Australia is one of ‘worst countries’ in the developed world to rent

Australia is one of the “worst countries” in the developed world to be a renter, according to a new shocking new study.

Australia is one of the “worst countries” in the developed world to be a renter, according to Evan Thornley, the executive chair of LongView.

He’s suggested the nation’s private capital city rental property system was not only failing tenants in terms of its affordability, but also the rental experience.

Thornley’s LongView has undertaken an international study of rental regulations which “affect perceptions of security, control, and attachments to home.”

Rental regulations cover tenure, the grounds on which a lease can be terminated, the ability for renters to make their property a home by making minor alterations and the ability for renters to have pets.

Australia is one of the “worst countries” in the developed world to be a renter, according to Evan Thornley, the executive chair of LongView. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Luis Ascui

“The weakness of Australia’s rental system is clearest in an international context,” says Thornley whose residential property business provides clients with property advisory and management services in Australia and the United States. The report ranks NSW below Victoria and Queensland – and at around half the maximum score achieved in the best countries – when it comes to rental entitlements.

The report notes NSW’s typical lease term at six to 12 months, as similar to Victoria and Queensland, along with New Zealand, UK, Canada, US, but well under the typical lease terms of Germany, Sweden, Austria, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands.

It claims the NSW regulations “favour landlords” while recent state laws elsewhere in Australia had made renting better for renters.

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The report cites Victorian landlords must now have a valid reason for ending a rental agreement, such as selling the property. Likewise Victorian landlords cannot refuse requests by renters to have pets without a good reason.

Thornley argues these changes are small in the scale of rental regulation.

“The fact it took so much political effort to make these changes shows not only how far Australia is from some of its cousins overseas, but how unlikely it is that rental conditions are to further improve significantly.”

There are extremely limited grounds for lease termination in Germany, Sweden, Canada, Spain, Austria and the Netherlands. There are more flexible termination reasons with notice in NSW, Victoria and Queensland, along with New Zealand, England and Belgium.

The renter entitlement to pets is strong in Germany, Belgium and Sweden while subject to restrictions in Victoria, Queensland, the UK and the Netherlands. Pets are only allowed with landlord’s consent in NSW, New Zealand, Canada, United States, Austria, and Spain. Minor alterations are permitted – and considered normal – in New Zealand, Germany, Netherlands, Canada, Austria, Belgium, Spain, but only allowed with landlord’s consent in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, the UK and the USA.

Thornley argues that institutional ownership could offer a better renting experience through more professional ownership, with such institutions also tending to hold property for longer.

“(Making) this more attractive for investors would require reform of some land tax regimes,” he suggested.