More than two-thirds of tenants across the country face rental stress and lockdowns are likely to make things worse, particularly for renters in NSW and Queensland, a survey from ME Bank finds.

The proportion of renters spending more than two-fifths (41 per cent) of their income on rents had jumped by 8 percentage points to 68 per cent in the past six months to June, with tenants in both the capitals and regions struggling to keep up with rising rents. If a tenant allocates 30 per cent or more of their income to rent, they are deemed to be in rental stress.