Rents increase 23.6 per cent as Queensland’s rental crisis escalates

Shocking figures reveal the extent of Queensland’s rental crisis as desperate tenants consider giving away their pets to secure a roof over their heads. SEE THE CHEAPEST PLACES TO RENT

Startling figures reveal the extent of Queensland’s rental crisis as desperate tenants consider having to give away their pets to secure a roof over their heads.

Latest data from PropTrack shows houses in the greater Brisbane area have seen the biggest rent increases in the past year — up 12.2 per cent, and a hefty 23.6 per cent over the past five years.

With a vacancy rate of 0.9 per cent, the median rental price in greater Brisbane is now $425 per week for a house and $410 per week for a unit, according to PropTrack.

But SQM Research puts asking rent prices at much higher — $748 for a three-bedroom house and $443 for a two-bedroom unit.

More than 20 people lined up to inspect a unit midmorning in the Brisbane suburb of Kedron this week — only a day after it hit the market.

Petar Ivanov was one of them. He moved up from Melbourne two months ago and has been staying with friends while he looks for a rental property, but keeps getting rejected.

“That was a bloody waste of time,” Mr Ivanov said after the inspection “I have been looking all of April, all of May.

Petar Ivanov has recently moved to Brisbane from Victoria, and is having trouble finding a rental property to move into. Picture: Richard Walker

“We will not get it because we have a dog. They do not say that, but look at all the people! “They will choose someone without kids and without a dog. And they have a weight limit on the dog. We have a six-month-old border collie — that is discriminatory.”

Brisbane animal rescue group Animals-in-Need has been inundated with pet surrenders from people trying to secure a rental property.

“We’re finding people who have sold their homes are quite shocked to find they can’t take their pets to a rental,” a spokesperson said.

“People are also approaching rescue shelters for temporary care until they can find a rental that will accept pets. Unfortunately we can’t help. We would love people to be able to keep their pets, but sadly, there are not enough foster carers to be able to help in these situations.”

In some regional Queensland areas, rents have skyrocketed more than in Brisbane.

In the Greater Gold Coast area, rental prices for houses, where the vacancy rate is 0.8 per cent, have jumped 18.3 per cent in a year and 40.1 per cent over the past five years.

Renters line up to inspect a unit for rent in Kedron. Picture: Debra Bela.

A rental hike of $110 a week saw Chermside couple Kye Airey and Samantha Vlajic lining up to inspect a Kedron home in Brisbane’s north on Thursday in a desperate bid to secure a new rental before they are forced to renew their lease.

“He’s gone from $420 a week for six years, to $530,” Mr Airey said.

“So we need to move. We’ve got four applications on rental properties at the moment. This is the only one we’ve heard from. We’ve been short-listed by the landlord and we haven’t even seen the house yet.”

Samantha Vlajic and Kye Airey inspect a rental property at 46 Lasseter Street, Kedron on Thursday. Picture: Richard Walker

Ms Vlajic said midweek home inspections were also putting a strain on her workplace.

“They want workers to apply and we both work but they have inspections in the middle of a workday so I have to tell my boss every day that I need an extra hour off to go and look at a house, and I worry about that.”

Within 10 minutes of arriving at 46 Lasseter St, Kedron, Mr Airey’s phone rang with news they had just been offered one of the other properties, a rental in Warner.

“You may as well withdraw our application,” Ms Vlajic told Bell Estate Agents’ representative Nathan Stewart, who was fielding questions from 15 groups of renters during the 15-minute inspection.

Last year it was auction FOMO, this year it’s rental FOMO with people putting in multiple applications to secure a roof over their heads. Picture: Richard Walker

“It’s good news but my kids go to school around here and we’ve already in the last year moved them once, so they’ll be moving again.”

PropTrack director for ­economic research Cameron Kusher said the rental market would continue to worsen as supply remained low and demand continued to grow.

“It’s a really tough market at the moment,” Mr Kusher said. “We are seeing a lot of demand for property especially since cities have opened, people going back to university and overseas travel.”

Matusik Property Insights director Michael Matusik said more investors were selling properties and that was affecting rental supply.

Mr Matusik said 50 per cent of the homes listed for sale across Australia were being sold by investors, while investors represented only 30 per cent of buyers.

“Little wonder rental vacancy rates remain tight and are still falling,” Mr Matusik said.

And there’s little hope of things improving.

A new report from RentRabbit.com.au has revealed there are only three ‘tenant-friendly’ suburbs in Queensland.

The suburbs had to meet a criteria of having enough rental properties, an increase in vacancy rates in the past year and a weekly rental rate that has either stayed the same or dropped in the past 12 months.

Those suburbs are Russell Island, where the median weekly rent for units is $25 less than it was a year ago at $225, Heathwood, where unit rents are $40 a week cheaper at $400, and Robertson, where unit rents are $35 cheaper than a year ago at $365/week.

RentRabbit.com.au founder Ben Pretty said his network of renters in Queensland were reporting being asked by landlords to pay between $100 and $180 a week more in rent — without conditions improving.

“The issue is a lot of renters are experiencing properties where rents are increasing, but repairs are not getting done,” Mr Pretty said.

“Mould is a big issue at the moment.”