Zero rentals for low-income earners

Locals on minimum wage or welfare have little to no housing options

Anglicare finds there are few, if any affordable rental homes for low income earners. Picture: chameleonseye

The rise of Airbnb and Stayz accommodation, coupled with a tight rental market are being blamed for a significant decrease in the number of affordable rental properties on the Coffs Coast.

Anglicare has released it's 2018 Rental Affordability Snapshot, which highlights how dire the rental situation is for people on low incomes or welfare in the local region.

Every year, Anglicare Australia tests if it is possible for people on low incomes to rent a home in the private market by taking a snapshot of the thousands of properties listed for rent on realestate.com.au. They then test whether each property is affordable and suitable for people low incomes.

The regional snapshot for Northern NSW was taken on March 24 when 660 rentals were advertised in the area from Port Macquarie to Tweed Heads. A mere 25 of those were suitable for at least one household type living on income support payments without placing them in housing stress. Only 145 of the properties were suitable for those living on the minimum wage.

When breaking down the city-by-city snapshot, the situation is Coffs Harbour is extremely dire.

On the weekend the snapshot was taken there were 130 rental properties available in Coffs Harbour, however none were affordable for single parents receiving parenting payment, Newstart or earning the minimum wage with Family Tax Benefits A and B taken into account.

Couples were no better off, with no properties within the budget for couples with two kids and earning the minimum wage and Family Tax Benefits, or receiving Newstart.

There was one suitable property available for a single person earning the minimum wage on the snapshot day, one for a single person on a disability pension, one for a single aged pensioner and four properties that were affordable for a couple receiving the aged pension.

A couple with two children and earning the minimum wage fared slightly better, with 30 properties within their budget without causing housing stress.

Anglicare Australia Executive Director Kasy Chambers said that the rental crisis is getting worse.

"Making sure everyone has a home should be our first priority. But the reality is that our housing system is failing millions of Australians.

"Our system is rigged against renters. The tax system is driving up the cost of rent for millions of Australians.

"There is a huge shortage of secure, affordable rentals. That's causing record levels of rental stress and even homelessness.

The snapshot also showed that the number of properties available to rent has declined significantly on a year-on-yard basis. In 2017 there were 135 more properties available for rent than in 2018.

But a shortage of rental properties is not the only issue facing renters.

Rents have been rising much faster than people's incomes.

The snapshot also singled out holiday letting as having a detrimental impact on the residential markets in tourist towns such as Coffs Harbour; it states that many of these towns are at risk of becoming resort towns by proxy, as permanent residents can no longer afford to live there.

But Ms Chambers said it doesn't have to be this way.

"(Anglicare) is calling for an urgent investment in affordable rentals for people in need. And we need a national plan to make renting fair for a generation of people who might never own their own home.

"We can and must tackle homelessness and rental stress - and ensure that everyone has a place to call home.”