https://theconversation.com/interest-in-tiny-houses-is-growing-so-who-wants-them-and-why-83872">most interested in tiny house living</a>. </p>
<h2>This crisis needs innovative responses</h2>
<p>We have seen that, when disasters strike, governments can introduce innovative responses to local housing crises. </p>
<p>In response to the massive floods of February and March, the New South Wales government’s <a href="https://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/Policy-and-Legislation/Disaster-and-Pandemic-Recovery/Temporary-accommodation">Temporary Accommodation Policy</a> changed the rules to allow a moveable dwelling or manufactured home to be placed in a disaster-affected area for up to two years, or longer subject to council approval. </p>
<p>Allowing tiny houses for a trial period of, say, two years could provide a valuable pilot project, and perhaps alleviate the concerns of some local ratepayers. In nine years of research into the tiny house movement in Australia, we have found some councils are willing to consider permitting tiny houses – but only if another council does it first. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461187/original/file-20220504-703-xxz9en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A tiny house for sale at the Sydney Tiny House Festival, March 2020." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461187/original/file-20220504-703-xxz9en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/461187/original/file-20220504-703-xxz9en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461187/original/file-20220504-703-xxz9en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461187/original/file-20220504-703-xxz9en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461187/original/file-20220504-703-xxz9en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461187/original/file-20220504-703-xxz9en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/461187/original/file-20220504-703-xxz9en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A tiny house for sale at the Sydney Tiny House Festival, March 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Heather Shearer</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A longer-term solution is to encourage the building of more granny flats as part of a program of moderate densification, as is happening in <a href="https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/building-and-consents/building-renovation-projects/build-sleepout-cabin/Pages/default.aspx">Auckland, New Zealand</a>. </p>
<p>Rather than subsidising expensive renovations of existing homes – as the Morrison government did with its <a href="https://theconversation.com/homebuilder-might-be-the-most-complex-least-equitable-construction-jobs-program-ever-devised-140162">HomeBuilder grants scheme</a> – federal, state and territory governments could offer incentives to divide or extend homes in well-designed and sustainably constructed ways to enable dual living.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/up-on-a-roof-why-new-zealands-move-towards-greater-urban-density-should-see-a-rooftop-revolution-172226">Up on a roof: why New Zealand's move towards greater urban density should see a rooftop revolution</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>While not as visibly dramatic as floods and bushfires, the crisis of housing affordability deserves equally imaginative policy responses. After all, adequate housing is enshrined in the UN’s <a href="https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights">Universal Declaration of Human Rights</a>. </p>
<p>The crisis is complex and multifaceted. There are no easy solutions to address it in its entirety, and for every demographic. Tiny houses and granny flats are not suitable for all households. But business as usual is no solution. </p>
<p>We need a willingness to experiment with and learn from innovative and even disruptive approaches.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182328/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Heather Shearer is a member of the Australian Greens Party and of the Australian Tiny House Association. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Burton receives funding from the ARC (LP 190101218) and the City of Gold Coast as part of a long-standing Urban Growth Management Partnership. He is a Vice President of the Queensland Division of the Planning Institute of Australia and a member of the National Education Committee of PIA.</span></em></p>Relaxing restrictions on small and non-traditional houses can help to increase the supply of affordable rental housing.Heather Shearer, Research Fellow, Cities Research Institute, Griffith UniversityPaul Burton, Professor of Urban Management & Planning, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1572442021-03-23T18:50:01Z2021-03-23T18:50:01Z2.6 million face poverty when COVID payments end, rental stress soars<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391025/original/file-20210323-15-hartj3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=568%2C0%2C5173%2C3529&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/middleaged-family-having-difficulties-paying-utility-693706726">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many Australians whose jobs were decimated by the COVID business shutdowns will soon be waking up to new income shocks and the prospect of rental stress. This is because people whose employers can’t afford to keep them on will suddenly lose more than A$300 per week when the <a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/general/jobkeeper-payment/">JobKeeper</a> scheme <a href="https://www.ato.gov.au/General/JobKeeper-Payment/JobKeeper-key-dates/">ends on March 28</a>. Worryingly, this income shock will happen just days before the payment to people on the <a href="https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/jobseeker-payment">JobSeeker</a> benefit is effectively <a href="https://www.ideas.org.au/blogs/jobkeeper-jobseeker-what-has-changed.html#:%7E:text=The%20JobSeeker%20Payment%20replaced%20the,This%20was%20announced%20in%20November.">cut by $100 per fortnight</a>. </p>
<p>At that point, all income support recipients – more than 2.6 million people – will be below the poverty line and many will face extreme rental stress.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/1-billion-per-year-or-less-could-halve-rental-housing-stress-146397">$1 billion per year (or less) could halve rental housing stress</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>This income shock has been anticipated for some time, but what does it means for rates of rental stress, particularly in Victoria? Despite <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/victoria-s-economic-recovery-to-outstrip-all-other-states-as-nation-bounces-back-20210115-p56ufo.html">promising signs of recovery</a>, Victorian jobs lost in the COVID-induced recession, such as in the hard-hit <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/business-tourism-on-its-knees-as-covid-19-casts-long-shadow-over-events-20210203-p56z2j.html">business tourism</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2021/feb/22/more-job-losses-ahead-for-australian-live-music-industry-operators-warn">live music industries</a>, have not bounced back at the same rate as others.</p>
<h2>What will happen to rental affordability?</h2>
<p>To illustrate this point we have modelled housing affordability for single people who were on either the full-time or part-time JobKeeper rate. In this scenario, they could also get JobSeeker payments at a part-rate because of the temporary increase in the <a href="https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/topics/income-test-jobseeker-payment/29411">income-free threshold to $300</a>. This made them eligible for <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/housing-support/programmes-services/commonwealth-rent-assistance">Commonwealth Rent Assistance</a> too. </p>
<p>The chart below shows the impacts on income and rental affordability when JobKeeper and <a href="https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/coronavirus-supplement">Coronavirus Supplement</a> payments end. Their incomes and the amount of rent they can afford are roughly halved.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389972/original/file-20210316-16-19zylll.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389972/original/file-20210316-16-19zylll.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/389972/original/file-20210316-16-19zylll.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=221&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389972/original/file-20210316-16-19zylll.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=221&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389972/original/file-20210316-16-19zylll.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=221&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389972/original/file-20210316-16-19zylll.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=278&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389972/original/file-20210316-16-19zylll.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=278&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/389972/original/file-20210316-16-19zylll.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=278&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Impacts of the loss of JobKeeper and Coronavirus Supplement on income and affordable rent.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Full-time and part-time single workers were able to afford weekly rent of $265 and $245 respectively before the withdrawal of JobKeeper. Afterwards, affordable rent goes down to $115 per week. That’s about $110 less than the <a href="https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/202011/DHHS%20Rental%20Report%20September%20quarter%202020.docx">$450 median rent</a> ($225 per person) for a two-bedroom share house in Melbourne.</p>
<p>Based on <a href="https://theconversation.com/city-share-house-rents-eat-up-most-of-newstart-leaving-less-than-100-a-week-to-live-on-123772">our earlier calculations</a>, this leaves these renters with only $17.57 per day to meet basic costs. They have a lavish $3.57 per day more than they did before the pandemic to pay for food, utilities and job-seeking costs such as mobile phone plans and travel cards (A$4.40 a day in Melbourne).</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/city-share-house-rents-eat-up-most-of-newstart-leaving-less-than-100-a-week-to-live-on-123772">City share-house rents eat up most of Newstart, leaving less than $100 a week to live on</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>What is different now than for pre-COVID unemployment was that business shutdowns thrust people who had reliable earnings – and accompanying high rents and mortgages in metropolitan areas – onto JobSeeker and JobKeeper payments.</p>
<p>The chart below shows the change in rental affordability for a number of household types before the pandemic and during the Coronavirus Supplement stages (i.e. payments of $550, then $250, then $150).</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391075/original/file-20210323-19-yikwe6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391075/original/file-20210323-19-yikwe6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391075/original/file-20210323-19-yikwe6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=311&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391075/original/file-20210323-19-yikwe6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=311&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391075/original/file-20210323-19-yikwe6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=311&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391075/original/file-20210323-19-yikwe6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391075/original/file-20210323-19-yikwe6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391075/original/file-20210323-19-yikwe6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Affordable rents by household types with supplement and without.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For example, when their income was highest during the $550 stage, two singles sharing could afford rent of $430 per week. Once the supplement ends and is replaced by the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/it-breaks-my-heart-jobseekers-hit-back-at-25-a-week-dole-increase-20210225-p575p9.html">$25-a-week increase in JobSeeker</a> payment, affordable rent declines to only $230 per week or $115 each.</p>
<p>Rental affordability for single-parent households is notable here because the COVID Supplement was payable to one person only. Once the supplement is withdrawn, they will again be disadvantaged relative to other households because they will not be receiving the increase in the JobSeeker payment. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/after-covid-well-need-a-rethink-to-repair-australias-housing-system-and-the-economy-145437">After COVID, we'll need a rethink to repair Australia's housing system and the economy</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What sort of job losses can we expect?</h2>
<p>It is hard to predict exactly how many people will lose their jobs when JobKeeper ends. What we do know is the economic recovery in Victoria has lagged behind the other states. We also know that at the end of December 2020 <a href="https://theconversation.com/victorians-struggle-to-exit-jobkeeper-as-the-schemes-end-looms-155288">1.55 million people</a> were on JobKeeper and a large proportion of them (626,000) were in Victoria. </p>
<p>Economist Jeff Borland <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kE4f5qxNQwdh5Xp_6l2Cu-HrjiZvfkrB/view">conservatively estimates</a> national job losses could range between 125,000 and 250,000. It is reasonable to expect as many as half of these could be in Victoria.</p>
<p>Our analysis also shows there are worrying signs that the economic recovery celebrated in the January labour force data was not sustained in February. The latest data provided to a <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/COVID-19/COVID19">Senate inquiry</a> into COVID-19 show JobSeeker recipients increased by 7,267 between <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/DocumentStore.ashx?id=60c91b42-dde2-415f-9f9b-7d5fd3935cb6">January</a> and <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/DocumentStore.ashx?id=9c1805cb-fe51-419b-8a7b-61315c64c302">February</a>. The increase in Victoria could be attributed to the temporary Christmas retail boom, but in states like New South Wales and Queensland claims decreased slightly.</p>
<p>While <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-17/jobkeeper-end-will-hit-these-postcodes-hardest/13242400?nw=0">fewer people</a> will lose their jobs in other states than in Victoria when JobKeeper is withdrawn, they are not immune to this income shock. We created the chart below to show the overall scale of the coming problem of rental stress when the fortnightly $150 Coronavirus Supplement disappears and is replaced by the $50 JobSeeker increase.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391066/original/file-20210323-21-1c3civ6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391066/original/file-20210323-21-1c3civ6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391066/original/file-20210323-21-1c3civ6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391066/original/file-20210323-21-1c3civ6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391066/original/file-20210323-21-1c3civ6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=339&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391066/original/file-20210323-21-1c3civ6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391066/original/file-20210323-21-1c3civ6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391066/original/file-20210323-21-1c3civ6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Households and people on income support falling under poverty line as COVID supplement reduces (based on DSS data February 2021)</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Once the supplement reduced to $250 per fortnight, singles and single parents with two children were below the poverty line. When it was reduced to $150, the number of household types in poverty increased again. From April 1, all income support recipients – covering more than 2.6 million people including children – will be waking up to poverty and the prospect of extreme rental stress.</p>
<h2>What can be done to avoid this?</h2>
<p>So how can governments prevent people from falling off the rental cliff? It is unlikely to be achieved by introducing <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-10/tourism-coronavirus-pandemic-assistance-package-cheap-flights/13235432">cut-price flights</a> to Far North Queensland. </p>
<p>A new range of strategies will be needed. These include options <a href="https://www.acoss.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Strengthening-Income-Support-Bill-2021.pdf">advocated by ACOSS and others</a> to increase the maximum rate of Commonwealth Rent Assistance by 50%, increase the JobSeeker base rate above the poverty line and introduce rental stress grants targeted at individuals who need help.</p>
<p>Over the longer term, there is also a need to adopt strategic approaches to increase the supply of affordable rental housing such as those <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/housing/policy-analysis/increasing-affordable-rental-supply">recommended by researchers</a> at the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI).</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/157244/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Liss Ralston receives funding from AHURI</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simone Casey does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>JobKeeper and the COVID Supplement to JobSeeker benefits will be gone in a week. The combined effect will be to halve some recipients’ incomes and the rent they can afford.Simone Casey, Research Associate, Future Social Service Institute, RMIT UniversityLiss Ralston, Adjunct associate, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1565892021-03-22T18:52:43Z2021-03-22T18:52:43ZAs one gets out, another gets in: thousands of students are ‘hot-bedding’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390767/original/file-20210322-13-146v1cj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C62%2C6000%2C3925&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/beautiful-young-girl-pink-pajamas-calmly-263078642">Mendelex/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>International students commonly share bedrooms so they can afford the rent. What is perhaps much more surprising is that our research suggests thousands are “<a href="https://www.apia.org.nz/apia-blog/hot-bedding-what-landlords-need-to-know">hot-bedding</a>” – their beds are available to them for only some hours of the day or night so others can use them the rest of the time. If <a href="https://internationalstudentsandhousing.files.wordpress.com/2020/09/international-students-and-housing-survey-report-final-report.pdf">our survey</a> of more than 7,000 international students renting privately in Sydney and Melbourne is representative of the <a href="https://internationaleducation.gov.au/research/international-student-data/Documents/MONTHLY%20SUMMARIES/2019/Dec%202019%20MonthlyInfographic.pdf">758,154 international students</a> in Australia in December 2019, this equates to about 22,750 students hot-bedding.</p>
<p>In our survey, 3% of all students answered yes to the question, “Do you have to hotbed (i.e. our bed is only available for a few hours of the day/night)?”. The survey also found about four in ten of these hot-bedding students were going without meals. And this was before <a href="https://theconversation.com/no-one-would-even-know-if-i-had-died-in-my-room-coronavirus-leaves-international-students-in-dire-straits-144128">nearly two-thirds of international students</a> lost their jobs in the COVID-19 pandemic. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/no-one-would-even-know-if-i-had-died-in-my-room-coronavirus-leaves-international-students-in-dire-straits-144128">'No one would even know if I had died in my room': coronavirus leaves international students in dire straits</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Another extraordinary finding is that 14% of hot-bedders said their employer had threatened them with visa cancellation (compared to 2% of non-hot-bedders). One in five (20%, compared to 5% of non-hot-bedders) answered yes when asked: “Has the landlord/real estate agent/property manager ever taken away your passport?”</p>
<p>These findings suggest a sizeable proportion of hot-bedders are struggling financially and in a vulnerable situation. Many said their circumstances were having a negative impact on their studies. </p>
<p>Despite this, almost eight in ten agreed or strongly agreed that they “enjoy living and studying in Australia”.</p>
<h2>Who are the hot-bedders?</h2>
<p>In our survey, 45% of hot-bedders were female. Just under two-thirds (65%) were university students, rather than studying at vocational or English language colleges. </p>
<p>Hot-bedding was spread across all age groups and countries of origin. Thus 4% were aged 18, a quarter were 19 to 21, 42% were 22 to 25, 18% were 26 to 30 and 11% were over 30. </p>
<p>Just under a third came from low-income countries, half came from middle-income countries and 15% from high-income countries.</p>
<h2>How do they feel about rent costs?</h2>
<p>Hot-bedders were generally satisfied with their rent – 23% disagreed with the statement, “I think the rent I pay is fair.” </p>
<p>However, one in two (51%) strongly agreed or agreed they worried about paying rent each week (compared to 35% for non-hot-bedders) and only 21% (36% non-hot-bedders) disagreed.</p>
<p>Most students (58%) living less than 40 minutes away from their education provider paid more than $250 a week in rent. </p>
<p>About four in ten hot-bedders agreed they “go without necessities like food so I can pay for my accommodation” and had failed to make a rent payment because of a lack of funds. The rates for students who didn’t hot-bed were two in ten.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="student with head in hands looks at how little money they have" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390774/original/file-20210322-19-1nochcj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390774/original/file-20210322-19-1nochcj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390774/original/file-20210322-19-1nochcj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390774/original/file-20210322-19-1nochcj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=498&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390774/original/file-20210322-19-1nochcj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=626&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390774/original/file-20210322-19-1nochcj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=626&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390774/original/file-20210322-19-1nochcj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=626&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many hot-bedding students have gone without meals because of lack of funds.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/freelance-man-not-have-salary-stressed-712764829">Simpili/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/god-i-miss-fruit-40-of-students-at-australian-universities-may-be-going-without-food-156584">'God, I miss fruit!' 40% of students at Australian universities may be going without food</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Almost half (48%) of hot-bedders agreed concern about paying the rent was having a negative impact on their studies.</p>
<h2>How do they view their accommodation?</h2>
<p>Despite having to hot-bed, just under eight in ten (78%) of these students said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the home they are renting.</p>
<p>Just over seven in ten (72%) agreed with the statement, “The home I rent is suitable for my needs.” Only 7% disagreed. </p>
<p>Only one in ten hot-bedders agreed the person they rent from did not keep the property well-maintained.</p>
<p>Just over one in four (27%) hot-bedders felt their home was overcrowded compared to 12% of non-hot-bedders. </p>
<p>The cramped situation appeared to have a negative impact on their academic work. About one in three (35%) agreed or strongly agreed that “the condition of my accommodation has a negative impact on my studies”, compared to 13% of those who didn’t hot-bed.</p>
<p>Remarkably, just under one in four (23%) hot-bedding students answered “yes” when asked if the “balcony of the property is used as a bedroom”, compared to 5% of students who did not hot-bed. A similar percentage of hot-bedders (and 4% of non-hot-bedders) said the garage is used as a bedroom.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/informal-and-illegal-housing-on-the-rise-as-our-cities-fail-to-offer-affordable-places-to-live-116065">Informal and illegal housing on the rise as our cities fail to offer affordable places to live</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How secure do they feel?</h2>
<p>Most hot-bedders reported they had a good relationship with their landlord or real estate agent. Only 6% said it was “bad” or “not very good”.</p>
<p>Close to half (45%) of hot-bedders said the person they pay rent to lives in the same accommodation. It’s unclear whether this is the actual landlord, or a person who sub-lets the property.</p>
<p>Two in three hot-bedders sensed they “could stay in this rental property as long as they want to”. Despite the seemingly good relationship of most hot-bedders with their landlord, just under one in three agreed that if they “complain about the standards of the property and maintenance problems [they] might be asked to leave”. </p>
<p>Although maintenance did not seem to be a major issue, just under four in ten hot-bedders agreed they were concerned the rent might be increased if they did ask for repairs. And 38% were anxious they “might be told to leave [their] property and be given a short time to leave”. </p>
<p>When asked, “In the last year, have you ever felt that you could become homeless?”, 37% answered yes. This compares to 17% of non-hot-bedders.</p>
<p>Just under four in ten hot-bedders agreed or strongly agreed that “stress around the possibility of losing my accommodation is affecting my academic studies”.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-coronavirus-impacts-are-devastating-for-international-students-in-private-rental-housing-134792">Why coronavirus impacts are devastating for international students in private rental housing</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What is their employment status?</h2>
<p>Half of the students who hot-bed had paid work at the time of the survey and of those employed 48% reported that their landlord employed them, compared to 17% of the other students in paid work.</p>
<p>A large proportion felt they were poorly paid and their job was insecure. Less than half of the hot-bedders felt they were well-paid. Only one in four disagreed with the statement, “My current job is insecure.”</p>
<p>Just over eight in ten said losing their job would cause them financial difficulties.</p>
<h2>Financial stress is widespread</h2>
<p>The chart below shows eight measures of financial stress adapted from the Australia Bureau of Statistics. We added an item on affordability of textbooks.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390764/original/file-20210322-21-1pn6xj2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="chart showing international students' responses to 8 questions relating to financial stress indicators" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390764/original/file-20210322-21-1pn6xj2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/390764/original/file-20210322-21-1pn6xj2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=747&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390764/original/file-20210322-21-1pn6xj2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=747&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390764/original/file-20210322-21-1pn6xj2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=747&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390764/original/file-20210322-21-1pn6xj2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=938&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390764/original/file-20210322-21-1pn6xj2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=938&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/390764/original/file-20210322-21-1pn6xj2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=938&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://internationalstudentsandhousing.files.wordpress.com/2020/09/international-students-and-housing-survey-report-final-report.pdf">The Conversation. Data: Author provided</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>On every measure students who hot-bed were two to three times more likely to have answered yes to the question, indicating financial stress. Perhaps the most alarming statistic is that 39% of hot-bedders went without meals. So did 20% of non-hot-bedders.</p>
<p>One in ten hot-bedders suffered from all eight indicators of financial stress. A worrying 34% of hot-bedders reported five or more indicators of financial stress. Only 9% of non-hot-bedders reported five stress indicators. Less than one in 100 endured all eight. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tracking-the-rise-of-room-sharing-and-overcrowding-and-what-it-means-for-housing-in-australia-107265">Tracking the rise of room sharing and overcrowding, and what it means for housing in Australia</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/156589/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alan Morris receives funding from Australian Research Council.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gaby Ramia receives funding from The Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Catherine Hastings does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Even before the pandemic added to their financial stresses, a survey of international students suggests more than 20,000 were renting beds that are available to them for only certain hours.Alan Morris, Professor, Institute of Public Policy and Governance, University of Technology SydneyCatherine Hastings, Assistant Researcher, Institute for Public Policy and Governance, University of Technology SydneyGaby Ramia, Professor of Policy and Society, Department of Government and International Relations, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1510952020-12-01T19:07:19Z2020-12-01T19:07:19ZWhat did COVID do to rental markets? Rents fell as owners switched from Airbnb<p>COVID-related travel restrictions and the sudden drop in tourism provided an ideal <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/natural-experiment">natural experiment</a> to examine the impact of shifts in the supply of short-term rental accommodation. Our <a href="http://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/348">research</a>, released today, found even modest reductions in Airbnb listings, as owners switched to longer-term rentals, increased supply of these properties. The result was lower local rents.</p>
<p>The COVID-19 pandemic caused various upheavals, with obvious impacts on health and <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/slowdown-covid-19-job-losses">employment</a>, as well as a big <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/industry/tourism-and-transport/overseas-arrivals-and-departures-australia/latest-release">drop in international migration</a>. The impacts of these changes on rental markets are extremely difficult to track, particularly the impacts on people on the margins of the rental housing system. We investigated these impacts by analysing online listings on common online platforms for share/low-rent housing and short-stay accommodation. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-coronavirus-hits-holiday-lettings-a-shift-to-longer-rentals-could-help-many-of-us-134036">As coronavirus hits holiday lettings, a shift to longer rentals could help many of us</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Listings data show images, prices and descriptions of rental housing. These data provide an insight into this largely <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0042098020915822">hidden</a> sector of the housing market.</p>
<p>Of particular concern are people who:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>are living in <a href="https://apo.org.au/sites/default/files/resource-files/2019-04/apo-nid232186.pdf">substandard</a> and/or unsafe rental housing while being required to stay home</p></li>
<li><p>have precarious tenures that put them at <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-12/foreign-student-evicted-from-perth-house-over-coronavirus-fears/11959530">risk of eviction</a> or displacement</p></li>
<li><p>are living in overcrowded housing with shared facilities that <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33137155/">increase risks of disease transmission</a>.</p></li>
</ul>
<h2>What happened to these rentals?</h2>
<p>Online <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19491247.2020.1805147">platforms have transformed</a> the ways in which people search for and advertise housing, so offer unique insights into the market.</p>
<p>We looked at listings of share housing and lower-cost rentals on Flatmates.com.au, Gumtree.com.au and Realestate.com.au between April and May 2020. We also looked at short-stay rentals on Airbnb.</p>
<p>Our primary focus was on Sydney, where Australia’s rental affordability pressures are <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/53619/AHURI-Final-Report-323-The-supply-of-affordable-private-rental-housing-in-Australian-cities-short-term-and-longer-term-changes.pdf">most extreme</a>. </p>
<p>We found demand for, and supply of, risky rental accommodation in Sydney continued during the pandemic.</p>
<p>In snapshots taken during lockdown restrictions in Sydney in April and May 2020, there were:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>402 advertisements for rooms or granny flats on Gumtree.com.au in May</p></li>
<li><p>4,731 share accommodation listings on Flatmates.com.au in April</p></li>
<li><p>2,923 people seeking accommodation via Flatmates.com.au in April.</p></li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Screenshot from Flatmates website" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372143/original/file-20201201-17-11qr7r8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372143/original/file-20201201-17-11qr7r8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372143/original/file-20201201-17-11qr7r8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372143/original/file-20201201-17-11qr7r8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372143/original/file-20201201-17-11qr7r8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372143/original/file-20201201-17-11qr7r8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372143/original/file-20201201-17-11qr7r8.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Demand for and supply of shared accommodation on online platforms like Flatmates continued during the pandemic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flatmates.com.au/">Flatmates</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-spurred-action-on-rough-sleepers-but-greater-homelessness-challenges-lie-ahead-147102">COVID spurred action on rough sleepers but greater homelessness challenges lie ahead</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Which renters are most at risk?</h2>
<p>Of additional concern are older people in risky rentals who are <a href="https://www.health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-health-alert/advice-for-people-at-risk-of-coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-covid-19-advice-for-older-people">more at risk</a> of severe COVID-19 symptoms. More than 6,400 renters over the age of 60 lived in share (“group”) households in Sydney at the time of the <a href="http://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/348">2016 census</a>. It was estimated over 4,600 were homeless.</p>
<p>People working in public-facing roles such as healthcare workers, and in food and accommodation services are also at <a href="https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/L20-0175?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori%3Arid%3Acrossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub++0pubmed&">risk of virus transmission</a>. Many of them live in unsuitable rental housing due to the low-paid and transient nature of their work.</p>
<p>According to the <a href="http://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/348">2016 census</a>, over 8,400 healthcare and social assistance workers were living in rented group households in Sydney. Over 1,800 were estimated to be homeless. One Flatmates.com listing clearly expressed the difficulties healthcare workers’ face when seeking a share rental during the pandemic:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>For those who think I might have COVID just because I’m a nurse, I can assure you that I don’t have COVID!!! :P (Flatmates “person” listing, April 2020)</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The difficulties lower-income renters face in Australia’s major cities reflect a chronic <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/323">undersupply of social and affordable housing</a>. Pre-pandemic <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/305">studies</a> suggested the rise of short-term accommodation platforms such as Airbnb added to these pressures by draining properties from the permanent rental supply.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/as-demand-for-crisis-housing-soars-surely-we-can-tap-into-covid-19-vacancies-143815">As demand for crisis housing soars, surely we can tap into COVID-19 vacancies</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What happened to short-term rental housing?</h2>
<p>We looked at Airbnb listings in Sydney and Hobart between March and April 2020. Using <a href="http://insideairbnb.com/">Inside Airbnb</a> data, we found the number of whole homes listed on Airbnb for more than 60 days a year decreased by 22% in Hobart and 14% in Sydney in that time.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Airbnb home page for Sydney" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372144/original/file-20201201-15-1h7a23i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372144/original/file-20201201-15-1h7a23i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372144/original/file-20201201-15-1h7a23i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372144/original/file-20201201-15-1h7a23i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=295&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372144/original/file-20201201-15-1h7a23i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372144/original/file-20201201-15-1h7a23i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/372144/original/file-20201201-15-1h7a23i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">There were significant falls in home listings on Airbnb in Sydney and Hobart after the pandemic hit.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.airbnb.com.au/sydney-australia/stays">Airbnb</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Vacancy rates, rental bonds data and Flatmates.com.au listings suggest these decreases occurred because Airbnb owners <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/news/short-term-holidays-lets-switch-back-to-longer-term-rentals-amid-coronavirus-crisis-944248/">converted their properties into permanent rentals</a>.</p>
<p>This translated to better outcomes for local renters. Even modest reductions in Airbnb listings were associated with increased permanent rental supply and lower local rents. </p>
<p>Median rents decreased in the June quarter in nine selected Sydney local government areas (LGAs) and Hobart’s four main LGAs. Rents fell by 2-9% in both cities.</p>
<p>Hobart was a particularly interesting case study because of its large penetration of Airbnb. The Airbnb market in Hobart City LGA is about 11% of the total private rental market. It experienced a much smaller drop in rental demand than Sydney because of its smaller number of temporary overseas migrants. </p>
<p>The drop in rents was directly proportional to the size of the Airbnb market in each LGA. Hobart City with an Airbnb density of 11% had a decrease in median rents of 9%. Glenorchy with an Airbnb density of 1% had only a 2% decrease in median rents.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ever-wondered-how-many-airbnbs-australia-has-and-where-they-all-are-we-have-the-answers-129003">Ever wondered how many Airbnbs Australia has and where they all are? We have the answers</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How to improve life for renters on the margins</h2>
<p>Our study contributes to a growing body of evidence on ways to improve the housing circumstances of lower-income renters and people at risk of homelessness.</p>
<p>Government action, such as increased <a href="https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/jobseeker-payment">JobSeeker</a> and <a href="https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/subjects/payments-and-services-during-coronavirus-covid-19/if-you-get-income-from-jobkeeper-payment">JobKeeper</a> payments during the pandemic, has helped people to continue to pay rent and avoid resorting to precarious rental situations. However, even with these increases low-income renters <a href="https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/national/2020/12/01/rent-affordability-australia/">can struggle to pay</a> rent in unaffordable markets.</p>
<p>Obviously, <a href="https://communityhousing.org.au/media-releases/budget-needs-to-go-beyond-loans-to-boost-housing-and-construction/">increasing the supply</a> of <a href="https://www.vic.gov.au/homes-victoria-housing-explainer">social and affordable housing</a> would reduce dependence on the precarious and marginal rental market.</p>
<p>Similarly, a permanent increase in income-support payments such as JobSeeker and/or <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/housing-support/programmes-services/commonwealth-rent-assistance">Commonwealth Rent Assistance</a> would enable more households to get adequate housing without extreme financial stress.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/1-billion-per-year-or-less-could-halve-rental-housing-stress-146397">$1 billion per year (or less) could halve rental housing stress</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Higher regulation of the private rental sector would increase security for tenants and improve accommodation standards. We could look to New Zealand’s “<a href="https://www.tenancy.govt.nz/about-tenancy-services/news/healthy-homes-standards-announced/">healthy homes</a>” framework for inspiration.</p>
<p>Finally, to preserve permanent housing supply in high-demand markets, states should impose controls on short-term Airbnb-style rentals.</p>
<p>These steps are critical to provide safe and secure accommodation for those on the margins of housing markets as part of Australia’s post-pandemic recovery.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/151095/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Caitlin Buckle receives funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicole Gurran receives funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC) and the Australian Housing & Urban Research Institute(AHURI). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Patrick Harris receives funding from The Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI). He is affiliated with the Public Health Association of Australia. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Phibbs receives funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tess Lea receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute. She is affiliated with Healthabitat. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rashi Shrivastava does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Analysis of online listings on common online platforms shows even modest reductions in Airbnb listings increased supply of longer-term rentals. The result was lower local rents.Caitlin Buckle, Research Associate in Housing Studies, University of SydneyNicole Gurran, Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, University of SydneyPatrick Harris, Senior Research Fellow, (Acting) Deputy Director, CHETRE, UNSW SydneyPeter Phibbs, Director, Henry Halloran Trust, University of SydneyRashi Shrivastava, Research Assistant, University of SydneyTess Lea, Associate Professor, Gender and Cultural Studies, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1471982020-10-05T19:14:20Z2020-10-05T19:14:20ZCutting JobSeeker payments will cause crippling rental stress in our cities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361514/original/file-20201005-20-1k6cqjd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C16%2C5472%2C3620&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sad-evicted-couple-moving-home-complaining-1383016025">Antonio Guillem/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As soon as the COVID-19 pandemic caused businesses to shut down, state governments acted to avoid evictions by <a href="https://theconversation.com/4-ways-to-be-a-good-landlord-in-a-time-of-coronavirus-136040">introducing moratoriums</a>, and the federal government <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-supplement-your-guide-to-the-australian-payments-that-will-go-to-the-extra-million-on-welfare-134358">introduced the Coronavirus Supplement</a> of A$550 on top of the fortnightly JobSeeker payment. These measures were intended to enable <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jul/21/jobseeker-payment-economists-on-why-its-dangerous-to-cut-covid-19-welfare-subsidy">1.6 million Australians</a> to ride out the pandemic-related business shutdowns.</p>
<p>This welcome but temporary support is being withdrawn. The JobSeeker supplement <a href="https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/coronavirus-supplement">was reduced</a> to A$250 a fortnight from September 26. It will end in January 2021. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361469/original/file-20201004-14-1a9ioym.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361469/original/file-20201004-14-1a9ioym.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=94&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361469/original/file-20201004-14-1a9ioym.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=94&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361469/original/file-20201004-14-1a9ioym.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=94&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361469/original/file-20201004-14-1a9ioym.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=118&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361469/original/file-20201004-14-1a9ioym.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=118&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361469/original/file-20201004-14-1a9ioym.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=118&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Timeline of Coronavirus Supplement.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our <a href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/1273/JobSeeker.pdf?1601859925">modelling for Victoria</a> shows the tapering down and withdrawal of the JobSeeker supplement will cause crippling rental stress for unemployed and underemployed private renters. In Melbourne, we have found the unemployed will face the same problem of rental stress as those on the former Newstart allowance experienced before the pandemic. (<a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-welfare/housing-affordability">Rental stress</a> is defined as a low-income household spending more than 30% of its income on housing costs.)</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/city-share-house-rents-eat-up-most-of-newstart-leaving-less-than-100-a-week-to-live-on-123772">City share-house rents eat up most of Newstart, leaving less than $100 a week to live on</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Before COVID, private <a href="https://www.anglicare.asn.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/rental-affordability-snapshot-2020.pdf?sfvrsn=4">rentals in nearly all capital cities</a> were <a href="https://theconversation.com/city-share-house-rents-eat-up-most-of-newstart-leaving-less-than-100-a-week-to-live-on-123772">already unaffordable</a> for unemployed and low-income renters <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-puts-casual-workers-at-risk-of-homelessness-unless-they-get-more-support-133782">even in typical share households</a>. What makes the scenario worse than before COVID are the sheer numbers affected. Many of these people may have had incomes prior to the shock that enabled them to maintain higher rents.</p>
<p>To illustrate the extent of the rental stress crisis we modelled rental affordability for the typical low-income household types in Victoria. The first chart shows the effects of the withdrawal of the supplement on rent affordability for two and three sharers and lone-parent families. The second chart later in this article shows the effects across a range of household types. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361471/original/file-20201004-14-31clut.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361471/original/file-20201004-14-31clut.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=824&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361471/original/file-20201004-14-31clut.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=824&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361471/original/file-20201004-14-31clut.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=824&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361471/original/file-20201004-14-31clut.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1036&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361471/original/file-20201004-14-31clut.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1036&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361471/original/file-20201004-14-31clut.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1036&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Impacts of Coronavirus Supplement withdrawal on three household types. (Median rents calculated from Real Estate Institute of Australia June 2020 data. Income calculated to include Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA) and lone-parent income includes Parenting Payment Single with Family Tax Benefit.)</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The modelling shows the interim rate (A$250) of the Coronavirus Supplement will help for a limited number of household types, particularly in the outer part of Melbourne and regional towns like Ballarat. However, it will not help many households in the inner region of Melbourne where rentals will remain unaffordable. This pattern is worrying because that’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/more-urban-sprawl-while-jobs-cluster-working-from-home-will-reshape-the-nation-144409">where many of the jobs will become available</a> once economic recovery is under way. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-coronavirus-will-deepen-the-inequality-of-our-suburbs-143432">Why coronavirus will deepen the inequality of our suburbs</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Households with more than one adult receiving the supplement will be better off than lone-parent households. That is because all the adults in those households receive the supplement, and lone-parent households generally need to rent properties with more than one bedroom.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361470/original/file-20201004-16-u4qjcm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361470/original/file-20201004-16-u4qjcm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=2060&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361470/original/file-20201004-16-u4qjcm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=2060&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361470/original/file-20201004-16-u4qjcm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=2060&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361470/original/file-20201004-16-u4qjcm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=2588&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361470/original/file-20201004-16-u4qjcm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=2588&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361470/original/file-20201004-16-u4qjcm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=2588&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Impacts of Coronavirus Supplement withdrawal on major rental household types. (Median rents calculated from Real Estate Institute of Australia June 2020 data. Income calculated to include Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA) and lone-parent income includes Parenting Payment Single with Family Tax Benefit.)</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The scenario here <a href="https://www.anglicare.asn.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/special-release-rental-affordability-update.pdf?sfvrsn=4">plays out across Australia</a>, but is particularly bad for Victorians because the extended lockdown has deferred recovery. </p>
<h2>COVID impacts have hit low-income households hardest</h2>
<p>Is is important to note that the COVID economic shock has hit low-income households particularly hard. Those in <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-coronavirus-will-deepen-the-inequality-of-our-suburbs-143432">precarious work</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/5-charts-on-how-covid-19-is-hitting-australias-young-adults-hard-147254">young adults</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/low-paid-young-women-the-grim-truth-about-who-this-recession-is-hitting-hardest-141892">women</a> have had the biggest hits to their incomes and jobs. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361465/original/file-20201004-18-m19eli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361465/original/file-20201004-18-m19eli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361465/original/file-20201004-18-m19eli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361465/original/file-20201004-18-m19eli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=489&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361465/original/file-20201004-18-m19eli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=614&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361465/original/file-20201004-18-m19eli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=614&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361465/original/file-20201004-18-m19eli.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=614&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Map of JobSeeker increases indicating pandemic impacts on employment across Melbourne.</span>
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</figure>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-puts-casual-workers-at-risk-of-homelessness-unless-they-get-more-support-133782">Coronavirus puts casual workers at risk of homelessness unless they get more support</a>
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<p>In Melbourne increases in unemployment are concentrated in inner-city suburbs like Brunswick and St Kilda. This reflects the loss of jobs for young people in hospitality and retail. </p>
<p>Job losses have also occurred in working-class areas such as Brimbank, Melton and Hume. These losses reflect the impact of shutdowns in the processing, manufacturing and transport sectors.</p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/ANZ_Research/status/1305694447154466819">It is predicted</a> it will take some time for earnings to return to pre-COVID levels. This means renters who have not been able to get jobs will once again be in dire <a href="https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/consumer/2020/09/01/rent-jobseeker-affordability/">rental stress in most capital cities</a> when the Coronavirus Supplement cuts out in January 2021.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1305694447154466819"}"></div></p>
<h2>What about household savings?</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.finder.com.au/cst">Finder Consumer Sentiment Tracker</a> shows household savings have temporarily increased. But it is difficult to assess how much reserve people on JobSeeker payment have been able to lay down, relative to the loss of normal earnings. Any optimism on this count needs to be tempered by the observation that the Coronavirus Supplement did not start until late April and early May — five to six weeks after the job losses started. </p>
<p>Our modelling shows that even during the temporary tapering down of the supplement until January 2021, there will be a rental crisis in cities like Melbourne. These findings can be extrapolated to other capital cities and the scenario will be worse in Sydney. </p>
<p>Cutting the JobSeeker supplement is risky policy because the labour market has not “snapped back”. People who depend on unemployment payments will now face the same problem of rental stress as those on NewStart experienced before the pandemic. But this stress <a href="https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/consumer/2020/09/01/rent-jobseeker-affordability/">will be more widespread</a> than before. This underscores the need to develop policy that counters the risk of rental stress.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/if-we-realised-the-true-cost-of-homelessness-wed-fix-it-overnight-143998">If we realised the true cost of homelessness, we'd fix it overnight</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/147198/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simone Casey is a Research Associate at Per Capita</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Liss Ralston Has received funding from AHURI.</span></em></p>The impacts of the pandemic on jobs and incomes have been so widespread and severe that low-income households can afford very few properties despite rents falling in some parts of our capital cities.Simone Casey, Research Associate, Future Social Service Institute, RMIT UniversityLiss Ralston, Adjunct associate, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1429072020-08-03T20:00:39Z2020-08-03T20:00:39Z‘Uprooting, no matter how small a plant you are, is a trauma’: older women renters are struggling<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350081/original/file-20200729-21-1mvylp1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C22%2C3822%2C2525&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sad-older-woman-empty-room-boxes-128820712">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Older women renters are struggling in an <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-insecurity-of-private-renters-how-do-they-manage-it-77324">insecure</a> and <a href="https://www.anglicare.asn.au/research-advocacy/the-rental-affordability-snapshot">unaffordable</a> rental housing market. A combination of high rents and low incomes leaves many living in substandard housing and unable to afford necessities like food and energy bills.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.26183/5edf0f0d75cf8">My research</a> shows rent increases further stress household budgets, and evictions magnify these risks. COVID-19 makes the need for reform even more urgent. Secure housing is the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/19491247.2020.1756599">first line of community defence</a> against the pandemic.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/400-000-women-over-45-are-at-risk-of-homelessness-in-australia-142906">400,000 women over 45 are at risk of homelessness in Australia</a>
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<h2>Unaffordable, substandard rentals</h2>
<p>Rental stress occurs when households spend more than 30% of their income on rent. On average, low-income households spend “<a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/research/completed/renters">almost 40% of their disposable income on rent</a>”. </p>
<p>Many households experience relatively short periods of rental stress. However, older low-income renters have very limited options.</p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.26183/5edf0f0d75cf8">In a report released today</a>, single older women living on low incomes describe to me how high and rising rents left them struggling to meet day-to-day costs. Many paid rent before they bought food or paid power bills because the alternative was eviction. This is why the <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/research/completed/renters">Productivity Commission</a> describes rental affordability as a “driver of disadvantage” for low-income households.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350068/original/file-20200729-17-157n9jw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Chart showing percentages of income that low-income households and other households spend on rent" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350068/original/file-20200729-17-157n9jw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350068/original/file-20200729-17-157n9jw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=304&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350068/original/file-20200729-17-157n9jw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=304&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350068/original/file-20200729-17-157n9jw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=304&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350068/original/file-20200729-17-157n9jw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350068/original/file-20200729-17-157n9jw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350068/original/file-20200729-17-157n9jw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pc.gov.au/research/completed/renters">Productivity Commission</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/growing-numbers-of-renters-are-trapped-for-years-in-homes-they-cant-afford-125216">Growing numbers of renters are trapped for years in homes they can't afford</a>
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<p>For example, a rent increase left Tracey, a participant in my research, with only $30 after other essential costs were covered. She described her efforts to survive as “like my job. I’d go to one [charity] where they had the food cupboard and fresh produce” and to another where she could get a monthly food voucher. This experience was common.</p>
<p>To reduce their rental costs women often lived in substandard housing. For example, Michelle moved house seven times to find more affordable housing. She described her most recent house:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Gaps around all the windows and all the doors where literally, when it was windy, the curtain would blow and the wooden shutters, the wooden blinds, would actually blow.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>While the rent was affordable, the cost for the house “rose astronomically” due to the need to use a heater throughout winter. Another participant, Toni, bought heavy curtains to try to block out the cold in her rental and, in an extreme example, clad the outside of two properties with tarpaulins to reduce draughts.</p>
<h2>Rental insecurity</h2>
<p>Older women also lived with high levels of rental insecurity. Private renters move more often than people in other housing tenures. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350071/original/file-20200729-21-1a3ljwa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Chart showing how often private renters, social housing tenants and home owners move house." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350071/original/file-20200729-21-1a3ljwa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350071/original/file-20200729-21-1a3ljwa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350071/original/file-20200729-21-1a3ljwa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350071/original/file-20200729-21-1a3ljwa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350071/original/file-20200729-21-1a3ljwa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350071/original/file-20200729-21-1a3ljwa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350071/original/file-20200729-21-1a3ljwa.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pc.gov.au/research/completed/renters">Productivity Commission</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Most older Australians wish to age in place in a familiar home and community. This is not an option for many older renters.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/for-australians-to-have-the-choice-of-growing-old-at-home-here-is-what-needs-to-change-91488">For Australians to have the choice of growing old at home, here is what needs to change</a>
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<p>Older renters face a <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/research/completed/renters">higher risk of eviction</a>. Landlord decisions to repurpose housing or increase rents can trigger involuntary moves. These are <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2014.963522">recognised</a> drivers of first-time homelessness in older age.</p>
<p>For low-income older renters moving house drives financial risks. Moving house can be expensive. Costs include bond (typically four weeks’ rent, paid in advance), disconnection and reconnection of utilities, and removalists or vehicle hire. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Small van packed with household belongings" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350083/original/file-20200729-13-6xzrax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350083/original/file-20200729-13-6xzrax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350083/original/file-20200729-13-6xzrax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350083/original/file-20200729-13-6xzrax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350083/original/file-20200729-13-6xzrax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350083/original/file-20200729-13-6xzrax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350083/original/file-20200729-13-6xzrax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The costs of moving house can set back renters’ budgets for months.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/cardboard-boxes-furniture-car-on-city-753721615">Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>As Gwen explained, “It’s all a cost factor.” For women living on already stretched budgets the risks are magnified.</p>
<p>Many women borrowed money to cover moving costs. This left them in debt that, as Gail explained, could take “months” to recover from. </p>
<p>Most downsized their possessions to make moving house cheaper and more manageable. Jenny explained:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>You’ve got no choice. You’re parting with things that – well everything you’ve got together are part of your belongings and part of who you are and who you’ve established yourself to be. […] It’s part of your home.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Michelle drew parallels with the experiences of people “whose house caught fire or who’d had a flood” – only she was able to make choices about what to keep and what to give away.</p>
<p>The emotional costs were immense. Women described the stress and disappointment of forced relocations. Jenny explained the need to emotionally detach from her house: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>And once you know you’re moving, all of a sudden that house is no longer your home. You get to the point of saying, okay, this house isn’t mine – it’s only a house where I’m living at the moment.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Relocating, Alice explained: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>[…] means rifling through my paltry possessions fairly often and that I find upsets me a bit. […] uprooting, no matter how small a plant you are, is a trauma. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>I report on these experiences of having to move house in further detail in a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0144686X20000768">just-released research paper</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-sort-of-housing-do-older-australians-want-and-where-do-they-want-to-live-120987">What sort of housing do older Australians want and where do they want to live?</a>
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<h2>It is time for reform</h2>
<p>Our federal government needs to permanently raise the JobSeeker payment and act on housing affordability to give low-income renters a fighting chance.</p>
<p>At a state level, it is time to end “no grounds” evictions. “With cause” measures, as recently introduced in Victoria, better balance tenants’ needs for housing security with the rights of landlords to repurpose properties when required. </p>
<p>We also need quantified minimum rental housing standards. New Zealand’s <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2014.963522">Healthy Homes</a> standards can be a model for us. These standards ensure only properties that are healthy and sound go to market.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/chilly-house-mouldy-rooms-heres-how-to-improve-low-income-renters-access-to-decent-housing-116749">Chilly house? Mouldy rooms? Here's how to improve low-income renters’ access to decent housing</a>
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<p>The number of older Australians who rent is projected to increase over the next decade as <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/australias-welfare/home-ownership-and-housing-tenure">home ownership levels decline</a>. The stories of older women in the private rental sector are a warning about the risks that declining housing affordability and rental insecurity pose to this growing group. They are the “canary in the coalmine” for Australia’s housing system.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/142907/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This research was funded by an Australian Research Council DECRA Fellowship (Grant DE150100861). Emma has also recently received funding from the Australian Research Council Linkage Program, the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI), Common Equity NSW and Landcom. </span></em></p>High rents and insecurity are constant sources of financial and emotional stress for low-income women. They describe what it’s like struggling to survive and being one step away from being homeless.Emma Power, Senior Research Fellow, Geography and Urban Studies, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1359292020-04-08T02:22:09Z2020-04-08T02:22:09ZRents can and should be reduced or suspended for the coronavirus pandemic<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/326304/original/file-20200408-108597-19iiay0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C34%2C4598%2C3040&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/angry-man-collector-scared-girl-standing-351301334">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The National Cabinet <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-04-01/coronavirus-eviction-moratorium-in-australia-what-does-it-mean/12105188">announced a moratorium on evictions</a> just over a week ago in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As government ministers and commentators have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/apr/02/real-estate-agents-criticised-for-suggesting-tenants-consider-using-superannuation-to-pay-rent">tried to make clear</a>, it’s intended only to stop evictions – not rent payments. But the sudden losses of jobs and incomes mean many households cannot continue to pay pre-crisis rents. </p>
<p>Tenants are seeking rent reductions or waivers from their landlords, with disturbingly mixed results. It is time for governments to step in and resolve the issue, by legally mandating rent reductions across the board. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-housing-evictions-must-be-suspended-to-defend-us-against-coronavirus-134148">Why housing evictions must be suspended to defend us against coronavirus</a>
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<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02673037.2019.1644297">Recent analysis</a> of renter and landlord household finances clearly shows the latter group are much better placed to take a financial hit from this pandemic.</p>
<p>Up to now the prime minister has encouraged tenants and landlords to make individual arrangements. In the absence of any government guidance, agents’ and tenants’ representatives agree on this much: the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/a-mess-renters-landlords-and-agents-face-coronavirus-quagmire-20200406-p54hj9.html">situation is a mess</a>. </p>
<p>Some landlords and agents are responding sympathetically. Others are hesitant, apparently wary voluntary reductions may void their insurance. Some are insisting on full payment, or even increasing rents. And some were <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/apr/02/real-estate-agents-criticised-for-suggesting-tenants-consider-using-superannuation-to-pay-rent">advising tenants to draw on their superannuation</a> to pay rent – until <a href="https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/articles/asic-letter-unlicensed-financial-advice-by-real-estate-agents-to-tenants/">ASIC warned them off</a>. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1245907583149330432"}"></div></p>
<h2>Why should government step in?</h2>
<p>Yesterday the National Cabinet <a href="https://www.pm.gov.au/media/update-coronavirus-measures-070420">addressed commercial tenancies</a>, but again left aside residential tenancies. It is within the power of state and territory governments to sort this mess out. They could legislate to reduce rents to some fraction of current rents or to zero – a complete suspension of rent liabilities for the declared duration of the pandemic. </p>
<p>With federal government co-operation, mortgage interest could receive the same treatment: mandatorily reduced or suspended for the pandemic, with principal repayments deferred.</p>
<p>This is the appropriate response to the peculiar nature of this crisis. The key point here is that government is deliberately suppressing economic activity to prevent transmission of the virus. With household incomes much reduced – and governments trying to top them up with new payments – it makes sense also to reduce household outflows. </p>
<h2>A look at renter and landlord finances</h2>
<p>The biggest household expenses to reduce are rent and interest. Here’s a quick sketch of incomes and outflows in the Australian private rental sector, using the latest available figures from the <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4130.0Main+Features12017-18?OpenDocument">ABS</a>, the <a href="https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/taxation-statistics-2016-17/resource/81cea29d-9c28-4f55-b818-314edf5d2cc2">ATO</a>, the <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/research/completed/renters">Productivity Commission</a> and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02673037.2019.1644297">detailed analysis</a> of previous rounds of data last year by Kath Hulse, Margaret Reynolds and me.</p>
<p>About 2.5 million Australian households rent privately. Just over half are in the bottom 40% of households by income. About one-third are low-income households paying more than 30% of their income in rent – and that’s before the COVID-19 income losses. </p>
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<p>
<em>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-coronavirus-impacts-are-devastating-for-international-students-in-private-rental-housing-134792">Why coronavirus impacts are devastating for international students in private rental housing</a>
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<p>Private renters pay about A$43 billion a year in rent to another, smaller group of households: Australia’s 1.3 million landlord households.</p>
<p>A little more than half of that rental income, A$22 billion, flows right out again to banks, as interest payments on investment loans. For 60% of landlords the interest outflow, plus other property-related expenses, is greater than their rental income: they are negatively geared. For them, rental income is not about putting food on the table; it is part-funding their investment or speculation in property. </p>
<p>This negatively geared group receives high incomes from work and other sources. Leaving aside their net rental losses, they have an average annual taxable income of about A$94,000, versus A$54,000 for non-landlords. Landlords’ other incomes may have taken a COVID-19 hit, but the most common occupations for this group – general managers, registered nurses and accountants – have probably fared better than the <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-130-billion-jobkeeper-payment-what-the-experts-think-135043">casual and gig workers</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-puts-casual-workers-at-risk-of-homelessness-unless-they-get-more-support-133782">Coronavirus puts casual workers at risk of homelessness unless they get more support</a>
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<p>Landlords who derive a net positive rental income mostly receive other income too. Their average annual taxable income is A$66,000 before net rent is added. </p>
<p>A relative few landlords, 16%, are post-retirement age. They may well rely on rental income for consumption, but, on average, they are rich, with almost A$3 million in net wealth.</p>
<p>A final point about landlords: they are more likely to have a partner than non-landlords. Presumably, then, they have access to shared resources when times are tough. The average disposable household income for landlords is A$135,000 a year, versus A$82,000 for non-landlords.</p>
<p>So, were tenants’ rental outflows reduced, landlord households are relatively well-positioned to bear a reduction in their rental incomes. </p>
<h2>How to ease the burden on landlords</h2>
<p>Landlords would, of course, also want to reduce their own outflows. They have probably already done so, because the pandemic has closed so many discretionary spending opportunities.</p>
<p>Another outflow – the A$3 billion a year they spend on real estate agents – would also be reduced, because agent fees are mostly calculated as a proportion of rent. This would cause pain for agents, but many of their activities – inspecting properties, handling eviction proceedings, conducting marketing campaigns – are not needed in a pandemic. <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-04/Fact_sheet_supporting_businesses_0.pdf">JobKeeper payments</a> could support their businesses.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/jobkeeper-payment-how-will-it-work-who-will-miss-out-and-how-to-get-it-135189">JobKeeper payment: how will it work, who will miss out and how to get it?</a>
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<p>The biggest pain would be the interest outflow. But let’s reduce or suspend interest too, for both owner-occupiers and landlords. This would reduce income for banks, which would have a problem when their own liabilities to whole funders come due. </p>
<p>And at that point a really useful negotiation could take place between banks and the Australian government. They could “sit down, talk to each other and work this out” – as the PM has suggested to millions of individuals – to keep finance operating, in return for reformed service and a public equity stake.</p>
<p>In ordinary times, rents and interest have a controversial role in the economy. They extract value from productive actors in the economy for the benefit of owners of property and financial assets, and are the object of speculation. But, as the political economist David Harvey <a href="https://www.versobooks.com/books/2814-the-limits-to-capital">observes</a>, they also have a co-ordinating role that drives competition and future production. </p>
<p>But these are not ordinary times. For the moment, at least, we don’t need rent to co-ordinate what the economy must do. We need to produce the essentials and whatever else can be safely done at home, with the rest of production in hibernation. And we need to ensure households retain enough income for the essentials, with reductions in income equitably shared.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/135929/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Martin receives funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI).</span></em></p>Representatives of tenants and agents agree that leaving individuals to try to sort out rent reductions has created a mess. It calls for government to step in to look after both renters and landlords.Chris Martin, Senior Research Fellow, City Futures Research Centre, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1347352020-04-01T18:11:25Z2020-04-01T18:11:25ZCoronavirus pandemic is an opportunity to create affordable cities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/324370/original/file-20200331-65547-1tuhn0l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=40%2C56%2C5115%2C3290&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Rent strikers from Toronto's Parkdale neighbourhood and fellow protesters gather outside Social Justices Tribunal Ontario in February, 2018. The group refused to pay rent after the landlord applied for an increase in rents</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Every crisis shows cracks in the current system and points a glaring spotlight on the inequities that were overlooked before. As rents are due at the end of each month, Canada’s rising neighbourhood and income inequality is hard to ignore.</p>
<p>The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated these problems as cities become less affordable. Will the country continue the mistakes of previous decades, leading to even more unequal cities? Or will this crisis offer an opportunity to create truly <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/12265934.2013.834643">just cities?</a></p>
<p>Through the <a href="http://neighbourhoodchange.ca/">Neighbourhood Change Research Partnership</a>, academics, NGO advocates and municipal policymakers teamed up to document and analyze inequality, income polarization and poverty across seven Canadian cities. <a href="https://www.ubcpress.ca/changing-neighbourhoods">The team’s findings</a> show that as governments shifted from traditional welfare state supports to neoliberal policies, cities became increasingly unequal and segregated.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/324373/original/file-20200331-65522-1le4hwl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/324373/original/file-20200331-65522-1le4hwl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324373/original/file-20200331-65522-1le4hwl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324373/original/file-20200331-65522-1le4hwl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324373/original/file-20200331-65522-1le4hwl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324373/original/file-20200331-65522-1le4hwl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/324373/original/file-20200331-65522-1le4hwl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (right) stands with Jason Chen, development director at Toronto Community Housing, during a visit to a housing development in Toronto’s Lawrence Heights neighbourhood ahead of a policy announcement, on Nov. 22, 2017.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young</span></span>
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<h2>Rising housing prices</h2>
<p>As the country transitioned to a service and knowledge economy during the 1980s and 1990s, it drew more Canadians to cities for work. At the same time, governments deregulated labour, land and financial markets, and promoted private housing construction — all while abandoning the building of social and rental housing. </p>
<p>Old warehouses and urban cores were gentrified during that period. Construction, real estate and finance became <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2013.06.010">increasingly important</a> to the Canadian economy — especially for large Canadian cities.</p>
<p>After the <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/the-2008-financial-crisis-through-the-eyes-of-some-major-players/article14322993/">global financial crisis</a> in the late 2000s, low interest rates and federal government guarantees for private mortgage lenders removed financial risk from banks and stimulated a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2427.2012.01184.x">real estate bubble</a> that increased consumer <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02723638.2013.778647">debt levels</a>. </p>
<p>Housing prices rose with these changes, and a greater share of new residential units became small condominiums or apartments. This was particularly the case in downtown neighbourhoods. Meanwhile, buyers in suburban areas continued to prefer detached houses that became more expensive and harder to afford.</p>
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<h2>Increasing inequality</h2>
<p>As a result, <a href="https://www.ubcpress.ca/asset/38254/1/9780774862042_Excerpt.pdf">income inequality across cities</a> increased. <a href="https://stats.oecd.org/glossary/detail.asp?ID=4842">Gini coefficients</a>, the gold standard for measuring inequality by social scientists, show this among individuals and among neighbourhoods between 1980 and 2015.</p>
<p>Inequality, however, is experienced differently across Canadian cities. Toronto saw increasing neighbourhood incomes in its urban core, and declining incomes in its aging inner suburbs that have been outflanked by growth in newly developed areas outside Toronto. Similar patterns were seen in Vancouver and Calgary. </p>
<p>In other cities, things are less extreme. Halifax, for instance, experienced <a href="http://perceptionsofchange.ca/Hotspotsofincomeinequality.pdf">hot spots of inequality</a>.</p>
<p>Across the seven cities studied by the Neighbourhood Change Research partnership, between 13 per cent and 32 per cent of neighbourhoods lost ground. That is, the incomes in those neighbourhoods decreased relative to the average income of a city’s neighbourhoods between 1980 and 2015. Winnipeg had the lowest share of neighbourhoods experiencing decline, while Calgary had the most. </p>
<p>Neighbourhoods losing ground tended to house racialized groups and immigrants in larger cities like Montréal, Toronto and Vancouver. Neighbourhood decline tended to occur in areas with urban Indigenous peoples in Winnipeg, refugees in Hamilton and seniors in Halifax.</p>
<h2>Social housing</h2>
<p>Government policies affect what is built in neighbourhoods and how income inequality is experienced across cities. Until the 1970s, federal programs supported the building of <a href="https://www.innovations.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/hpd_0401_dreier.pdf">affordable housing</a> in Canada, but a growing faith in the market to address housing needs undermined that commitment to affordability. By the 1990s, responsibility for social housing was transferred to the provinces. Many of them lacked the resources and the political commitment to invest in social housing. </p>
<p>The federal government instead encouraged building <a href="https://www.ubcpress.ca/changing-neighbourhoods">owner-occupied housing</a>. Provincial policies also pushed urban growth and increased pressures on local governments to allow developers to build luxury units. </p>
<p>By the 2010s, Canada transitioned from having some of the most affordable housing markets around the world to among the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1468-2427.2012.01184.x">least affordable</a>. Many Canadians now find themselves shut out of living in the country’s largest cities.</p>
<p>Planning policies and regulations played a key role. As early as the 1970s, Toronto and Vancouver encouraged urban infill and densification in downtown areas that inadvertently stimulated gentrification. It is a trend followed by other cities. </p>
<p>Canadian planners increasingly promoted urban revitalization and regeneration, supported by planning philosophies associated with <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/43030662">new urbanism</a>, sustainability, social mix and smart growth — all of which contributed to income polarization across neighbourhoods. </p>
<p>In recent years, programs have been created to renew public housing as seen with <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/real-estate/article-final-phases-of-regent-park-redevelopment-to-be-open-to-tender/">Toronto’s Regent Park</a>. These initiatives apply a mix of neoliberal and new-urbanist ideas to generate massive neighbourhood change. The effectiveness of this approach is yet to be seen.</p>
<h2>A future housing strategy</h2>
<p>In 2017, Canada announced a <a href="https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/nhs">National Housing Strategy</a>. Since then, $55 billion spread over 10 years has been promised to pursue it. In the face of the COVID-19 outbreak, the federal government implemented new stimulus policies, including a new <a href="https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/finance-and-investing/insured-mortgage-purchase-program">Insured Mortgage Purchase Program</a> that allows the federal government to buy up mortgages. </p>
<p>The stimulus money aims to ensure that the banks, lenders and construction companies remain profitable during the COVID-19 recession in the hopes that finance and real estate can continue to drive economic growth in the country. But this promotes additional risky lending to buyers of owner-occupied housing with the potential to further imbalance housing markets in Canadian cities, increasing debt levels and making rental housing even less affordable.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Affordability was a key issue in the federal election for many Canadians who rent their home.</span></figcaption>
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<p>A better policy would be to immediately build social housing and affordable rental units. Governments should also continue pandemic-induced policies like limiting loopholes for <a href="https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/rental-housing/covid-19-eviction-bans-and-suspensions-to-support-renters">eviction from commercial and private rental housing</a>. Otherwise, we will face a wave of “<a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/renovictions-housing-shortage-1.5400594">renovictions</a>” and rents will continue to be out of reach as entrepreneurs buy up properties in the economic recovery period of the outbreak.</p>
<p>Canada is ripe for implementing bold policies that build affordable housing to meet the diverse needs of its population. </p>
<p>Stimulus spending can have long-term impacts if it protects workers, allows tenants the right to remain in their units and invests in new public transit lines that make cities more sustainable. To fix inequality, we should also consider adopting a <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/opinion/opinion-universal-basic-income-1.5501938">universal basic income</a> and other redistributive policies. </p>
<p>We have a real chance at building socially just cities. Let’s not waste it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/134735/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Howard Ramos receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alan Walks receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). He is affiliated with the University of Toronto, the Canadian Association of Geographers, the Associate Collegiate Schools of Planning, and the Urban Affairs Association.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jill L Grant receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.</span></em></p>It’s time to reset Canada’s housing policies to make cities more affordable and more socially just places to live.Howard Ramos, Professor of Sociology, Dalhousie UniversityAlan Walks, Professor, Geography, University of TorontoJill L Grant, Professor Emeritus, School of Planning, Dalhousie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1340362020-03-25T02:00:41Z2020-03-25T02:00:41ZAs coronavirus hits holiday lettings, a shift to longer rentals could help many of us<p>Hidden within the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/mar/04/australian-hotels-face-ruin-if-coronavirus-impact-on-tourism-worsens-industry-chiefs-say?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Outlook">coronavirus-devastated tourism market</a> is a related impact: the loss of customers could be financially devastating for <a href="https://www.news.com.au/finance/money/room-to-grow-seniors-incomes-as-retirees-become-entrepreneurs/news-story/1477d2497a7a5844151aed2c47de5a89">small investors who dominate</a> short-term letting platforms such as Airbnb. After a decade of high returns, they may now wonder whether a return to the secure, if slightly less lucrative, long-term residential tenancy market is a safer bet. If investors shift from short-term letting to long-term rentals in search of greater security, this would benefit the <a href="https://theconversation.com/retiree-home-ownership-is-about-to-plummet-soon-little-more-than-half-will-own-where-they-live-115255">growing numbers of Australians in rental housing</a>.</p>
<p>With the coronavirus pandemic there are signs this is already happening. In Dublin, for example, a <a href="https://www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/property-mortgages/rise-of-64pc-in-rental-properties-across-dublin-in-midst-of-coronavirus-crisis-daft-report-39061809.html">64% rise in long-term rental properties</a> has been reported this month. It’s thought landlords are withdrawing from short-term listing sites and offering properties on the rental market.</p>
<p>Until now, rising property prices have forced more Australians into long-term renting even as short-term letting has <a href="https://theconversation.com/who-wins-and-who-loses-when-platforms-like-airbnb-disrupt-housing-and-how-do-you-regulate-it-106234">eaten into the supply</a> of properties. Young adults once dominated the rental market. It’s fast becoming a more permanent solution for families and even for <a href="https://theconversation.com/fall-in-ageing-australians-home-ownership-rates-looms-as-seismic-shock-for-housing-policy-120651">older Australians</a>. <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/0/88BF225497426920CA257F5C000989A8?Opendocument">One in three households</a> now rent their homes.</p>
<p>So, with almost <a href="https://theconversation.com/ever-wondered-how-many-airbnbs-australia-has-and-where-they-all-are-we-have-the-answers-129003">350,000 Australian properties having been listed on Airbnb</a>, the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-45083954">impact on local communities</a> can be significant. The increase in short-term lettings has been linked to <a href="https://www.thejournal.ie/readme/airbnb-we-are-putting-tourists-into-houses-and-homeless-people-in-hotels-4041501-Jun2018/">increasing homelessness</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ever-wondered-how-many-airbnbs-australia-has-and-where-they-all-are-we-have-the-answers-129003">Ever wondered how many Airbnbs Australia has and where they all are? We have the answers</a>
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<h2>Why landlords will look for security</h2>
<p>Beyond the immediate impact of coronavirus on tourism in Australia, it’s possible the increased risks in the holiday lettings market may provide the impetus to align the interests of landlords and tenants around longer-term tenure.</p>
<p>Despite Prime Minister Scott Morrison <a href="https://www.accomnews.com.au/2020/02/travel-platforms-blamed-for-forcing-operators-to-pay-refunds/">urging vacationers not to ask for refunds</a> from struggling operators, the tourism downturn has introduced a new level of risk for hosts. Airbnb has enacted a policy of <a href="https://www.accomnews.com.au/2020/02/travel-platforms-blamed-for-forcing-operators-to-pay-refunds/">full refunds for cancellations</a>, which is <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/business/small-business/incredibly-challenging-travel-shutdown-uncertainty-for-airbnb-20200323-p54cx0.html">reported to be</a> “completely obliterating smaller hosts”. </p>
<p>Other platforms are advising hosts to manage COVID-19 risk themselves. This leaves many investor-landlords <a href="https://www.pri.org/stories/2020-02-19/airbnb-hosts-try-navigate-coronavirus-challenges">navigating a complex, public health crisis largely on their own</a>.</p>
<p>With some of our most popular destinations <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-18/gold-coast-tourism-industry-declares-coronavirus-crisis/11977278">facing an existential crisis</a>, the impacts on small business, working families and low-income Australians may be both obscured but far-reaching, as the Airbnb example shows. Big players in the tourism industry can <a href="https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/thebriefing/max-opray/2020/03/06/tourism-ministers-seek-virus-help">lobby federal government</a> for support. Individual agents in the share economy are largely unprotected.</p>
<p>To date, the home-share concept has been a winner for property investors. Holiday letting has largely moved on from the original Airbnb model of sharing one’s primary residence. Letting through digital platforms with access to a global market of tourists has brought high-rent, low-risk dividends for people with investment properties.</p>
<p>The coronavirus pandemic, however, is revealing cracks in the foundations of the holiday-letting model. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/who-wins-and-who-loses-when-platforms-like-airbnb-disrupt-housing-and-how-do-you-regulate-it-106234">Who wins and who loses when platforms like Airbnb disrupt housing? And how do you regulate it?</a>
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<h2>What has happened to renters?</h2>
<p><a href="https://hbr.org/2019/04/research-when-airbnb-listings-in-a-city-increase-so-do-rent-prices">Research</a> suggests the digital disruption of the holiday accommodation sector has had significant impacts on local renters. There is little doubt tourist demand through online letting platforms has reduced the supply and increased prices of long-term rental housing in Australia, particularly <a href="https://theconversation.com/airbnb-whos-in-whos-out-and-what-this-tells-us-about-rental-impacts-in-sydney-and-melbourne-95865">in parts of our capital cities</a>. </p>
<p>Likewise in Europe, where <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2019/jun/20/ten-cities-ask-eu-for-help-to-fight-airbnb-expansion">one in four rental properties</a> in some tourist destinations is now a holiday property. This has led some governments <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/083115/top-cities-where-airbnb-legal-or-illegal.asp">to introduce strict regulation</a>. It includes licensing, fines and limits on the number of days a property can be let each year.</p>
<p>Australia has been <a href="https://theconversation.com/australian-governments-are-treading-lightly-around-airbnb-76389">slower to respond</a>, despite <a href="https://jamesons.com.au/blog/australias-new-subletting-legislation-will-affect-airbnb/">observations</a> that Airbnb is “impacting the rental market and … bringing the cost of housing up”. Even in Tasmania, which has the <a href="https://www.planningreform.tas.gov.au/updates/short-stay-accommodation-act-2019">strongest market regulation</a>, <a href="https://jamesons.com.au/blog/australias-new-subletting-legislation-will-affect-airbnb/">one in every 27</a> Hobart homes remains listed for short-term lease. Similarly, in Sydney and Melbourne, growth in the sector has <a href="https://theconversation.com/airbnb-whos-in-whos-out-and-what-this-tells-us-about-rental-impacts-in-sydney-and-melbourne-95865">driven up rental housing costs</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/airbnb-whos-in-whos-out-and-what-this-tells-us-about-rental-impacts-in-sydney-and-melbourne-95865">Airbnb: who's in, who's out, and what this tells us about rental impacts in Sydney and Melbourne</a>
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<p>In New South Wales, <a href="https://picagroup.com.au/end-short-term-letting/">fines for unregistered holiday lets have increased by 500%</a>. But councils struggle to enforce laws that landlords are either unaware of or <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-09-26/airbnb-faces-new-clampdown-in-push-to-regulate-accommodation/11551652">actively avoid</a> complying with.</p>
<p>Home ownership has become a privilege in Australia, one <a href="https://theconversation.com/rising-inequality-in-australia-isnt-about-incomes-its-almost-all-about-housing-119872">driving disadvantage</a> among those who are locked out. For a single age pensioner, for example <a href="https://www.anglicare.asn.au/research-advocacy/the-rental-affordability-snapshot/docs/default-source/default-document-library/final---rental-affordability-snapshot9d02da309d6962baacc1ff0000899bca">less than 1% of rental housing is affordable</a>. And long-term rental housing stock is <a href="https://theconversation.com/dangerous-to-human-health-thats-a-housing-problem-much-bigger-than-a-few-high-profile-apartment-blocks-120656">often of poor quality</a>.</p>
<h2>Time for a rethink</h2>
<p>Australia’s rental housing system <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-housing-system-needs-a-big-shake-up-heres-how-we-can-crack-this-130291">undeniably needs a rethink</a>. The sector presents a growing problem for state and territory governments, in terms of both the <a href="https://theconversation.com/growing-numbers-of-renters-are-trapped-for-years-in-homes-they-cant-afford-125216">supply of affordable rental properties</a> and finding the right <a href="https://theconversation.com/an-open-letter-on-rental-housing-reform-103825">balance between landlord and tenant rights</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/chilly-house-mouldy-rooms-heres-how-to-improve-low-income-renters-access-to-decent-housing-116749">Chilly house? Mouldy rooms? Here's how to improve low-income renters’ access to decent housing</a>
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<p>Government measures to increase the availability of rental housing through tax incentives, such as negative gearing, are unfortunately not restricted to landlords who offer longer-term tenure. To date there has been little financial incentive to eschew the higher returns of the Airbnb model for the relative stability of residential tenancies.</p>
<p>In times of crisis, Australians pull together. During the summer bushfires, we saw Airbnb hosts offer <a href="https://mashable.com/article/airbnb-australia-bushfire-accommodation/">emergency housing</a> to displaced families. They recognised the critical importance of a safe and secure home – a sanctuary. We need to recognise this critical function of home beyond times of crisis, to ensure every Australian has a <a href="https://percapita.org.au/our_work/home-for-good/">home for good</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-housing-system-needs-a-big-shake-up-heres-how-we-can-crack-this-130291">Australia's housing system needs a big shake-up: here's how we can crack this</a>
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<p><em>Per Capita’s Centre for Applied Policy in Positive Ageing is launching its Home for Good project in collaboration with The Australian Centre for Social Innovation today. You can read their policy brief on Australia’s private rental housing market <a href="https://bit.ly/homeforgood_prb">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/134036/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Myfan Jordan is affiliated with independent think tank Per Capita</span></em></p>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.Myfan Jordan, Associate, Health Ageing Research Group (HARG), La Trobe UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1280062019-12-11T18:57:08Z2019-12-11T18:57:08ZAs simple as finding a job? Getting people out of social housing is much more complex than that<p>A <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Hansard/Hansard_Display?bid=chamber/hansardr/3d235a1c-91f8-4a9a-92b6-7ac7922cad16/&sid=0088">private member’s bill</a>, moved by Labor MP Josh Burns, recently called on the Australian government “to help build more affordable homes” in response to the <a href="https://theconversation.com/homelessness-soars-in-our-biggest-cities-driven-by-rising-inequality-since-2001-117833">growing homelessness crisis</a>. A premise of the bill is that a lack of social housing is a major cause of homelessness and increasing the supply is a key element of solving the problem. The government’s <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Hansard/Hansard_Display?bid=chamber/hansardr/3d235a1c-91f8-4a9a-92b6-7ac7922cad16/&sid=0086">response</a> was that one solution is to encourage social housing tenants to find paid work, so they can move into private rental housing.</p>
<p>The problem with this argument is it overlooks the major barriers to entering the private rental market for low-income households. It also does not excuse the failure to invest adequately in building more social housing.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-social-housing-policy-needs-stronger-leadership-and-an-investment-overhaul-119097">Australia's social housing policy needs stronger leadership and an investment overhaul</a>
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<p>There is certainly a shortage of social housing. About 140,600 applicants were on the waiting list for public housing and 8,800 households were wait-listed for state-owned-and-managed Indigenous housing <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/housing-assistance/housing-assistance-in-australia-2019/contents/priority-groups-and-wait-lists#pg4">as at June 30 2018</a>. Another 38,300 applicants were waiting for mainstream community housing <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/housing-assistance/housing-assistance-in-australia-2018/contents/priority-groups-and-wait-lists">as at June 30 2017</a> (the most recent publicly <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/housing-assistance/housing-assistance-in-australia-2019/contents/priority-groups-and-wait-lists#pg4">available data</a>). Together, these tenure types comprise most of Australia’s social housing. </p>
<p>These figures exclude people temporarily suspended from waiting lists (e.g. social housing applicants in New South Wales who take up <a href="https://www.facs.nsw.gov.au/housing/policies/rent-choice-policy">Rent Choice private rental assistance</a>), who need social housing but <a href="https://www.monash.edu/news/articles/women-on-temporary-visas-vulnerable-to-family-violence2">are ineligible</a> and others not on waiting lists but still in need, such as <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/306">rough sleepers and very low-income households in housing stress</a>.</p>
<p>Tenure in social housing was once effectively <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/316">unlimited</a> provided tenants paid their rent and maintained their property. But waiting list pressures have led to a new approach. In his response to the private member’s bill, the assistant minister for community housing, homelessness and community services, Luke Howarth, <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Hansard/Hansard_Display?bid=chamber/hansardr/3d235a1c-91f8-4a9a-92b6-7ac7922cad16/&sid=0086">argued</a>:</p>
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<p>There needs to be more responsibility […] from state governments to help people who are able to get back into the workplace to then move on from social housing so that it will provide a flow-through effect for people currently on the waiting list.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/focus-on-managing-social-housing-waiting-lists-is-failing-low-income-households-120675">Focus on managing social housing waiting lists is failing low-income households</a>
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<h2>Market realities</h2>
<p>Howarth’s argument is consistent with much state and territory policy. For example, the NSW <a href="http://www.socialhousing.nsw.gov.au/?a=348442">Future Directions policy</a> explicitly commits to “upskilling” tenants to enable them to live in private rental housing. </p>
<p>Tacitly overlooked in such “pathways” policies are the barriers to entering private rental. Across Australia <a href="https://www.anglicare.asn.au/our-work/research-reports/the-rental-affordability-snapshot">less than 26%</a> of private rental properties are affordable for households on a minimum wage. Less than 4% are affordable and appropriate for households on income support. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/growing-numbers-of-renters-are-trapped-for-years-in-homes-they-cant-afford-125216">Growing numbers of renters are trapped for years in homes they can't afford</a>
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<p><a href="https://www.domain.com.au/news/tip-of-the-iceberg-complaints-alleging-discrimination-in-rental-market-rise-20170716-gxac9d/">Prejudice</a> and <a href="https://www.sheltersa.asn.au/site/wp-content/uploads/190430-Shelter-SA-Research-Report-on-Racial-Discrimination-in-Private-Rental-FINAL.pdf">discrimination</a> against tenants perceived to pose a greater risk to landlords’ investments make access even more difficult. </p>
<p>Low-income households in the private rental market also face insecure tenure. “No-grounds terminations” are permitted in all states and territories except Tasmania and, from July 1 2020, Victoria (except at the end of the first fixed term). </p>
<p>Under “no grounds” termination, landlords can evict tenants for no stated reason at the end of a fixed-term lease and at any time on a periodic lease. Fear of retaliatory eviction makes it <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/research/completed/renters/private-renters.pdf">less likely tenants will assert their legal rights</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/an-open-letter-on-rental-housing-reform-103825">An open letter on rental housing reform</a>
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<h2>Employment as a pathway</h2>
<p>Even if private rental access and affordability were certain, many social housing tenants are not in a position to undertake employment. In 2017–18, about <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/housing-assistance/housing-assistance-in-australia-2019/contents/summary">398,900 households were in social housing in Australia</a>. Many of them relied on the disability support pension (21%) or the age pension (19%) as their main source of income. </p>
<p>Long-standing <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/housing-assistance/housing-assistance-in-australia-2019/contents/priority-groups-and-wait-lists">targeting</a> of social housing to greatest need means tenants are disproportionately likely to have low educational qualifications and limited marketable skills. They face considerable employment challenges, not the least of which is <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/166">stigmatisation</a>. </p>
<p>It is also worth considering what “employment” realistically looks like for social housing tenants seeking to enter or re-enter the workforce. It’s likely to be as <a href="https://theconversation.com/labour-in-vain-casualisation-presents-a-precarious-future-for-workers-8181">casualised labour</a> in the <a href="https://theconversation.com/uber-might-not-take-over-the-world-but-it-is-still-normalising-job-insecurity-127234">gig economy</a>. </p>
<p>As social policy researchers Greg Marston and Catherine McDonald have <a href="https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/tpp/ben/2007/00000015/00000003/art00003">argued</a>, we cannot assume exiting welfare for the labour market leads automatically to social and economic security. Precarious, intermittent, low-wage employment does not offer a sound basis for sustaining a private tenancy.</p>
<p>Of course, social housing tenants should be supported to find work and to move out of social housing if they want to. But the evidence would suggest tenant choice is not the motivation here. Rather than creating “pathways” as a way of managing social housing waiting lists, governments would have greater impact on the housing crisis if they invested much more in social housing. </p>
<p>Between 2011 and 2016, <a href="https://www.launchhousing.org.au/site/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/LaunchHousing_AHM2018_Report.pdf">government spending on social housing decreased 7%</a>, from A$1.42 billion to A$1.32 billion. This has contributed to a <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-needs-to-triple-its-social-housing-by-2036-this-is-the-best-way-to-do-it-105960">backlog of 433,000 dwellings</a> in Australia’s social housing supply. That’s predicted to grow to a shortage of 727,000 dwellings by 2036. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-needs-to-triple-its-social-housing-by-2036-this-is-the-best-way-to-do-it-105960">Australia needs to triple its social housing by 2036. This is the best way to do it</a>
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<p>In addition to providing <a href="https://cityfutures.be.unsw.edu.au/documents/522/Modelling_costs_of_housing_provision_FINAL.pdf">more social and affordable</a> housing, governments must act on the systemic problems in the private rental market. This includes developing <a href="https://everybodyshome.com.au/our-campaign/a-better-deal-for-renters/">nationally consistent tenancy legislation</a> to provide more protection for tenants, including against no-grounds evictions, and providing the resources to properly enforce such laws.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/128006/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Hartley receives funding from the Department of Communities and Justice and Homelessness NSW. Chris is on the Operation's Group for the Everybody's Home Campaign and the Executive Team of The Constellation Project. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kathleen Flanagan receives funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute and the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>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.Chris Hartley, Research Fellow (Housing and Homelessness) at the Centre for Social Impact, UNSW SydneyKathleen Flanagan, Research Fellow & Deputy Director, HACRU, University of TasmaniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1235192019-09-23T03:10:10Z2019-09-23T03:10:10ZDon’t tear it down: the idea behind Labor’s National Rental Affordability Scheme is worth saving<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292726/original/file-20190917-19072-1pwm4d8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Grattan Institute has condemned the National Rental Affordability Scheme as a $1 billion windfall to developers.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Labor’s Rudd-era <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/housing-support-programs-services-housing-national-rental-affordability-scheme/about-the-national-rental-affordability-scheme-nras">National Rental Affordability Scheme</a> (NRAS) has come under attack just when it might be needed.</p>
<p>The Abbott government stopped funding new deals under the scheme in 2014, but existing arrangements continued and will run for some time. </p>
<p>Labor promised to reintroduce a version of it during the 2019 election campaign. The Coalition is being <a href="https://www.aahsl.com.au/news/opportunity-build-success-story-affordable-housing-australia">pressured to do the same</a>.</p>
<p>But the Grattan Institute has condemned the scheme as a <a href="https://theconversation.com/rudds-rental-affordability-scheme-was-a-1-billion-gift-to-developers-abbott-was-right-to-axe-it-122854">A$1 billion windfall</a> to developers that failed to benefit most in need of rental assistance.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/rudds-rental-affordability-scheme-was-a-1-billion-gift-to-developers-abbott-was-right-to-axe-it-122854">Rudd's rental affordability scheme was a $1 billion gift to developers. Abbott was right to axe it</a>
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<p>We must learn from past mistakes, says institute researchers Brendan Coates and Jessie Horder-Geraghty. They are right, but nor should we throw the baby out with the bathwater. </p>
<p>There may have been problems with the NRAS, but the idea behind it – a scheme to leverage private sector investment – remains one of three key policy legs on which a strategy to address rental affordability rests</p>
<h2>Mobilising private investment</h2>
<p>The NRAS was introduced in 2008. It paid an annual subsidy of about $11,000 for 10 years to an owner of a newly built dwelling if they rented out the property at a 20% discount to the market rate. Eligibility to rent and live in such properties depended on earning below certain income thresholds ($51,398 for one adult, for example).</p>
<p>The scheme had three objectives: provide relief for low and moderate income earners suffering significant rental stress; encourage new housing; and mobilise institutional investment in affordable rental housing.</p>
<p>It was inspired by the much vaunted <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/scott-morrison-should-look-at-the-us-scheme-that-trumps-australia-on-affordable-housing-20161026-gsarrj.html">Low Income Housing Tax Credit</a> in the United States.
The idea was that by bridging the gap between the investor’s expected market return and what they could make from an “affordable” rent, the scheme could harness private capital to benefit low and moderate income households.</p>
<p>The Rudd government paid this “return gap” subsidy in the form of an annual grant, on the basis it was more transparent, accountable and efficient than a tax credit or tax break.</p>
<p>Coates and Horder-Geraghty reckon the NRAS failed on all three objectives. The scheme’s eligibility requirements, they say, were too loose, and most properties were still too expensive for low-income households even with the discount. They see no evidence it encouraged new housing.</p>
<p>The major outcome, they calculate, was a A$1 billion windfall to developers – because the average annual subsidy paid ($11,000) was much more than the rent discount (about $4,000) owners had to give.</p>
<p>The Grattan Institute’s analysis makes it seem pretty conclusive that no such scheme should be part of the policy architecture for affordable housing in the future.</p>
<p>But things a bit more complicated than that.</p>
<h2>The tortoise and hare dilemma</h2>
<p>It’s a fact any government effort to encourage the private sector to provide affordable housing will, in the long run, be more expensive than a government directly investing in building, owning and operating housing itself, or doing so through the not-for-profit sector.</p>
<p>Private landlords expect a return on their investment – a profit, in other words. In a scheme like the NRAS it’s the government that’s effectively paying that profit. If the government provides housing itself, it saves itself that cost. </p>
<p>Simple, right?</p>
<p>Here’s the policy dilemma.</p>
<p>Direct government investment would require spending up to $500,000 per dwelling. Leveraging private capital can supply the same dwelling for one year at a fraction of the capital cost to the government – $11,000 per dwelling in the case of NRAS.<br>
If the federal government had spent the $3 billion it paid out through the NRAS on instead building its own affordable housing, it might have been able to provide about 6,000 affordable dwellings for rent. </p>
<p>With the NRAS it instead provided rent relief to about <a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/housing-support-programs-services-housing-national-rental-affordability-scheme-nras-investors/nras-year-2017-18-incentive-claim-report">35,000 households</a> for 10 years.</p>
<p>There’s a tortoise and hare dilemma to this policy choice; should the government have a much bigger impact on the affordable housing problem in the short term, or slowly build up its own stock of social and affordable housing to ultimately help more people in the long term?</p>
<p>Few aspects of government housing policy are simple. For example, Coates and Horder-Geraghty recommend increasing Commonwealth Rent Assistance for stressed households. But without action to also boost supply, this will most likely push up rents. </p>
<p>The crisis in housing affordability is now so monumentally large that the full troika of policy measures is required: income support, direct government investment <em>and</em> private sector leveraging. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-social-housing-policy-needs-stronger-leadership-and-an-investment-overhaul-119097">Australia's social housing policy needs stronger leadership and an investment overhaul</a>
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<h2>Attracting institutional investors</h2>
<p>Something like NRAS needs to be part of the mix. But it will require tweaking.</p>
<p>The bridging subsidy for private investors needs to be set at just the right level to attract super funds and other institutional investors, just as it has in the US.</p>
<p>Australia has some peculiar challenges in this respect because of the tax treatment of housing investment.</p>
<p>Yields from private rental housing are quite low compared to the returns typically sought by institutional investors. In part, this is because the sector is largely a cottage industry, dominated by “mum and dad” landlords.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/build-to-rent-could-be-the-missing-piece-of-the-affordable-housing-puzzle-82320">'Build to rent' could be the missing piece of the affordable housing puzzle</a>
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<p>They are primarily driven by the prospect of capital gains, which are tax advantaged. The availability of negative gearing also means investors are not always motivated to maximise yield.</p>
<p>Institutional investors, however, are concerned with yield (net rental income). By and large the NRAS subsidy was not enough for them to participate. They were also deterred by the risks of managing large-scale residential portfolios. </p>
<p>These issues would need to be tackled in a future version of NRAS, but they are not insurmountable.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/123519/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marcus Luigi Spiller works with SGS Economics & Planning Pty Ltd and holds shares in that organisation.
</span></em></p>Labor’s rental affordability scheme had its problems, but let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater.Marcus Luigi Spiller, Associate Professor (Urban Planning) - honorary , The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1237722019-09-22T20:16:35Z2019-09-22T20:16:35ZCity share-house rents eat up most of Newstart, leaving less than $100 a week to live on<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293134/original/file-20190919-53499-zmzdx5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C15%2C5318%2C3518&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">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.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/group-male-college-students-eating-breakfast-1495610348?src=qVFqdGxcHjcE1epUaNm6aA-1-69">shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In all Australia’s capital cities, average share-house rents in the inner suburbs (where <a href="https://theconversation.com/rapid-growth-is-widening-melbournes-social-and-economic-divide-117244">jobs are concentrated</a>) leave people without enough money for food and other basics, new research shows. </p>
<p>This research, for a forthcoming report by the authors, proves there is a rental housing crisis for people on Newstart (and other low-income earners) everywhere in Australia. </p>
<p>The analysis was based on Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) <a href="https://reia.asn.au/product-category/individual-data-purchase/">data</a>, using common indicators such as housing affordability and stress. Housing stress for people on low incomes is <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/policy/ahuri-briefs/3040-indicator#targetText=The%20'30'%20in%20the%2030,to%20be%20in%20housing%20stress.">defined</a> as when rent costs more than 30% of their income. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/private-renters-are-doing-it-tough-in-outer-suburbs-of-sydney-and-melbourne-120427">Private renters are doing it tough in outer suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne</a>
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<p>For example, the dataset for Victoria (the third-most-expensive rental market and broadly representative of the nation) shows rent for a share house in Melbourne averages 70% of income for a single person receiving <a href="https://www.humanservices.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/newstart-allowance/how-much-you-can-get">Newstart</a> (A$277.50 per week) and <a href="https://www.humanservices.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/rent-assistance">Commonwealth Rent Assistance</a> (A$45.74 per week). This leaves people with A$98 a week to live on. That’s less than half the <a href="http://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/fapi/datastream/unsworks:46141/binaaacbcf3-915f-40bc-a70f-2052746ab643?view=true">A$216 a week</a> that experts calculate is a healthy base level of income for a single unemployed person. </p>
<p>After paying rent, people on Newstart have just A$14 a day to cover food, utilities and the costs of job seeking such as mobile phone plans and travel cards (<a href="https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/tickets/fares/metropolitan-fares/">A$4.40 a day in Melbourne</a>). </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292976/original/file-20190918-187957-hzokjt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292976/original/file-20190918-187957-hzokjt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/292976/original/file-20190918-187957-hzokjt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=930&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292976/original/file-20190918-187957-hzokjt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=930&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292976/original/file-20190918-187957-hzokjt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=930&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292976/original/file-20190918-187957-hzokjt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1168&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292976/original/file-20190918-187957-hzokjt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1168&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/292976/original/file-20190918-187957-hzokjt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1168&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author analysis based on REIV data</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>While it was assumed rent for people on low incomes eats up much of their benefits, this analysis shows just how bad the situation has become in all capital cities. It is worst in Sydney. As the chart below shows, median weekly rent in Sydney is A$550, which when split between two renters amounts to A$275 each. This leaves a renter on Newstart with the princely sum of just A$48.24 a week – A$6.89 a day – to live on.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293088/original/file-20190918-187991-14slgpp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293088/original/file-20190918-187991-14slgpp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293088/original/file-20190918-187991-14slgpp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293088/original/file-20190918-187991-14slgpp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293088/original/file-20190918-187991-14slgpp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293088/original/file-20190918-187991-14slgpp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=581&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293088/original/file-20190918-187991-14slgpp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=581&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293088/original/file-20190918-187991-14slgpp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=581&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Affordable rent points compared to median rents in capital cities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author analysis using REIV data</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tracking-the-rise-of-room-sharing-and-overcrowding-and-what-it-means-for-housing-in-australia-107265">Tracking the rise of room sharing and overcrowding, and what it means for housing in Australia</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What about living in cheaper areas?</h2>
<p>Another worrying aspect of the data is it suggests high rents are compelling people on Newstart payments to relocate from inner cities to the outer suburbs and satellite towns with worse labour markets and higher transport costs. And even in these towns, the data paint a bleak picture. </p>
<p>In Victorian regional cities like Bendigo and Ballarat the rent for sharers exceeds the commonly accepted 30% benchmark for housing stress. Here they would be paying A$130 a week – almost half their Newstart payments. With Rent Assistance, that would leave them with A$192 – still A$24 less than the healthy benchmark.</p>
<p>There are only two regions in all of Australia where single unemployed people would have any hope of meeting rents. These are northern Tasmania and outer Hobart, where the <a href="https://www.rdatasmania.org.au/news/tasmania-ranks-high-in-youth-unemployment-hotspots/">youth unemployment rate is 16%</a>. You can add about another <a href="http://bilbo.economicoutlook.net/blog/?p=22954">10 points to the unemployment rate</a> to get a real sense of the challenges of getting jobs in these places.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293089/original/file-20190918-187935-wq63n8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293089/original/file-20190918-187935-wq63n8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293089/original/file-20190918-187935-wq63n8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=980&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293089/original/file-20190918-187935-wq63n8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=980&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293089/original/file-20190918-187935-wq63n8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=980&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293089/original/file-20190918-187935-wq63n8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1232&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293089/original/file-20190918-187935-wq63n8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1232&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293089/original/file-20190918-187935-wq63n8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1232&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Affordable rent points compared to median rents for regions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author analysis using REIV data</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Benefit increases are essential</h2>
<p>So what is affordable for people on Newstart? For single people receiving Newstart and <a href="https://www.humanservices.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/rent-assistance">Rent Assistance</a>, share-house rents would have to be A$87. </p>
<p>While the table below shows A$97, that would be the affordable rent if maximum Rent Assistance were paid. But it does not actually kick in until <a href="https://www.humanservices.gov.au/individuals/services/centrelink/rent-assistance/eligibility-payment-rates/how-much-you-can-get">weekly rent exceeds A$61</a>. So low-rent places do not attract as much of a subsidy from Rent Assistance as higher-rent properties.</p>
<p>This points to the need for Rent Assistance to kick in at a lower income point. It also needs to be increased to avoid housing stress.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293091/original/file-20190918-187985-ykep1q.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293091/original/file-20190918-187985-ykep1q.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/293091/original/file-20190918-187985-ykep1q.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=137&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293091/original/file-20190918-187985-ykep1q.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=137&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293091/original/file-20190918-187985-ykep1q.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=137&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293091/original/file-20190918-187985-ykep1q.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=173&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293091/original/file-20190918-187985-ykep1q.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=173&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/293091/original/file-20190918-187985-ykep1q.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=173&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The federal government’s response to this kind of evidence always relies on an argument that Newstart is intended as a <a href="https://www.financeminister.gov.au/transcript/2019/07/22/abc-radio-%E2%80%93-am">“transitional” payment</a>. The unemployed are told they should “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/jul/29/unfunded-empathy-scott-morrison-pushes-back-on-growing-calls-to-lift-newstart-rate">get a job</a>”.</p>
<p>But it is very clear this is not as easy as it sounds. That is because there are increasing numbers of people on Newstart <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/200-000-australians-with-a-disability-struggling-to-get-by-on-newstart-report-20190916-p52rt6.html">with disabilities</a> and <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-25/mature-workers-on-newstart/10195296">over 55 years old</a> – the majority of <a href="https://theconversation.com/are-most-people-on-the-newstart-unemployment-benefit-for-a-short-or-long-time-120826">long-term unemployed</a> are now mature-age job seekers. </p>
<p>There are also <a href="https://theconversation.com/these-job-snob-claims-dont-match-the-evidence-121429">far more applicants than job vacancies</a>. It’s worse in regional areas where there are fewer jobs to begin with.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/these-job-snob-claims-dont-match-the-evidence-121429">These 'job snob' claims don't match the evidence</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Many welfare agencies are preparing submissions to a <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/Newstartrelatedpayments">Senate inquiry</a> into Newstart and related payments in time for the September 30 deadline. These submissions are expected to contain even more compelling analysis showing it is impossible to survive on Newstart.</p>
<p>The Australian Council of Social Service (<a href="https://www.acoss.org.au/about-us/">ACOSS</a>) and several other agencies are demanding that <a href="https://raisetherate.org.au/">Newstart be raised by at least A$75 a week</a>. Even this badly needed increase will not fully alleviate housing stress, which is the <a href="https://www.acoss.org.au/housing-homelessness/">main cause of homelessness among low-income people</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/homelessness-soars-in-our-biggest-cities-driven-by-rising-inequality-since-2001-117833">Homelessness soars in our biggest cities, driven by rising inequality since 2001</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/123772/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Simone Casey is a volunteer Policy Advisor for the Australian Unemployed Workers Union (AUWU).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Liss Ralston receives funding from AHURI.</span></em></p>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.Simone Casey, Research Associate, Future Social Service Institute, RMIT UniversityLiss Ralston, Urban Statistician, Centre for Urban Transitions, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1072652019-01-09T00:48:01Z2019-01-09T00:48:01ZTracking the rise of room sharing and overcrowding, and what it means for housing in Australia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/248877/original/file-20181204-34122-1fbppy1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Beds for rent: a shared room listed in Castlereagh Street, Sydney.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.gumtree.com.au</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The proportion of households experiencing <a href="https://theconversation.com/two-pictures-of-rental-housing-stress-and-vulnerability-zero-in-on-areas-of-need-77714">rental stress</a> is on the rise across Australia’s major cities. High rental prices have been driving an increase in shared housing. The most extreme form of this is “shared room” housing – where residents share a bedroom or partitioned living space (such as lounge room or garage) with a number of unrelated adults.</p>
<p>Official statistics, such as those collected by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, fail to accurately record room sharing. Public knowledge is limited to anecdotal stories or periodic media coverage of tragic outcomes of living in shared room housing – such as a 2012 apartment <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-16/landlord-questioned-over-bankstown-fire-unit-at-inquest/6549656">fire that led to the death of an international student</a> in Bankstown, Sydney. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/room-sharing-is-the-new-flat-sharing-84359">Room sharing is the new flat sharing</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>However, the growth of online advertising platforms can provide new insights into shared housing across our cities. For <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/08111146.2018.1556632">our recently published research</a>, we analysed 1,018 room-sharing listings for Sydney on gumtree.com.au between February and April 2017. While focusing on Sydney, the insights we present here are relevant to all Australian cities.</p>
<h2>Who lives in shared rooms and where?</h2>
<p>Sharing a room is typically short-term accommodation which allows residents to secure low-cost housing in well-located parts of the city, close to services and employment or education (typically universities). It’s an option most likely to appeal to young and mobile populations. Evidence suggests that international students, holidaymakers (those staying longer than typically housed via services such as Airbnb) and young professionals are most likely to live in shared rooms.</p>
<p>Thus, it’s no surprise that suburbs surrounding the Sydney CBD had the most shared room accommodation. The suburbs of Sydney, Pyrmont, Ultimo, Haymarket and Chippendale (Sydney City local government area – 409 rooms advertised), Bondi Beach and Bondi Junction (Waverley LGA – 80 rooms advertised) recorded the highest numbers. Beyond the CBD, Parramatta, Auburn, Strathfield, Chatswood, Lakemba and Rockdale had relatively high numbers of listings. Parramatta LGA recorded the third-highest number (76). </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247856/original/file-20181129-170238-1p15j7y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247856/original/file-20181129-170238-1p15j7y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247856/original/file-20181129-170238-1p15j7y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=790&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247856/original/file-20181129-170238-1p15j7y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=790&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247856/original/file-20181129-170238-1p15j7y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=790&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247856/original/file-20181129-170238-1p15j7y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=992&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247856/original/file-20181129-170238-1p15j7y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=992&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247856/original/file-20181129-170238-1p15j7y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=992&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These suburbs are well connected by public transport to employment and education opportunities. A number of these locations are immigrant gateways with diverse cultural and ethnic profiles. This suggests shared rooms are an important form of housing for recently arrived migrants.</p>
<h2>How many people share a room?</h2>
<p>The suburbs with the highest numbers of advertised shared rooms also had more people per shared room. For example, Sydney, Pyrmont, Ultimo, Haymarket, Chippendale, Surry Hills and Darlinghurst (all in Sydney City LGA) had average occupancy rates of more than 2.5 occupants per room. It was not uncommon for two-bedroom apartments to have between 5 and 14 occupants. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247858/original/file-20181129-170250-620rlf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247858/original/file-20181129-170250-620rlf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247858/original/file-20181129-170250-620rlf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=790&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247858/original/file-20181129-170250-620rlf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=790&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247858/original/file-20181129-170250-620rlf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=790&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247858/original/file-20181129-170250-620rlf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=992&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247858/original/file-20181129-170250-620rlf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=992&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247858/original/file-20181129-170250-620rlf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=992&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In terms of overcrowding (using <a href="https://theconversation.com/overcrowded-housing-looms-as-a-challenge-for-our-cities-96110">the “no more than two persons per room” standard</a>), more than a quarter (27%) of residents living in shared rooms included in this study were in overcrowded dwellings. Inner-city suburbs recorded the highest rate, with 40% of residents in overcrowded dwellings. In middle and outer suburbs, 14% and less than 1% of residents lived in overcrowded dwellings respectively.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/living-rooms-for-rent-by-the-minute-outsource-the-whole-idea-of-home-86395">Living rooms for rent by the minute outsource the whole idea of home</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247847/original/file-20181128-32208-60xlhr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247847/original/file-20181128-32208-60xlhr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247847/original/file-20181128-32208-60xlhr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247847/original/file-20181128-32208-60xlhr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247847/original/file-20181128-32208-60xlhr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=591&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247847/original/file-20181128-32208-60xlhr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=591&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247847/original/file-20181128-32208-60xlhr.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=591&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Corso, Manly.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.gumtree.com.au</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>It’s more affordable, and profitable too</h2>
<p>People’s willingness to live in shared room housing is due mainly to it being cheaper. Our study revealed that shared rooms are rented for much less than the rate paid in the wider private rental market. </p>
<p>For example, in Haymarket, where the average occupancy is three people per room, the weekly rent per resident sharing with two others was $150. This was well below the median weekly rent for a private room in a two-bedroom apartment ($455) or a private one-bedroom apartment/studio ($643).</p>
<p>Adding to the relative affordability of shared room housing, rent typically includes furniture and utility bills. Bond payments are also lower. </p>
<p>Access to this form of housing is easier, too, because formal requirements such as identity and rental history checks are removed. This means residents are typically not covered by formal leasing arrangements and the legal protections that go with them.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247848/original/file-20181129-32226-m77r48.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247848/original/file-20181129-32226-m77r48.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247848/original/file-20181129-32226-m77r48.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247848/original/file-20181129-32226-m77r48.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247848/original/file-20181129-32226-m77r48.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247848/original/file-20181129-32226-m77r48.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247848/original/file-20181129-32226-m77r48.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Bondi Road near Dudley Street, Bondi.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">www.gumtree.com.au</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The other side of the shared room equation is that it’s an extremely profitable form of housing for landlords – or tenants subletting dwellings. The rent generated per dwelling in shared room housing is well above the rental income if the property was leased to the private market. </p>
<p>For example, in Chatswood the median weekly rent for a two-bedroom apartment with shared bedrooms was $1,020. For a two-bedroom private (non-shared) apartment the median weekly rent was $785. The $235-per-week difference represents a 30% profit margin for landlords/tenants who convert properties into shared room accommodation. This financial premium is observed across most higher-demand shared-room suburbs in Sydney.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247864/original/file-20181129-170235-yad3kd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247864/original/file-20181129-170235-yad3kd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247864/original/file-20181129-170235-yad3kd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=332&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247864/original/file-20181129-170235-yad3kd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=332&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247864/original/file-20181129-170235-yad3kd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=332&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247864/original/file-20181129-170235-yad3kd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247864/original/file-20181129-170235-yad3kd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247864/original/file-20181129-170235-yad3kd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Policy and regulatory reforms are needed</h2>
<p>Shared rooms raise a series of policy and regulatory concerns.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Rooms are usually sublet accommodation without written tenancy agreements. This leaves occupants in a precarious form of housing. They are often uncertain of their tenancy rights and reluctant to make claims for fear of being evicted</p></li>
<li><p>shared room rentals typically occur “off the books”, paid for in cash without written receipts. Thus, rental income for landlords and subletting tenants does not appear as income for taxation purposes</p></li>
<li><p>the allure of higher rental income per property increases chances of overcrowding as more tenants are squeezed into bedrooms and partitioned living spaces</p></li>
<li><p>the higher rental returns are also likely to remove housing stock from the market for other household types, as dwellings previously available for long-term tenancies are converted to shared room accommodation</p></li>
<li><p>unlike <a href="https://www.gov.uk/house-in-multiple-occupation-licence">share houses in the UK</a> and our <a href="https://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/housing-and-property/strata-and-community-living/boarding-houses">boarding</a>/<a href="https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/licensing-and-registration/rooming-house-operators">rooming</a> houses, private landlords are unable to obtain permits from city authorities to convert properties into shared accommodation. This limits the transparency of “responsible” landlords</p></li>
<li><p>overcrowded properties can lead to structural risks when illegal bedrooms are added and to infrastructure pressures such as low water and gas supply</p></li>
<li><p>noise and safety-related conflicts are increasingly reported in dwellings (mainly apartments) inhabited by both family (non-shared) and shared households</p></li>
<li><p>monitoring mechanisms are ineffective. Current inspection laws require that the landlord is notified prior to inspection. This favours landlords/head-tenants who are able to alter the number of tenants before an inspection.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>With affordable rental housing in short supply in Australia’s major cities, shared room accommodation is likely to increase. This has profound implications for residents of these rooms, local housing markets and government agencies.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/generation-share-why-more-older-australians-are-living-in-share-houses-107183">Generation Share: why more older Australians are living in share houses</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/107265/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kristian Ruming receives funding from the Australian Research Council and Landcom. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Zahra Nasreen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Living in shared rooms is on the rise, because it’s more affordable – and more profitable for landlords. But it’s also a more precarious, often overcrowded and poorly regulated form of housing.Zahra Nasreen, PhD Scholar in Planning and Geography, Macquarie UniversityKristian Ruming, Associate Professor in Urban Geography, Macquarie UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1089092018-12-18T03:58:09Z2018-12-18T03:58:09ZLabor’s housing pledge is welcome, but direct investment in social housing would improve it<p>Despite recent falls in the housing market, housing costs and indebtedness bite deeply into household budgets, especially at Christmas time. Just over <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/306">433,000 households</a> confront housing stress and homelessness every day across Australia. They represent the current shortfall of <a href="https://housing.vic.gov.au/social-housing">social housing</a>. </p>
<p>If Christmas offers a moment for reflection, ask yourself what should our resolutions be for the housing market? What should we expect our governments to do about it?</p>
<p>In this article, we look at this week’s major statement on housing policy from a key contender to lead Australia’s next government – <a href="https://theconversation.com/shortens-subsidy-plan-to-boost-affordable-housing-108881">made by Bill Shorten</a> at the ALP national conference. </p>
<p>We applaud the principle of fairness and the ambition of the ALP policy. We are less supportive of the reliance on for-profit investors, market rent mechanisms and land grabs. <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/306">Our research</a> shows direct government investment in social housing is ultimately far <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-needs-to-triple-its-social-housing-by-2036-this-is-the-best-way-to-do-it-105960">more efficient and effective</a> than subsidising investors in the long term.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-needs-to-triple-its-social-housing-by-2036-this-is-the-best-way-to-do-it-105960">Australia needs to triple its social housing by 2036. This is the best way to do it</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>So what is Labor’s policy?</h2>
<p>Shorten’s announcement also pledges reform of tax concessions that are driving inequality between households and investors. However, Labor recognises that this might not be enough to tilt the balance in favour of low-income households, and directing the savings from these changes into housing programs is a welcome move. </p>
<p>Labor proposes to subsidise investors in affordable rental housing, much like the Rudd government’s National Rental Affordability Scheme (<a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/housing-support-programs-services-housing-national-rental-affordability-scheme/about-the-national-rental-affordability-scheme-nras">NRAS</a>). Labor would offer an $8,500-a-year subsidy over 15 years to investors who build new homes for low-income and middle-income households to rent at an “affordable” rate – 20% below market rent. </p>
<p>Starting modestly, the program aims to produce 20,000 affordable units over three years, building to a much larger target of 250,000 dwellings over ten years. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/shortens-subsidy-plan-to-boost-affordable-housing-108881">Shorten's subsidy plan to boost affordable housing</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>State governments would also be required to get on board through partnership agreements, as they have done in the past, providing land and other forms of co-investment. <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/news/stamp-duty-across-australia-doubled-in-past-four-years-according-to-housing-industry-association-20180116-h0j6yb/">Hefty stamp duty revenues</a> in recent years should make this easier for the states.</p>
<p>While Labor’s targets appear high by recent standards, Commonwealth and state governments directly funded the building of 9,000 public housing dwellings each year for the better half of the 20th century – until 1996. Annual production is now down to 3,000 dwellings. That’s not even enough to maintain the existing public share of housing.</p>
<p>Since the mid-1990s, a preference for outsourcing social responsibility through private rental providers and indirect rental support payments has dominated public policy. The ALP’s subsidy-based policy continues this trend. </p>
<p>The proposal centres on maintaining returns to investors at levels that encourage investment. As our previous <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/306">research</a> has shown, over the longer term this increases cost per dwelling. The question remains, as it did under the NRAS: <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/news/labors-new-build-to-rent-housing-subsidy-labelled-a-handout-for-developers-792720/">who are we trying to subsidise here</a>, the investors or the tenants, and is it really equitable and effective? </p>
<h2>What are the alternatives?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/293">Previous work has shown</a> that NRAS-type schemes offer most benefit to new affordable housing developments when the funds are directed to not for profit organisations, rather than “leaking” out to the for-profit private sector. The advantages of this approach include:</p>
<ul>
<li>subsidies are retained within the affordable housing system</li>
<li>benefits are directed to regulated not-for-profit developers with a social purpose </li>
<li>the benefit is stretched out over a longer time, meaning government investment does not expire after a set time.</li>
</ul>
<p>In the UK, a lack of direct conditional investment and weak definitions of affordability led to an <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/nov/22/construction-of-homes-for-social-rent-down-80-percent-on-a-decade-ago-england-families-waiting-lists?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other">80% decline in social housing production</a>. Without public equity, recurrent operating subsidies have no influence on design quality or ongoing impact after the expiry of providers’ obligations – or their cancellation. Yes, they can be switched on and off like a tap – as <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/forward-planning/investment-strategy/politics-and-policy/31235-no-future-for-nras-as-fifth-round-is-scrapped-in-2014-budget.html">happened in 2014 with the NRAS</a>.</p>
<p>With good design, a new scheme could overcome some of these deficiencies. Labor promises to provide lower annual subsidies than NRAS but for longer – 15 rather than 10 years – adding up to at least $127,500 from the Commonwealth for a tenancy to be offered at below market rents. It’s a substantial commitment. </p>
<p>Yet if this level of support was invested up front to build dwellings, rather than provided as an annual operating subsidy, it would make a substantial and enduring contribution to Australia’s housing needs. This is not only socially responsible, it can drive green innovation and is also more financially responsible too.</p>
<p>The only thing that stands in the way is the narrow public accounting doctrine that privileges day-to-day expenditure over long-term investments. This is something that, in the UK, even the Treasury and the National Audit Office are learning to overcome after the painful experience of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/oct/29/hammond-abolishes-pfi-contracts-for-new-infrastructure-projects">Private Finance Initiative</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/homeless-numbers-will-keep-rising-until-governments-change-course-on-housing-93417">Homeless numbers will keep rising until governments change course on housing</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How much more cost-effective is direct investment?</h2>
<p>If equity and fairness are to be the yardsticks of policy, age pensioners, people with disabilities and low-paid workers should be the focus of our deepest support. Our <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/306">AHURI research</a> has established the level, type and location of investment required to meet the needs of 433,000 low-income households in housing stress or homeless across Australia. The current market offers no affordable or secure options for them. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/306">Our research</a> also compared the cost of subsidising investors versus direct investment by government. Our modelling of costs and review of international experience provide evidence that direct investment is far more efficient and effective in the medium and long term.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/251078/original/file-20181217-185264-ezojzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/251078/original/file-20181217-185264-ezojzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251078/original/file-20181217-185264-ezojzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251078/original/file-20181217-185264-ezojzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=413&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251078/original/file-20181217-185264-ezojzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251078/original/file-20181217-185264-ezojzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251078/original/file-20181217-185264-ezojzz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=518&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Capital funding model.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/306">Lawson et al, 2018</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/251077/original/file-20181217-185249-13gdkq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/251077/original/file-20181217-185249-13gdkq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251077/original/file-20181217-185249-13gdkq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251077/original/file-20181217-185249-13gdkq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251077/original/file-20181217-185249-13gdkq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251077/original/file-20181217-185249-13gdkq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/251077/original/file-20181217-185249-13gdkq7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Operating subsidy funding model.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/306">Lawson et al, 2018</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Thus, we argue for more direct investment in social housing, strategic use of efficient mission-driven financing and retained investment via public equity and public land leases.</p>
<p>Recognition of the need for national leadership and policy reform is growing. After backpedalling, the Coalition government moved forward in 2018 to establish, with cross-party support, the <a href="https://nhfic.gov.au/about-us/">National Housing Finance Corporation</a>. This mission focused public corporation will soon channel lower-cost financing towards regulated not-for-profit housing. Of course, financing is debt and not quite the same as funding. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/government-guarantee-opens-investment-highway-to-affordable-housing-88549">Government guarantee opens investment highway to affordable housing</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The Australian Greens have yet to announce their policy but an outline suggests a commitment to invest in social housing and establish a federal housing trust. </p>
<p>The ALP’s proposals are framed in line with the laudable principle of fairness and are a work in progress – rather than mission accomplished. Overcoming the shortfall of affordable and secure housing will require purposeful Commonwealth and state government funding, mission driven financing as well as land policies to make housing markets fairer for all.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/108909/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julie Lawson receives funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laurence Troy receives funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute and the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>Labor has made a substantial commitment to tackling inequality in Australia, but has taken a second-best approach to overcoming the huge shortfall of social housing.Julie Lawson, Honorary Associate Professor, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT UniversityLaurence Troy, Research Fellow, City Futures Research Centre, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1071882018-11-20T02:09:31Z2018-11-20T02:09:31ZWe still live here: public housing tenants fight for their place in the city<p>After years of strong housing market growth, Sydney’s property market is slowing. Despite this, housing stress remains a reality for many Sydneysiders, with rents remaining largely untouched. </p>
<p>Public housing is a lifeline for those who can’t afford to rent in the private market, but the numbers of households in this position means many must wait years for a place. </p>
<p>Median rents for apartments in Sydney <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/group/agent-news/domain-rental-report-september-2018/">fell only 0.9%</a> in the September quarter, to <a href="https://www.domain.com.au/group/agent-news/domain-rental-report-september-2018/">$545 a week</a>. This means a household needs to earn about $94,000 a year to avoid <a href="https://theconversation.com/housing-affordability-stress-affects-one-in-nine-households-but-which-ones-are-really-struggling-96103">housing stress</a>. About <a href="http://quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/quickstat/1GSYD?opendocument">half of the households in Sydney earn less</a> than this. </p>
<p>Adding to these cost pressures, <a href="https://theconversation.com/an-open-letter-on-rental-housing-reform-103825">tenancy laws are strongly weighted in favour of landlords</a>. This gives tenants little security of tenure and exposes them to <a href="https://theconversation.com/life-as-an-older-renter-and-what-it-tells-us-about-the-urgent-need-for-tenancy-reform-103842">frequent upheaval, inadequate conditions and rental hikes</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/an-open-letter-on-rental-housing-reform-103825">An open letter on rental housing reform</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>But public housing tenants are also facing upheaval and uncertainty in inner-city areas such as Waterloo and Redfern, as a result of redevelopments that they feel are aimed at pushing their communities out of the city.</p>
<h2>What is happening to public housing?</h2>
<p>The lack of public housing investment in New South Wales and the costs of private rental mean <a href="https://www.facs.nsw.gov.au/housing/help/applying-assistance/expected-waiting-times">over 50,000 people are on the state waiting list</a>. In inner-city areas, they face a <a href="https://www.facs.nsw.gov.au/housing/help/applying-assistance/expected-waiting-times">wait of five to ten years</a> for public housing. </p>
<p>Through the <a href="https://www.communitiesplus.com.au/">Communities Plus</a> program and the <a href="https://www.facs.nsw.gov.au/about/reforms/future-directions/reforms/SAHF">Social and Affordable Housing Fund</a>, the NSW government plans to build 27,000 more social and affordable homes. But this figure is somewhat misleading. In the last three years, the government has <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/for-every-public-housing-property-sold-in-nsw-just-two-are-built-20180503-p4zd31.html">sold off half as much public housing as it has built</a>. And the figure of <a href="https://www.thefifthestate.com.au/columns/spinifex/nsw-is-overselling-its-social-housing-commitment/">27,000 looks more like 9,900</a> when you consider that this includes around 17,000 dwellings that will be demolished and rebuilt.</p>
<p>Several of the housing estates that remain will undergo massive redevelopment. One of these projects involves Sydney’s largest inner-city public housing estates, in <a href="https://www.communitiesplus.com.au/major-sites/waterloo">Waterloo</a>. The redevelopment will transform it into a mixed estate of 70% private housing and 30% social housing, going from just over 2,000 dwellings to potentially more than 7,000. </p>
<h2>Residents fear being pushed out</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246155/original/file-20181119-27770-5vm6vj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246155/original/file-20181119-27770-5vm6vj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246155/original/file-20181119-27770-5vm6vj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246155/original/file-20181119-27770-5vm6vj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246155/original/file-20181119-27770-5vm6vj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246155/original/file-20181119-27770-5vm6vj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246155/original/file-20181119-27770-5vm6vj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Waterloo redevelopment will produce a mixed estate of 30% social housing and 70% private.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Carol Tang</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Since the redevelopment was announced in 2015, we have been working with the residents of Waterloo to understand their experience of the redevelopment. Many residents feel the project is a ploy to “move the poor people out of the city”, as one of them put it.</p>
<p>While the government has <a href="https://www.facs.nsw.gov.au/about/media/releases/archive/vision-released-for-the-future-waterloo">promised everyone the right to return</a>, there is still a huge amount of uncertainty. And this is justified given that, like many large infrastructure projects conceived during Sydney’s boom time, the Waterloo project will be subject to many changes and delays.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246164/original/file-20181119-76131-1afyq2u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246164/original/file-20181119-76131-1afyq2u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=918&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246164/original/file-20181119-76131-1afyq2u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=918&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246164/original/file-20181119-76131-1afyq2u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=918&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246164/original/file-20181119-76131-1afyq2u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1153&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246164/original/file-20181119-76131-1afyq2u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1153&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/246164/original/file-20181119-76131-1afyq2u.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1153&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Residents of the Matavai and Turanga towers installed coloured lights in their windows to make a statement: ‘We live here’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Nic Walker</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The residents of Waterloo, however, will not go quietly. “People are trying to speak up,” says Maryanne Laumua, a Waterloo tenant and key team member of the <a href="http://www.welivehere2017.com.au/">WeLiveHere2017</a> project.</p>
<p>One of the ways that residents are speaking up is by making their presence known on Sydney’s skyline. In September 2017, residents in the tallest of Waterloo’s towers, Matavai and Turanga, installed coloured lights in their apartment windows to make a statement: “We live here”. The residents’ efforts are chronicled in a new ABC documentary, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/tv/programs/there-goes-our-neighbourhood/#/episode/AC1708H001S00">There Goes Our Neighbourhood</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-live-here-how-do-residents-feel-about-public-housing-redevelopment-83422">We Live Here: how do residents feel about public housing redevelopment?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A long history of displacement</h2>
<p>A history of displacement through colonialism, redevelopment and evictions has shaped Waterloo and neighbouring Redfern. The <a href="https://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/learn/sydneys-history/aboriginal-history">Gadigal people</a> were violently dispossessed of their country after European invasion. Throughout the last century, “<a href="http://sydney-eye.blogspot.com/2012/11/frog-hollow-slum-clearance.html">slum clearance</a>” displaced many working-class households. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/block-politics-in-redfern-20140425-379y3.html">demolition of The Block in Redfern</a> removed many Aboriginal families from their homes. The redevelopment in neighbouring Waterloo comes at a time when <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/none-of-this-is-right-development-plans-spark-fury-at-the-block-20181113-p50ftw.html">approval has been given to redevelop The Block</a>. The <a href="https://www.communitiesplus.com.au/major-sites/redfern">Redfern development</a> includes construction of student housing that seems to have priority over affordable Indigenous housing.</p>
<p>These areas also have a long history of organising against displacement. Waterloo residents joined with the unions as part of the 1970s <a href="https://dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/green_bans_movement">Green Bans</a> campaigns to limit the destruction of working-class housing in the suburb. Jenny Munro and other Aboriginal leaders have campaigned tirelessly for the rights of their community, which includes a years-long <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2016/06/24/jenny-munro-brings-tent-embassy-back-redfern">tent embassy protest on the site of The Block</a>.</p>
<p>The redevelopment of Waterloo’s public housing estate will hardly make a dent in easing housing pressure in Sydney. And as Waterloo resident Karyn Brown puts it:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>To solve the city’s housing crisis, they are picking on public housing tenants, those on the second rung of the housing ladder.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Waterloo tenants resisting the redevelopment are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/jul/12/i-feel-on-the-verge-of-extinction-the-battle-for-sydneys-waterloo">concerned that it’s a form of state-led gentrification</a>. They see the notion of “social mix” — the idea that introducing private owners and tenants can “fix” disadvantaged communities — as a smokescreen for the class upgrading of their neighbourhood. Indeed, <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/social-mix-approach-to-public-housing-is-failing-research-finds-20170616-gwsj3m.html">there is little empirical evidence</a> to support the notion that social mix can solve a community’s problems.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/social-mix-in-housing-one-size-doesnt-fit-all-as-new-projects-show-80956">Social mix in housing? One size doesn't fit all, as new projects show</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Rather than a project intended to alleviate their disadvantage, many tenants feel that “social mix” is both classist and racist. As <a href="https://soundcloud.com/radio-skid-row/sets/survival-guide">Lorna Munro and Joel Sherwood-Spring put it</a>, the dilution of the existing community including the Aboriginal population is simply a continuation of the colonial project.</p>
<p>The residents of Waterloo’s public housing might be far from the city’s wealthiest residents, but they’ve got fighting spirit and community pride in spades. As There Goes Our Neighbourhood shows, this community is diverse, creative and determined to fight for their right to remain in the city.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>There Goes Our Neighbourhood airs on ABC on Tuesday, November 20, at 9.20pm.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/class-divide-defies-social-mixing-and-keeps-public-housing-stigma-alive-81560">Class divide defies social mixing and keeps public housing stigma alive</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/107188/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Pratichi Chatterjee receives funding from an Australian Government Postgraduate Research Training Program.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alistair Sisson receives from an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laura Wynne receives funding from an Australian Government Research Training Program scholarship, and from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jenna Condie does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Working-class residents of Waterloo have a history of resisting threats to their community. Many tenants see the redevelopment of public housing as state-led gentrification to squeeze them out.Pratichi Chatterjee, PhD Student, Urban Geography, University of SydneyAlistair Sisson, PhD Candidate, Urban Geography, University of SydneyJenna Condie, Lecturer in Digital Research and Online Social Analysis, Western Sydney UniversityLaura Wynne, PhD Candidate, School of Social Sciences, UTas and Senior Research Consultant, Institute for Sustainable Futures, UTS, University of TasmaniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1062342018-11-07T19:19:44Z2018-11-07T19:19:44ZWho wins and who loses when platforms like Airbnb disrupt housing? And how do you regulate it?<p>Short-term letting platforms like Airbnb are changing property owners’ and investors’ views and behaviour in the Sydney and Melbourne rental markets. These changes are directly affecting housing availability in localised areas, especially the inner city. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/305">Our research for AHURI</a> is the first major study to combine analyses of the geography of Airbnb in Australia’s two largest cities. This included detailed empirical research into Airbnb hosts’ motivations, and the regulation of short-term letting in Melbourne, Sydney and cities overseas.</p>
<p>Our findings suggest current owners are likely to benefit from the impacts of short-term letting platforms. Prospective owners and tenants may be disadvantaged.</p>
<h2>Who feels the impacts of Airbnb?</h2>
<p>Short-term letting is not a new economic activity. Hosts sharing their primary place of residence – such as taking in lodgers, offering bed and breakfast, and so on – have long been a feature of urban housing markets. </p>
<p>However, short-term letting platforms have fundamentally changed the scale of this activity. These platforms have made it more efficient and less risky, and greatly reduced the search costs. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244456/original/file-20181107-74754-59l7p2.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244456/original/file-20181107-74754-59l7p2.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244456/original/file-20181107-74754-59l7p2.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244456/original/file-20181107-74754-59l7p2.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244456/original/file-20181107-74754-59l7p2.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=371&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244456/original/file-20181107-74754-59l7p2.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244456/original/file-20181107-74754-59l7p2.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244456/original/file-20181107-74754-59l7p2.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Airbnb listings for Sydney and Melbourne (Aug 2015–Feb 2018)</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/305">Authors' analysis based on AirDNA.co data</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Existing research on these platforms and the “<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08111146.2018.1460722">sharing economy</a>” suggests the growth in short-term letting affects different housing market participants in very different ways. </p>
<p>Our research shows that existing owners will likely benefit over time from the rise of these platforms. That’s because these sites offer a flexible means of monetising housing wealth to allow further consumption.</p>
<p>For prospective home owners, however, entering the market may become more difficult, as short-term letting earnings may be capitalised into higher purchase prices. </p>
<p>For tenants, there are few benefits. The rise in short-term letting is likely to cause greater uncertainty for prospective tenants seeking long-term rentals. There are risks and restrictions that limit the ability of current tenants to use the platforms to sublet.</p>
<h2>Where does Airbnb have the most impact?</h2>
<p>Despite some growth in more suburban areas, the spatial impact of Airbnb in both Sydney and Melbourne remains concentrated in high-demand inner-city areas. In these areas, two factors – decreasing bond lodgement rates and increasing property vacancies – point to the likelihood that short-term letting is removing properties from the long-term rental market. This in turn is contributing to increasing unaffordability.</p>
<p>The impact of Airbnb listings on rental housing markets has been very localised in Sydney and Melbourne.</p>
<p>In Sydney, Darlinghurst, Manly and the eastern beach suburbs of Bondi, Tamarama and Bronte have been the focus of Airbnb activity. In these areas, Airbnb listings account for between 11.2% and 14.8% of rental housing stock. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244457/original/file-20181107-74766-1gj4wjj.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244457/original/file-20181107-74766-1gj4wjj.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244457/original/file-20181107-74766-1gj4wjj.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244457/original/file-20181107-74766-1gj4wjj.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244457/original/file-20181107-74766-1gj4wjj.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=428&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244457/original/file-20181107-74766-1gj4wjj.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244457/original/file-20181107-74766-1gj4wjj.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244457/original/file-20181107-74766-1gj4wjj.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=538&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Listings as a proportion of rental dwellings (ABS 2016) in Sydney.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/305">AHURI</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In Melbourne, central Melbourne, Docklands, Southbank, Fitzroy and St Kilda have been the focus of Airbnb listings, accounting for between 8.6% and 15.3% of rental housing stock. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244458/original/file-20181107-74760-1l7xo0c.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244458/original/file-20181107-74760-1l7xo0c.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244458/original/file-20181107-74760-1l7xo0c.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244458/original/file-20181107-74760-1l7xo0c.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244458/original/file-20181107-74760-1l7xo0c.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244458/original/file-20181107-74760-1l7xo0c.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244458/original/file-20181107-74760-1l7xo0c.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244458/original/file-20181107-74760-1l7xo0c.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Listings as a proportion of rental dwellings in Melbourne.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/305">AHURI</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However, the impacts of Airbnb on rental supply have been offset by: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>substantial growth in dwelling numbers in key areas of Melbourne</p></li>
<li><p>large numbers of dwellings that are otherwise outside of long-term housing supply, including many unoccupied dwellings. </p></li>
</ul>
<h2>What motivates Airbnb hosts?</h2>
<p>This research offers a new Australian perspective on Airbnb host motivations and decision-making, drawing on some of the most extensive empirical work to date. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244257/original/file-20181107-74778-hga09s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244257/original/file-20181107-74778-hga09s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/244257/original/file-20181107-74778-hga09s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=662&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244257/original/file-20181107-74778-hga09s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=662&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244257/original/file-20181107-74778-hga09s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=662&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244257/original/file-20181107-74778-hga09s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=832&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244257/original/file-20181107-74778-hga09s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=832&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/244257/original/file-20181107-74778-hga09s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=832&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">By making short-term letting more efficient and less risky, digital platforms have reduced numbers of long-term rental properties in some areas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/wroclaw-poland-april-10th-2017-woman-624572792?src=ZdL0eX5Li6dZ5J4YHFb2Gw-1-0">Daniel Krason/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The main motivation for hosting on Airbnb is to earn extra money from housing assets, in a way that is perceived to minimise risk. In some cases this income is tied to an immediate need for a buffer against housing insecurity. But this is not the case for many hosts. </p>
<p>Financial motivations were bolstered by the fact that hosting brings additional intrinsic benefits. These include the opportunity to connect with diverse people, and a sense of pride associated with being a good host. For many hosts, the flexibility to use the property occasionally, while also using it to earn money, was a significant advantage of short-term letting over long-term rental. </p>
<p>Some hosts have converted long-term rental properties into permanent Airbnb listings. However, some of these will likely return over time due to a perception of declining profitability, a greater workload associated with short-term letting, and the professionalisation of Airbnb. On the other hand, some hosts are motivated to expand their Airbnb portfolios with new acquisitions.</p>
<p>For other hosts, flexibility is key. Without Airbnb they would prefer to keep dwellings vacant rather than rent out long term. This points to other motivations for owning investment property than achieving maximum rental income. </p>
<h2>Approaches to regulation</h2>
<p>We reviewed regulation in Melbourne, Sydney and nine cities overseas in which short-term letting is a significant issue. Our review found three broad approaches to regulation: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>a permissive approach – short-term letting is mostly allowed without prior permission or notification</p></li>
<li><p>a notificatory approach – short-term letting is mostly allowed, provided the host first notifies an authority (that is, there is no specific decision by the authority). </p></li>
<li><p>a restrictive approach – short-term letting is mostly banned, or allowed only where an authority gives specific permission. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Melbourne and Sydney have both recently adopted a permissive approach, with some limitations. However, we believe the notificatory approach is best adapted to managing new aspects of short-term letting in the Airbnb era.</p>
<h2>Policy implications</h2>
<p>The research findings suggest four ways to strengthen policy responses to short-term letting: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>a registration system for listings, to help with enforcement</p></li>
<li><p>additional localised strategies to limit short-term letting and ensure adequate affordable rental supply in areas of intense activity</p></li>
<li><p>the integration of measures to limit commercial-style short-term letting within a broad-ranging housing policy, which reflects the changing nature of housing markets and the complex drivers behind these shifts</p></li>
<li><p>an ongoing research agenda into short-term letting across our cities and regional areas and its impact on housing and urban planning outcomes, supported by access to detailed, up-to-date data.</p></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p><em>This article has been updated to include additional graphics from the <a href="http://www.ahuri.edu.au/research/final-reports/305">AHURI report</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106234/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laura Crommelin receives funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute and the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Martin receives funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laurence Troy receives funding from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sharon Parkinson receives funding from The Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI). </span></em></p>Short-term letting via digital platforms benefits some in the market at the expense of others. Closer regulation might be needed in Melbourne and Sydney, where a permissive approach prevails.Laura Crommelin, Research Lecturer, City Futures Research Centre, UNSW SydneyChris Martin, Research Fellow, City Housing, UNSW SydneyLaurence Troy, Research Fellow, City Futures Research Centre, UNSW SydneySharon Parkinson, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Urban Transitions, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1048492018-10-31T18:54:27Z2018-10-31T18:54:27ZIdeas of home and ownership in Australia might explain the neglect of renters’ rights<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/241947/original/file-20181024-169804-rsn6h3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">People should be able to feel at home regardless of whether they own the place they live in.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-relaxing-on-balcony-holding-cup-562594846?src=wUVMr2oG4SGqKT6QFk-5nw-1-46">Halfpoint/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In Australia, when we think of home, we think of ownership. This normalisation of home ownership is reflected in the “Great Australian Dream”, the belief that it’s the best way to achieve financial security. This “dream” is based on the premise that if you work hard you will one day be able to buy a home. Home ownership is an important goal for many Australians. Home ownership implies success.</p>
<p>Linked to the importance of home ownership are our conceptions of home – what home means and the ways home can and should be made. Popular understandings of home suggest that feelings of home are most easily created between a house and the person who owns it. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/just-like-home-new-survey-finds-most-renters-enjoy-renting-although-for-many-its-expensive-103890">'Just like home'. New survey finds most renters enjoy renting, although for many it's expensive</a>
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</p>
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<h2>What is home?</h2>
<p>So ingrained is this relationship between home and ownership that in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/gec3.12354">my recently published paper</a> I argue that research rarely considers the ways non-owners make and think about home. This is problematic, given recent housing trends.</p>
<p>Recent changes in housing, particularly the increased cost of home ownership and <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-needs-to-reboot-affordable-housing-funding-not-scrap-it-72861">curbing of public housing</a>, have created a greater demand for rental housing. As a result, there is an undersupply of privately rented housing in Australia. </p>
<p>Australian tenancy laws add to the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-insecurity-of-private-renters-how-do-they-manage-it-77324">insecurity of the private rental sector</a>. Tenancy laws and policy reflect cultural norms in Australia, where private renting is seen as a form of short-term, transitional housing. </p>
<p>Recently, significant media and public <a href="https://theconversation.com/an-open-letter-on-rental-housing-reform-103825">attention</a> has been directed at the <a href="https://theconversation.com/life-as-an-older-renter-and-what-it-tells-us-about-the-urgent-need-for-tenancy-reform-103842">impact of state-based tenancy legislation</a>. It is argued that tenancy laws need to be changed to reflect current housing trends and the needs of many tenants to have long-term, secure housing. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/when-falling-home-ownership-and-ageing-baby-boomers-collide-102846">When falling home ownership and ageing baby boomers collide</a>
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<p>Rental insecurity is a persistent source of stress for many tenants. It’s a key reason that many tenants struggle to feel at home in their rental property. A person’s ability to identify feelings of home with their dwelling has been shown to impact <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14036090120617?casa_token=norku4gEmtoAAAAA:VN2dQFxec3pdp9jtLzo6TrUmE3Us7oa_-mZq0wZRRwSTAep3DjdqdaCc_hFARNCALCZWta1jDQ83Nw">psychological health and overall well-being</a>.</p>
<p>My research findings suggest that while tenancy law affects the ways we understand and make home, likewise, our meanings of home affect how we shape and understand tenure and policy. Australian tenancy law reflects broader cultural values that associate the meaning and making of home with home ownership. </p>
<p>While researchers and policymakers focus on how tenancy law can negatively affect or restrict renters within their homes, the actual practices of home-making by renters are often overlooked. Current understandings of home typically reference what home means to home owners. My research points to the importance of understanding the ways private renters make home – and make home meaningful – so that any changes to tenancy law reflect the needs of tenants. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/life-as-an-older-renter-and-what-it-tells-us-about-the-urgent-need-for-tenancy-reform-103842">Life as an older renter, and what it tells us about the urgent need for tenancy reform</a>
</strong>
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</p>
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<h2>Is having a home a right or a privilege?</h2>
<p>While there is no doubt that small changes are being made, perhaps the <a href="https://theconversation.com/dickensian-approach-to-residential-tenants-lingers-in-australian-law-65146">lack of consideration for tenants in tenancy laws and policy</a> is indicative of our larger beliefs about what it is to “feel” at home and make a home. The “Great Australian Dream” is based on the belief that hard work will eventually lead to home ownership. Yet owning a home is becoming impossible for many people, irrespective of how hard they work. </p>
<p>If we understand home to be a basic right, then we will have policies that reflect this. If we understand home to be a privilege, reserved only for those who manage to achieve home ownership, then we will forever live in a country where tenure security and a feeling of being “home” are reserved for those who are able to buy a house. Consequently, our policies will continue to support the idea that, ultimately, a rental property cannot be “home” to a tenant. </p>
<p>The question then remains: do we consider home a right or a privilege? This issue is at the very heart of Australia’s housing crisis. Until we change our meaning of home by separating it from ownership, we will never be able to “fix” Australia’s housing crisis.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-do-single-older-women-want-their-own-little-space-and-garden-to-call-home-for-a-start-84780">What do single, older women want? Their 'own little space' (and garden) to call home, for a start</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/104849/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bronwyn Bate receives an Australian Government Research Training Program Stipend Scholarship and Western Sydney University Top-Up Scholarship as part of her PhD program.</span></em></p>Renting a house shouldn’t mean it’s not home. Until we change our meaning of home by separating it from ownership, we will never be able to “fix” Australia’s housing crisis.Bronwyn Bate, PhD Candidate, Urban Research Program, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1028522018-09-27T20:19:08Z2018-09-27T20:19:08ZTen lessons from cities that have risen to the affordable housing challenge<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237867/original/file-20180925-149955-1lkfdck.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Vancouver has scaled up delivery of affordable social housing to about 15 times as much as Melbourne over the past three years.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/photo-false-creek-downtown-vancouver-canada-527370283?src=RkDBre8oFWsr98vS9U9UtA-1-4">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Imagine planning a public transport system for a large city by providing one bus at a time on one route that might serve a few dozen people (but nobody knows how many). That is what planning for housing affordability looks like in most Australian capital cities: innovative projects take years to develop and never get scaled up into a system.</p>
<p>Who can we learn from? In July, the lead author returned to three cities comparable to Melbourne that she visited in <a href="https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/2603703/Affordable-housing-partnerships-v2.pdf">2015</a> – Vancouver, Portland and Toronto – to re-interview key housing actors and review investment and policy changes over the past three years. All have big housing affordability problems, caused by a strong economy and 30 years of largely unregulated speculative housing. A lack of federal government involvement has exacerbated these problems. </p>
<p>But these four cities have recently developed very different approaches to housing systems planning, with increasingly divergent results. Toronto has gone backwards. Vancouver and Portland, though, are reaping the rewards of good metropolitan policy, from which we have drawn ten lessons for Melbourne. </p>
<p>Before we discuss these, let’s take stock of the affordable housing challenge in Melbourne. </p>
<h2>Who needs affordable housing, and how much of it?</h2>
<p>The Victorian state government has recently defined <a href="https://www.planning.vic.gov.au/policy-and-strategy/affordable-housing">affordable housing incomes and price points</a> for both Greater Melbourne and regional Victoria for households on very low (0-50% of median income), low (50-80%) and moderate (80-120%) incomes. It has enshrined “affordable housing” as an explicit aim in the Planning and Environment Act. <a href="https://engage.vic.gov.au/fairersaferhousing">Better protection for renters</a> has also been developed. </p>
<p>These are great steps, but we need to go further in the next term of government.</p>
<p>The Australian government estimated that <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/research/ongoing/report-on-government-services/2018/housing-and-homelessness/rogs-2018-partg-sectorg-attachment.pdf">142,685 lower-income</a> renter households in Victoria were in housing stress in 2015-16. Over 30% and in many cases over 50% of their income was going to rent or mortgage payments. </p>
<p>Our research team at Transforming Housing has more recently calculated a deficit of <a href="https://theconversation.com/put-unused-and-lazy-land-to-work-to-ease-the-affordable-housing-crisis-102720">164,000</a> affordable housing dwellings. Over 90% of the deficit is in Greater Melbourne.</p>
<p>A simplified version of the price points necessary for households to avoid housing stress (one that leaves out household size and <a href="https://theconversation.com/affordable-housing-is-not-just-about-the-purchase-price-75859">additional costs and risks of poorly located housing</a> on the city fringe) looks like this:</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237830/original/file-20180925-85785-al4fz6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237830/original/file-20180925-85785-al4fz6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237830/original/file-20180925-85785-al4fz6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237830/original/file-20180925-85785-al4fz6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237830/original/file-20180925-85785-al4fz6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237830/original/file-20180925-85785-al4fz6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237830/original/file-20180925-85785-al4fz6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237830/original/file-20180925-85785-al4fz6.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/2876008/Project-3000-Producing-Social-and-Affordable-Housing-on-Government-Land.pdf">Palm, Raynor & Whitzman (2018)</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Affordable home ownership bears no resemblance to the current market in which the median unit price is well over <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-01/sydney-melbourne-housing-property-market-royal-commission/9713738">$700,000</a>. Median rents are affordable to many moderate-income households, at about $<a href="https://dhhs.vic.gov.au/publications/rental-report">420</a> a week. Whether such housing is available, with a vacancy rate of less than 1%, is another issue, <a href="https://www.sgsep.com.au/news/latest-news/rental-affordability-index-may-2018-results-available-now">particularly for very low-income households</a>.</p>
<p>The Victorian government has a <a href="https://www.planmelbourne.vic.gov.au/">metropolitan planning strategy</a> that states the need for 1.6 million new dwellings between 2017 and 2050. That’s almost 50,000 new homes a year. Using the new definitions, we can calculate ideal ten-year new housing supply targets to meet the needs of all residents of Greater Melbourne.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237834/original/file-20180925-82029-1hcrqn1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237834/original/file-20180925-82029-1hcrqn1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237834/original/file-20180925-82029-1hcrqn1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=311&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237834/original/file-20180925-82029-1hcrqn1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=311&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237834/original/file-20180925-82029-1hcrqn1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=311&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237834/original/file-20180925-82029-1hcrqn1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237834/original/file-20180925-82029-1hcrqn1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/237834/original/file-20180925-82029-1hcrqn1.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=391&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>The biggest problem is not overall supply. In the six months from February to July 2018, there were <a href="http://stat.data.abs.gov.au/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=BA_GCCSA">28,602</a> dwelling unit approvals in Greater Melbourne. At that rate there would be 572,040 new units by 2028, which is more than the total need projected by Plan Melbourne. </p>
<p>The problem is that the price points of these dwellings are beyond the means of 64% of households – 456,295 would need to be affordable, appropriately sized and located to meet most people’s needs. <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/pretty-vacant-20000-properties-empty-across-inner-melbourne-20171109-gzi55w.html">All too many</a> will be bought as investments and remain vacant.</p>
<p>Plan Melbourne doesn’t provide targets for affordability, size or location. This is left to six subregions, each with four to eight local governments, which have not produced these reports in the 18 months since the plan was released. </p>
<p>Affordable housing targets that exist in state documents are woefully inadequate. <a href="https://www.vic.gov.au/system/user_files/Documents/housing/FINAL%20PDF%20DTF046_Q_housing01.pdf">Homes for Victorians</a> has an overall target of 4,700 new or renovated social housing units over the five-year period 2017-22. </p>
<p>An <a href="https://www.vic.gov.au/affordablehousing/housing-supply-and-planning/inclusionary-housing.html">inclusionary zoning</a> pilot on government-owned land might yield “as many as” 100 social housing units in five years. <a href="https://dhhs.vic.gov.au/public-housing-renewal-program">Public housing renewal</a> on nine sites is expected to yield at least a 10% uplift, or 110 extra social housing units, in return for sale of government land to private developers. This is certainly not <a href="https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/2603558/Maximising-the-Social-Benefits-of-Public-Housing-Renewal.pdf">maximizing social benefit</a>.</p>
<h2>What can we learn from Vancouver and Portland?</h2>
<p>Although <a href="https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/2018-housing-vancouver-annual-progress-report-and-data-book.pdf">Vancouver</a> has huge housing affordability issues, it has been able to scale up housing delivery for very low-income households – about 15 times as much social and affordable housing as Melbourne over the past three years. Both <a href="https://vancouver.ca/files/cov/rental-incentive-guidelines.pdf">Vancouver</a> and <a href="https://www.pdx.edu/sba/sites/www.pdx.edu.sba/files/01-Missing-Condos-Seidman.pdf">Portland</a> have ambitious private sector <a href="https://theconversation.com/build-to-rent-could-be-the-missing-piece-of-the-affordable-housing-puzzle-82320">build-to-rent</a> programs, with thousands of new affordable rental dwellings near transport lines. </p>
<p>Both cities have influenced senior governments. Canada is investing C$40 billion (A$42.6b) over the next ten years in its <a href="https://www.placetocallhome.ca/pdfs/Canada-National-Housing-Strategy.pdf">National Housing Strategy</a>. </p>
<p>In contrast, Toronto has had a net loss of hundreds of units of social housing. This is due to disastrous lack of leadership at local and state (provincial) levels.</p>
<p><a href="https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/2882491/Tap-Turners-and-Game-Changers.pdf">Our new report</a> highlights 10 lessons for the Victorian government:</p>
<ol>
<li><p><strong>Establish a clear and shared definition of “affordable housing”.</strong> Enabling its provision should be stated as a goal of planning. This has been done.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Calculate housing need.</strong> We have up-to-date calculations, broken down by singles, couples and other households, as well as income groups, in <a href="https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/2876008/Project-3000-Producing-Social-and-Affordable-Housing-on-Government-Land.pdf">this report</a></p></li>
<li><p><strong>Set housing targets.</strong> Ideally, you would want a target of 456,295 new units affordable to households on very low, low and moderate incomes. Both <a href="http://www.infrastructurevictoria.com.au/30-year-strategy">Infrastructure Victoria</a> and the <a href="http://everybodyshome.com.au/">Everybody’s Home</a> campaign have suggested a more attainable ten-year target: 30,000 affordable homes for very low and low-income people over the next decade. This would allow systems and partnerships between state and local government, investors and non-profit and private housing developers to begin to scale up to meet need.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Set local targets.</strong> The state government, which is responsible for metropolitan planning, should be setting local government housing targets, based on infrastructure capacity, and then helping to meet these targets (and improve infrastructure in areas where homes increase). We have developed a simple tool we call <a href="https://www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?webmap=98830487b4d348de8bd81bba1669a0c2&extent=144.8533,-37.8711,145.1062,-37.7585">HART: Housing Access Rating Tool</a>. It scores every land parcel in Greater Melbourne according to access to services: public transport, schools, bulk-billing health centres, etc.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Identify available sites.</strong> We have <a href="https://msd.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/2876008/Project-3000-Producing-Social-and-Affordable-Housing-on-Government-Land.pdf">mapped over 250 government-owned sites</a>, not including public housing estates, that could accommodate well over 30,000 well-located affordable homes, with a goal of at least 40% available to very low-income households. Aside from leasing government land for a peppercorn rent, which could cut construction costs by up to 30%, a number of other mechanisms could quickly release affordable housing. Launch Housing, the state government and Maribyrnong council recently developed <a href="https://theconversation.com/portable-units-and-temporary-leases-free-up-vacant-land-for-urgent-housing-needs-86753">57 units of modular housing</a> on vacant government land, linked to services for homeless people. The City of Vancouver and the British Columbia provincial government recently scaled up a similar pilot project to <a href="https://vancouver.ca/people-programs/temporary-modular-housing.aspx">600 dwellings built over six months</a>.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Create more market rental housing.</strong> <a href="https://vancouver.ca/people-programs/creating-new-market-rental-housing.aspx">Vancouver</a> has enabled over 7,000 well-located moderately affordable private rental apartments near transport lines in the past five years, using revenue-neutral mechanisms. <a href="https://www.pdx.edu/sba/sites/www.pdx.edu.sba/files/01-Missing-Condos-Seidman.pdf">Portland</a> developers have almost entirely moved from speculative condominium development to more affordable build-to-rent in recent years.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Mandate inclusionary zoning.</strong> This approach, presently being piloted, could be scaled up to cover all well-located new developments. <a href="https://www.portlandoregon.gov/bps/71274">Portland</a> recently introduced mandatory provision of 20% of new housing developments affordable to low-income households or 10% to very low-income households. If applied in Melbourne, this measure alone could meet the 30,000 target (but not the current 164,000 deficit or 456,295 projected need).</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Dampen speculation at the high end of the market.</strong> This would help deal with the oversupply of <a href="https://www.economy.com/dismal/analysis/datapoints/292072/A-Tax-on-Luxury-Homes/">luxury housing</a>. <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-new-bc-tax-on-high-value-homes-goes-largely-unnoticed/">Taxes on luxury homes, vacant properties and foreign ownership</a> could help fund affordable housing.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Have one agency to drive these changes.</strong> The impact of an agency like the <a href="http://vaha.ca/">Vancouver Affordable Housing Agency</a> is perhaps the most important lesson. The Victorian government has over a dozen departments and agencies engaged in some aspect of affordable housing delivery. We suggest repurposing the <a href="https://vpa.vic.gov.au/">Victorian Planning Authority</a> with an explicit mandate to develop and deliver housing affordability, size diversity and locational targets set by the next state government.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>A systems approach is essential to build capacity.</strong> It will take time, coordination and political will for local governments to meet targets, non-profit housing providers to scale up delivery and management of social housing, private developers and investors to take advantage of affordability opportunities, and state government to plan for affordable housing. Eradicating homelessness and delivering affordable housing for all Victorians is possible. But it needs a systems approach.</p></li>
</ol><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102852/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Carolyn Whitzman receives funding from the Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation, Brotherhood of St Laurence and Launch Housing.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katrina Raynor receives funding from the Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation, Brotherhood of St Laurence and Launch Housing.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Palm receives funding from the Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation, Brotherhood of St Laurence and Launch Housing.</span></em></p>Cities overseas that have been able to overcome the affordable housing challenges facing cities like Melbourne have adopted a coordinated and systemic approach to scaling up solutions that work.Carolyn Whitzman, Professor of Urban Planning, The University of MelbourneKatrina Raynor, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Transforming Housing Project, The University of MelbourneMatthew Palm, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Transforming Housing Research Network, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/961102018-06-19T20:15:25Z2018-06-19T20:15:25ZOvercrowded housing looms as a challenge for our cities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/221913/original/file-20180606-137312-coatpi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The return of the historic problem of overcrowded dwellings points to a need in Australia for better understanding of the causes and regulatory responses.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jacob_Riis,_Lodgers_in_a_Crowded_Bayard_Street_Tenement.jpg">Jacob Riis (1889)</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Overcrowding is an inevitable and often overlooked result of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/affordable-housing-shortfall-leaves-1-3m-households-in-need-and-rising-study-80965">affordable housing shortage</a> in our cities. </p>
<p>When a dwelling requires four or more extra bedrooms to reasonably accommodate occupants, the standard commonly used in Australia defines that as severe overcrowding. In 2011, 41,390 Australians lived in severely overcrowded dwellings, an <a href="http://www.nwhn.net.au/admin/file/content9/c14/NAHA-Homelessness%202011-12.pdf">increase of one-third from 2006</a>. This increase occurred mostly in cities where house prices had risen sharply.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/room-sharing-is-the-new-flat-sharing-84359">Room sharing is the new flat sharing</a>
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<p>Our recent <a href="http://apo.org.au/node/178836">research</a>, to be published soon, examined where overcrowded housing is located in our capital cities. We found:</p>
<ul>
<li>Sydney and Melbourne are most affected by concentrated overcrowding</li>
<li>levels of overcrowding are highest in middle-city areas (except in Adelaide)</li>
<li>overcrowding overlaps strongly with socioeconomic disadvantage.</li>
</ul>
<h2>What exactly do we mean by overcrowding?</h2>
<p>Pressure in the affordable housing sector has led to increases in overcrowding. Media reports describe situations of “<a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/ten-people-in-a-two-bed-unit-international-students-living-in-squalor">ten people in a two-bed unit</a>”, “<a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/illegal-accommodation-city-of-sydney-cracks-down-on-black-market-syndicates-20150615-gho8ie.html">58 beds crammed into 19 dirty, makeshift rooms</a>” and “<a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/korean/en/audiotrack/city-sydney-cracks-down-illegal-accommodation">ten people shoehorned into one bedroom, tenants sleeping in bathrooms, and in one case, a pantry</a>”.</p>
<p>Living in severely crowded dwellings has been described as the <a href="http://apo.org.au/node/56126">most common form of homelessness</a>. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/homelessness-australias-shameful-story-of-policy-complacency-and-failure-continues-95376">Homelessness: Australia's shameful story of policy complacency and failure continues</a>
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<p>Security and safety can be an issue when residents do not have privacy and control of their own space. But people sacrifice space and safety to secure affordable accommodation. </p>
<p>An example of the dangers was a fatal fire in an apartment illegally partitioned to create <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/fire-flat-building-changes-15-minutes-to-flashover-20120920-269lb.html">a fourth bedroom</a>.</p>
<p>Commonly used standards of overcrowding range from simple indicators such as persons per bedroom (e.g. <a href="http://archive.stats.govt.nz/tools_and_services/nzdotstat/tables-by-subject/housing-quality-tables/crowding-occupancy-rate.aspx">American Crowding Index</a>) to more sophisticated indicators that consider family size and composition (age, gender and marital status). </p>
<p>One such measure, the Canadian National Occupancy Standard (<a href="http://meteor.aihw.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/386254">CNOS</a>), is officially recognised in Australia. It assesses a household’s bedroom requirements using the following criteria:</p>
<ul>
<li>no more than two people should share a bedroom</li>
<li>children of different sexes under five years of age may reasonably share a room</li>
<li>children of different sexes should not share a bedroom when aged five or older</li>
<li>children under 18 and of the same sex may reasonably share a bedroom</li>
<li>parents, couples and household members aged 18 or older should have a separate bedroom.</li>
</ul>
<p>Under this standard, households that need at least one extra bedroom are considered overcrowded. A shortfall of four or more bedrooms is severe overcrowding, with greater risks for health and safety.</p>
<h2>One standard doesn’t fit all situations</h2>
<p>Measuring overcrowding is not straightforward. The age and sex separation thresholds involve assumptions about the age of puberty and adulthood. </p>
<p>CNOS is the preferred measure of the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Statistics New Zealand and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). This is because it takes the age and sex of occupants into account and matches our values and expectations of how space is used. </p>
<p>In Australia, it is usually acceptable for children of the same sex to share a bedroom before puberty. But we already know CNOS <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/research/supporting/national-agreements/affordable-housing/affordable-housing-2011-12.pdf">does not account for differing cultural expectations</a> of the numbers of bathrooms and toilets, and the size of kitchens, bedrooms and living spaces. CNOS embeds assumptions that do not hold across ethnically diverse groups in Australia.</p>
<p>For example, a study of migrant suburbs in Sydney and Melbourne found “<a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0042098017700791">it is not uncommon to have families with two adults and five children sharing a two-bedroom property</a>”. This is due to large family size and different cultural norms, including intergenerational occupancy of housing. Few properties are designed for this. </p>
<p>Traditional Pacific houses use living spaces rather than separate bedrooms for sleeping. A bedroom with more than two people is compatible with the attitudes of some Pacific and Mäori peoples to <a href="http://archive.stats.govt.nz/methods/research-papers/working-papers-original/finding-crowding-index-11-04.aspx">having a sense of adequate space</a>.</p>
<p>Similarly, using the Canadian standard, <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0013/2029/AHURI_Final_Report_No194_Australian_Indigenous_house_crowding.pdf">Indigenous Australians are more than five times as likely to live in overcrowded housing as non-Indigenous Australians</a>. This is alarmingly high and likely driven by high rates of socioeconomic disadvantage. We need to disentangle the extent to which values around space and its use versus socio-economic drivers of overcrowding underlie this statistic.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-need-to-stop-innovating-in-indigenous-housing-and-get-on-with-closing-the-gap-96266">We need to stop innovating in Indigenous housing and get on with Closing the Gap</a>
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<h2>Do we need better measures?</h2>
<p>So should we develop Australian-specific culturally sensitive standards? We think that depends on what we want to know. </p>
<p><a href="http://jech.bmj.com/content/early/2016/05/06/jech-2015-206716#ref-11">Physiological stress and disease risk as a result of crowding occur for different ethnic groups</a> regardless of whether they perceive themselves as crowded. Culturally specific standards may not be necessary when broadly examining the relationships between crowding and transmission of infections such as rheumatic fever, colds, asthma, influenza and <a href="https://www.msd.govt.nz/documents/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/archive/2001-definitionsofcrowding.pdf">meningococcal disease</a>. Living in close quarters is relevant regardless of cultural norms of housing or nuances of measurement of crowding. Standard indices, while not perfect, capture this.</p>
<p>However, expectations about shared space might influence impacts on mental health. Social relations and family bonds are key social determinants of mental health. In particular, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1353829216300521#bib58">shared culture has been identified as a positive resource in improving Indigenous health</a>. Current crowding metrics <a href="https://uofmpress.ca/books/detail/indigenous-homelessness">ignore non-bedroom-related uses of housing</a>. </p>
<p>Crowding indices that <a href="https://www.ahuri.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/2895/AHURI_Positioning_Paper_No141_Modelling-crowding-in-Aboriginal-Australia.pdf">capture the use of space – for example, incorporating subjective feelings that too many people are around</a> – could be a step forward. Given our climate of wide temperature ranges and the high cost of utilities, such indices might also consider “functional overcrowding” – people sharing small spaces or beds due to concerns about heating/cooling and security.</p>
<p>Research on wellbeing would benefit from integrating a better understanding of the variety of needs of cultural groups and tailoring measures to our climatic conditions. However, such measures would be more subjective than current standard measures, more difficult to collect at a population level and less comparable with international standards. </p>
<h2>What can we do about harmful overcrowding?</h2>
<p>Cultural preferences mean low levels of overcrowding may not always be problematic. But overcrowding is a problem when generated by socio-economic disadvantage and when it compromises people’s safety and security. This is likely in cities where housing costs are high. </p>
<p>Broader measures are needed to improve the supply of affordable housing. This includes dedicated programs such as the National Rental Affordability Scheme (<a href="https://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/housing-support/programs-services/national-rental-affordability-scheme/national-rental-affordability-scheme-frequently-asked-questions-1">NRAS</a>) and extra funding for social housing. Enforceable laws that go beyond the Public Health and Wellbeing Act in Victoria and NSW Fair Trading strata reforms are also needed to monitor overcrowding and avoid the negative impacts of severe overcrowding.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/96110/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shanaka Herath has received funding from AHURI, City of Sydney Council and the Austrian Research Promotion Agency.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca Bentley receives funding from the Australian Research Council and National Health and Medical Research Council. </span></em></p>The standards we use today were designed to help avoid the overcrowded housing that blighted cities in the past. But severe overcrowding is again on the rise, so what needs to be done?Shanaka Herath, Vice-Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of WollongongRebecca Bentley, Associate Professor, Centre for Health Equity, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/961032018-05-21T19:49:54Z2018-05-21T19:49:54ZHousing affordability stress affects one in nine households, but which ones are really struggling?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/217881/original/file-20180507-166903-1jv3l9k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Housing is just one of the essentials in household budgets and it's when there's no way to manage all these costs that financial stress really sets in.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Emma Baker</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Meeting the cost of buying a home or renting privately is difficult for many in Australia, and sadly impossible for some. Governments are concerned about the housing affordability “crisis” to varying extents, but it’s probably fair to say that we have not seen many effective solutions so far. That’s a result of the complexity of both understanding and solving the problem.</p>
<p>Anglicare’s <a href="http://www.anglicare.asn.au/news-and-media/latest-news/2018/04/29/anglicare-australia-releases-rental-affordability-snapshot-the-rental-crisis-is-worse-than-ever">Rental Affordability Snapshot</a> has, for nearly a decade, painted a worrying picture of almost all of our major cities. Again this year only a tiny proportion of rental properties on the market are affordable for people receiving government support.</p>
<p>But analyses by economists, geographers, the building industry, think tanks, housing researchers and governments themselves define the problem of affordability differently. (And they disagree on the solutions, often relying on <a href="https://theconversation.com/affordable-housing-policy-failure-still-being-fuelled-by-flawed-analysis-92993">flawed assumptions</a>.) </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/affordable-housing-policy-failure-still-being-fuelled-by-flawed-analysis-92993">Affordable housing policy failure still being fuelled by flawed analysis</a>
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<h2>What do we mean by unaffordable?</h2>
<p>We aim to contribute to the conversation by challenging how we think about and what we mean by “unaffordable housing”.</p>
<p>The way you measure housing (un)affordability matters – a lot. It affects how big the problem is estimated to be, who is identified as affected, where they live, what interventions might help, and how much these will cost. </p>
<p>In addition, it is tricky to generate simple, usable statistics. This is because Australian households have such varied housing experiences (and costs). Sometimes we <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-this-the-budget-that-forgot-renters-77101">forget renters</a>. Sometimes we don’t distinguish between unaffordable <a href="https://theconversation.com/four-outdated-assumptions-prevent-progress-on-affordable-housing-to-everyones-cost-80198">housing costs for low-income and high-income households</a>. And, importantly, sometimes we confuse the risk of housing affordability problems with the experience of them.</p>
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<p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/facts-sink-glib-housing-supply-mantra-the-focus-must-be-on-affordable-rental-87757">Facts sink glib housing supply mantra – the focus must be on affordable rental</a>
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<p>Here is an example. The most commonly used measure of housing affordability in both policy and research settings is the relatively simple measure of “housing affordability stress”. We classify people as having housing stress if they are in the bottom 40% for household incomes and paying more than 30% of their income in housing costs. </p>
<p>This allows us to identify low-income households that are paying high housing costs. (It’s generally assumed that people with higher incomes can meet their basic housing needs.) Using this measure, it is estimated that roughly <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08111146.2018.1460267">11% of Australian households</a> have unaffordable housing costs.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/217880/original/file-20180507-166874-1ule7wh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/217880/original/file-20180507-166874-1ule7wh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/217880/original/file-20180507-166874-1ule7wh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=668&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217880/original/file-20180507-166874-1ule7wh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=668&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217880/original/file-20180507-166874-1ule7wh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=668&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217880/original/file-20180507-166874-1ule7wh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=840&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217880/original/file-20180507-166874-1ule7wh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=840&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/217880/original/file-20180507-166874-1ule7wh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=840&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Affordability stress isn’t just a matter of having to juggle income and housing costs, but whether a household can afford other essentials.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/great-concept-household-bills-woman-calculating-1082188298?src=fpPOWyJMq-feiiiw9phV7g-1-23">ThiagoSantos/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But housing costs are just one part of a household’s weekly spending. In <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08111146.2018.1460267">recent work</a>, we were interested to see if we could identify who is actually experiencing financial hardship because of high housing costs by looking at their capacity to meet other essential non-housing costs. A substantial meal at least once a day, medical and dental treatment when needed, and warm clothes when it’s cold – these are things that most Australians regard as essential. When people cannot afford these things, we describe them as being materially deprived (you can read <a href="https://www.sprc.unsw.edu.au/media/SPRCFile/Report12_07_Deprivation_and_exclusion_in_Australia.pdf">more about deprivation here</a>).</p>
<p>Within the 11% of the households classified as having unaffordable housing costs, only a small proportion (just under 3% of households) are also materially deprived. When we take a closer look at who is in this smaller group, they are distinct in that they have lower incomes, poorer health, are more financially strained, live in the rental sector, and move house more often.</p>
<p>Some households may be able to cope with high housing costs by “shuffling” other parts of their life. They may, for example, take on more hours at work, draw on savings, or reduce discretionary spending. </p>
<p>Expensive housing becomes a problem when households are unable to make these adjustments. This might be because of illness, for example, or a relationship breakdown, or long-term precarious employment.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/housing-affordability-problems-might-not-be-all-bad-72354">Housing affordability problems might not be all bad</a>
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<h2>At risk or in trouble: an important distinction</h2>
<p>This simple analysis suggests that there is a probably a big difference between who is classified as having unaffordable housing costs and who is likely to be most affected by them. It also raises the question of whether trickle-down housing supply solutions will ever reach the people who are genuinely affected by housing affordability problems.</p>
<p>As a starting point, maybe we should give priority to those households that are facing high housing costs <em>and</em> multiple deprivations. This approach encourages a significant shift in where we perceive our housing affordability crisis to be – with less focus on broader market conditions and more on people’s lived experience. </p>
<p>Finally, reflecting on the Anglicare report, perhaps it points to another important conclusion. The fact that so few people on government support can afford decent housing suggests that the problem might not be a housing one, but a welfare one.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-budget-standards-show-just-how-inadequate-the-newstart-allowance-has-become-82903">New budget standards show just how inadequate the Newstart Allowance has become</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/96103/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emma Baker receives funding from the Australian Research Council and the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI)</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lyrian Daniel does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Housing affordability is one of Australia’s great unsolved problems. Some households can make adjustments to cover high housing costs, but the ones deprived of essentials are under real stress.Lyrian Daniel, University Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of AdelaideEmma Baker, Associate Professor, School of Architecture and Built Environment, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.