‘Caring and service’ Covid-19 workforce priced out of the Sunshine Coast rental market: new data

Half of the weekly income of Sunshine Coast Covid-essential workers in aged care, childcare and supermarkets will go directly to rental payments as a new report spotlights the region’s rental crisis.

Half of the weekly income of Sunshine Coast Covid-essential workers in care and services sectors will go directly to rental payments, a new report has shown.

Everybody’s Home, a national campaign against homelessness, has compared rental data with the basic hourly wage of workers in disability support, aged care, children, hospitality, and supermarkets sectors.

The data showed it costs $495 per week on average to rent an apartment on the Sunshine Coast.

The region had one of the highest weekly costs for apartment rentals in the state with more than Brisbane ($393), Toowoomba ($295), Ipswich ($305) but lower than the Gold Coast ($500).

With rental vacancy rates at less than one per cent, single renters are being forced to go into share houses to find a roof over their heads or pay a premium outside their budget.

Now the data has revealed it would take a disability support worker 22.2 hours a week to make payments.

For aged care and childcare workers it would take 22.9 hours, hospitality worker 23.4 and supermarket worker 22.7.

Everybody’s Home national spokeswoman Kate Colvin said the carers and service workers were being let down by a rental housing crisis.

“They’re often priced out of the communities they serve,” Ms Colvin said.

“We must expand social and affordable housing. This will relieve the pressure on our rental market and give Australians on low and modest incomes more options.

“All over the country, our caring and service workers simply can’t compete for rental properties.”