A rental housing crisis is affecting some of SA's most vulnerable people, with low-income earners facing significant financial stress, according to the South Australian Council of Social Service (SACOSS).
A cost-of-living analysis by SACOSS found rental costs had risen sharply over the past 20 years, outstripping any increases in inflation and the JobSeeker allowance.
The data shows the average rental price in South Australia rose by 7.2 per cent last year.
For Jeni Harris, paying her rent from her fortnightly JobSeeker payments is a weekly struggle, with it accounting for more than 50 per cent of her income.
The struggle to get a roof over her head has been long term. She was previously homeless for eight years.
"Unable to get into social housing or any sort of low-income housing — and even just struggling with homeless shelters and even just sleeping in the car — I've been through all of that," Ms Harris said.
Analysing data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and rental bonds lodged with the state government, SACOSS found the median rent for a two-bedroom unit in the cheapest Adelaide suburbs was $300 a week, which accounted for 76 per cent of a single jobseeker's income.
A three-bedroom house was $400 a week, amounting to 57 per cent of the Jobseeker income of a single parent with two children, or 36 per cent of the income of a single parent on a minimum wage.
Calls for greater investment in social housing
SACOSS chief executive Ross Womersley said a reduction in the amount of public housing in South Australia had a large part to play in the pressure being experienced.
He said in 2000, public housing made up 10 per cent of the rental market, but today public housing constituted less than 7 per cent.
"While much of the public debate around housing affordability centres on home owners and house prices, it is often renters that have the biggest affordability challenges, particularly those on the lowest incomes," Mr Womersley said.
"This would provide much-needed housing for those who otherwise struggle in the private market, but it would also provide an economic stimulus and increase the supply of rental properties, which could benefit all renters through less competition for properties and lower prices."
Mr Womersley called on political parties to commit to funding public housing in South Australia as part of their election promises.
