Homeless crisis: 150,000 Queenslanders in housing stress

More than 152,000 Queenslanders are in housing stress, with families in the state’s capital most at risk.

Queenslanders are living in housing stress

• Tiniest victims of Qld’s housing crisis
• Editorial: Most vulnerable need urgency, Premier

MORE than 152,000 Queenslanders are in housing stress, while families in the state’s capital were most at risk as the supply of affordable homes fails to keep pace with projected population growth.

An analysis of national census data commissioned by CHIA National for 2021 shows 71,100 people in Brisbane and 81,000 in regional Queensland do not have adequate housing to meet their needs.

Four regional Qld locations were ranked among the nation’s top ten locations with the highest rate of housing stress, including the Gold Coast (24,400 people), Logan (12,500), Sunshine Coast (12,300) and Ipswich (11,600).

Those numbers equated to about 10 per cent of the population in each of the locations.

The Queensland Housing Summit attended by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk pictured with Jody Currie, Fiona Caniglia, Kevin Mercer, Jen Williams, Aimee McVeigh, Antonia Mercorella and Karyn Walsh

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The figures include those experiencing homelessness, living in overcrowded conditions, or dealing with housing stress, defined as spending more than 30 per cent of their income on accommodation.

The report found 51 per cent of Brisbane households in housing stress were families, and 47 per cent in regional areas.

Nationwide, 640,000 Australians’ housing needs were not being met, with that number expected to rise to 940,000 by 2041 based on population projections.

A rare block of land for sale in Logan, a region with a high rate of housing stress

Q Shelter executive director Fiona Caniglia said Brisbane was on par with Sydney as capital cities with the “highest rates of unmet need”.

“This bears out the experiences of housing and homelessness sector workers who say that demand has surged without appropriate housing solutions to respond,” Ms Caniglia said.

“The solutions include ensuring overall housing supply to meet population projections which is inclusive of non-market housing such as social and affordable housing.

“Australia and Queensland need a substantial building program to meet future needs,” she said.

Qld renters have been hard hit with price rises through 2022

It comes as a new analysis by the Everybody’s Home campaign shows the soaring cost of rent in regional Queensland over the past year.

Based on latest SQM Research Weekly Rents Index for combined units and houses, the report found asking rents across regional Queensland had surged between $30 and $185 per week since November 2021.

The largest dollar increases were on the Gold Coast, Southern Queensland and Western Queensland.

Everybody’s Home spokesperson Maiy Azize said the rising cost of living and stagnant wages had hit renters hard through 2022.

Families in the Ipswich area were also at risk

“It’s been a shocking, challenging year for regional Queensland tenants. Inflation is yet to peak while wages aren’t keeping up. Landlords have passed the cost of interest rate rises onto renters. Floods have had a devastating impact on lives and housing stock, and residential vacancy rates largely remain below one per cent in most regions,” Ms Azize said.

“Living standards are deteriorating. It’s been a year where we’ve heard countless stories of people living in tents and shoddy accommodation across the regions.

She said rental stress was “the passageway to homelessness”.

“Having a roof over your head is choking household budgets ahead of what is already traditionally an expensive time of year. Sadly, many will likely rein in the festive celebrations simply because they can’t afford it and don’t want to risk becoming homeless.”