Renters in Australian capital cities are on average spending nearly $15,000 more a year to rent a house since the start of the pandemic, analysis has revealed.
Research from the advocacy organisation Everybody’s Home showed on average renters in capitals are paying $14,700 more annually to rent a house, and $9,600 more to rent a unit compared with 2020.
Sydney and Perth have endured the steepest rent rises, with annual increases well above capital city averages for units ($10,452 and $14,508 respectively) and houses ($18,512 and $18,304). Adelaide and Brisbane unit rents are also above average.
Everybody’s Home analysed rental data from SQM Research to build its report.
Maiy Azize, a spokesperson from Everybody’s Home, said “keeping a roof over their head” is the biggest cost-of-living expense for most people in Australia.
“The steep rise in rents is pushing more people into severe housing stress and homelessness,” Azize said.
“People are sacrificing the necessities to afford the rent, living in appalling unhealthy conditions because there’s nowhere else for them to go, and ditching important life decisions because of housing insecurity.
“Australians are being priced out of the cities where they work, which can affect the liveability of our cities and the quality of essential services.”
One Sydney renter, Willimena, 60, lives in a sharehouse in Eastwood with her son and two others. Their rent goes up every year.
“It went from $690 [a week] to $730 to $750 to $800 and the last one was going to be $900 but I was able to get it down,” she said. They now pay $850 after arguing no repairs had been made on the property and that they are good tenants. She is on a carer payment and works 15 hours a week at a vet clinic.
“I’m struggling to pay bills, on top of rent and groceries. There are no luxuries.”
If they get another increase, she will have to move further out, likely into another sharehouse, making it harder to get to work.
The most recent data from CoreLogic showed rents have reached a record high, with the national average now $627 a week, an 8.5% increase between May 2023 and 2024.
Azize said a shortfall of 640,000 social homes was putting extra pressure on the rental market and pushing people into homelessness.
“That is set to rise to nearly 1 million in two decades. We need to end the shortfall and turn social housing into an option for more Australians – not just a safety net for those at the margins.”
Everybody’s Home wants the government to make changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax, Azize said.
Recent analysis by Guardian Australia showed those earning over $180,000 benefited from a quarter of all negative gearing kickbacks, lowering their collective tax bill by $1.3bn in 2021-22.
“Poll after poll shows that most voters want action on these investor tax handouts because they’re unfair and pushing up the cost of housing for everyone. Our supporters are excited by reports that Labor is open to change,” Azize said.
