Penrith voters: renting too expensive, insecure

MORE than 80 per cent of Penrith voters say there is not enough affordable housing in the electorate. It’s not just young families who are feeling the pinch of rising rent and power bills.

Wendy Gammon at her Penrith rental home. Picture: Monique Harmer

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BEING able to afford to put a roof over your head is becoming harder for Penrith residents, a new survey has found.

More than 80 per cent of Penrith voters are concerned about the lack of affordable and secure housing in western Sydney.

The survey of 628 people conducted by Sydney Alliance in the Penrith electorate revealed the extent of living pressures on residents, with 72 per cent saying the State Government is not doing enough to help.

Penrith Mayor John Thain will speak at a forum on housing security in the region on Saturday. Picture: Angelo Velardo

Penrith resident Wendy Gammon, 52, has watched the rental market shift during 30 years renting with her husband.

Ms Gammon said the local market had become “outrageously expensive”.

“When I first moved to Penrith in 2000 you used to be able to pick from 10 properties,” she said. “Now it’s become a nightmare.

“My rent is dearer than my friends’ mortgages. Things are tight ... electricity has tripled in the last 10 years, food has doubled and wages haven’t kept up.”

A signage in a real estate agent’s window in Penrith in 2009.

Affordable housing is classified as accommodation that costs no more than 30 per cent of gross income for the lowest 40 per cent of earners — or rent charged at 80 per cent or less of the going market rate.

Ms Gammon said it was now “impossible” for her family to save for a house deposit.

Sydney Alliance, which will hold a public forum on affordable housing in Penrith on Saturday, has called on the State Government to reform its affordable housing policies.

It said 15 and 30 per cent of developments on private and government-owned land respectively should be set aside for affordable renting, while NSW should follow Victoria’s lead and abolish no-grounds eviction.

High-rise developments have become a priority for local councils in western Sydney, like these units on Union Rd in Penrith. Picture: Justin Sanson

A report tabled by NSW Fair Trading recommended a series of changes to the Residential Tenancies Act, including better protections for victims of domestic violence, fairer lease-break fees and improving access to maintenance.

Saturday’s forum will be at Penrith Uniting Church, 15 Evans St, from 10am to noon.

It will include addresses by federal Opposition housing spokesman Doug Cameron and Penrith Mayor John Thain.

Further details: 8007 6055.

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