Erin Blyth and Zackary Keleher will pay $154 more in rent every week this year compared to when they began renting their unit in Kallangur, north of Brisbane, just over a year ago.
They've copped two hikes, the last in November, as tenants are warned to brace for rising rents when they renegotiate an existing contract or look for a new place this summer.
The number of renters looking for a new home or renewing their contracts typically spikes in January, as people look to secure stable housing before returning from the summer break.
But rental property availability remains stubbornly low across most of Queensland, contributing to price pressures in the rental markets.
Ms Blyth said the rent increase has led to the couple needing to pinch pennies.
"We just had to reshuffle with our budget. We're certainly not as comfortable as we were in savings, that's for sure but we've managed, at the sacrifice of other things," she said.
"I always tell myself, look, I can eat less and pay for rent that way."
The couple, who are studying at university, began renting in December 2021.
"The first day we came in and I cried on the floor because I was like, 'Three months of searching and we finally got something'," Mr Keleher said.
Rather 'suck it up' than move
Two rent increases — once when the National Rental Affordability Scheme subsidy ended and then again when they went to extend the contract in November — have since raised their weekly rent by more than 60 per cent.
But they said paying extra was a better option than competing with other renters to look for a new home.
"It's just going to take us forever to find another place. So, we'd rather suck up the rent increase if that means that we get to stay where we are comfortable," Ms Blyth said.
The Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) expects many tenants to follow the same logic when their contracts wind up this summer.
"We'll be seeing more and more tenants choosing to stay put simply because there are so few options," REIQ chief executive Antonia Mercorella said.
"Competitive behaviour is driving up rent, but also property owners are paying more — their mortgage repayments have gone up as a result of higher interest rates.
"Many property owners who have purchased that property over the course of the last few years, they would have paid a premium for it. So again, they're looking for that return on investment."
Rents rise by 13pc in Brisbane
Veteran property researcher and landlord Terry Ryder said renters in Queensland faced a "really tough" market.
"I've been researching and writing about real estate markets across Australia for four decades and I've never seen vacancy rates so low in so many places," he said.
Brisbane landlords passed on the largest rent increase in the country over the past year, with data released by property market analysts CoreLogic this week showing a 13.4 per cent annual increase across the city.
Mr Ryder said some landlords were bucking the trend.
"It might be the best course of action to keep a good tenant in place, rather than force them out by putting the rent up too much," he said.
He said landlords were still "very much in the drivers' seat" when it came to negotiations.
The tight market could complicate the negotiation process between tenants and landlords, according to Sam Galer, principal project officer at Queensland's rental regulator the Residential Tenancies Authority.
"The best thing that people can do is to discuss with each other [the challenges] and open those sorts of discussions well ahead of time," he said
He said changes to Queensland's tenancy laws, which came into effect in October, would give "greater security and certainty" to tenants and owners.
Hopes market could ease
Ms Mercorella said those searching for a new rental are increasingly offering to pay more than the asking rent.
"That is very much an activity that we have seen emerging over the last few years in this very competitive landscape," she said.
"It is concerning because it does mean that it becomes a rental bidding situation and obviously, there will be certain people who will feel the pressure to offer more even if they're not in a position to offer more."
Real estate agents are not allowed to encourage renters to pay more than the advertised price, but prospective tenants may offer to pay more of their own accord.
The state government has allocated $56 million to relieve tenants in severe rental stress and address supply issues, following housing crisis talks in October.
It is aiming to begin construction on a total of 13,000 homes for their social and affording housing initiatives by 2027.
A spokesperson for the housing department confirmed 307 new social homes had been built between July and December last year.
"We continue to aim to complete homes as quickly as possible to make these available for Queenslanders in need however the department, like the broader market, is experiencing project delays due to the exceptionally difficult market conditions driven by material and labour supply shortages."
Tenants Queensland, which advocates for renters statewide, hopes some rentals could also free up over the summer, alleviating some of the pressure.
"If we see people holidaying overseas more than in the domestic market, we might see some of the short-term properties coming back into the long-term market," chief executive Penny Carr said.
"We've had a decline in the number of people in households as well post-COVID.
"It depends what happens with people share housing — if they want to team up with other people just to find some rental affordability that might bring some pressure out of the market too.
"Hopefully, it all balances out but it is challenging right now for people trying to find a new property."
