This was published 4 years ago
'Can't rent a footlocker': Qld tenants squeezed as properties dry up
By Matt Dennien
Queensland community groups warn that demand for homeless services and emergency accommodation will spike as tight rental markets grip a state still battling a pandemic recovery.
While anecdotal reports mount of coastal properties being snapped up by interstate sea-changers, renters and the real estate sector have reported skyrocketing interest for properties across the state.
September quarter rental vacancy data from the Real Estate Institute of Queensland show availability dived to 0.5 per cent on the Sunshine Coast.Credit: Glenn Hunt
Nicholai Dacombe had been renting in Maroochydore with his wife, their two children, and his parents for more than a year before COVID-19 hit their household income hard.
The family's lease was extended to September 30 under the eviction moratorium before they were issued a notice to leave. Looking for new rentals, they were told one unit had received 85 applications.
Mr Dacombe said the family had offered $20 more rent each week - paid one month ahead - after seeing more than 20 groups attend some inspections.
"We were lucky even to get somewhere else," he said. "It's not just so many people applying, there's just not enough properties."
September quarter data from the Real Estate Institute of Queensland - which has heard similar anecdotes - showed record "extremely tight" vacancy rates across 90 per cent of the state.
This translated into a steep drop to 0.5 per cent on the Sunshine Coast, where removalists and real estates have spoken of a surge in interest from people bound from southern states.
But the squeeze is not only being felt there. Hervey Bay pensioner Ian Heron stared down homelessness this month after his rent was slated to jump $90 a week to beyond pre-pandemic levels.
"Up here there's anywhere between 70 to 100 people looking per house," Mr Heron said. "You can't rent a footlocker."
Queensland is also particularly exposed to the National Rental Affordability Scheme closure. More than 1000 of its 9804 properties to come offline by 2026 - the largest amount of any state - will do so in the next year.
Tenants Queensland chief executive Penny Carr said her organisation had heard of many tenants struggling to find other accommodation statewide, with things "to get worse" as federal income support dried up.
Queensland Council of Social Services chief executive Aimee McVeigh reiterated calls for a public housing construction boom and frontline service support amid the "diabolical" circumstances.
"More and more people are going to be knocking on the doors of community organisations," she said.
Ms McVeigh added with the state budget approaching, the time for government action was now. A social-housing construction blitz announced by Victoria this month would create more than 12,000 homes.
Communities and Housing Minister Leeanne Enoch said the Palaszczuk government had already made a large investment, including a $100 million boost this year, with its affordable and social housing strategy to deliver more than 5500 homes by 2027.
Ms Enoch said private rental supply was determined by the market, with bond loans and grants available for those in rental stress. The federal government was also "not [doing] enough" to increase affordable housing, she said.
Federal Treasurer Michael Sukkar said the NRAS was a "deeply flawed" program, and while social housing was a state responsibility, the Commonwealth was investing in an affordable bond scheme and had set aside $1 billion for low-cost concessional loans for the community housing sector.