‘Landlord did f*** all’: Rent hikes, lack of upkeep symptom of crisis
Unscrupulous Cairns landlords cashing in on the rental crisis are jacking up rent and failing to maintain properties amid a staggering increase in the regional Queensland homelessness rate.
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Unscrupulous Cairns landlords cashing in on the rental crisis are jacking up rent and failing to maintain properties amid a staggering increase in the regional Queensland homelessness rate.
A 19-month-old Census report released on Wednesday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics found in 2021 1208 people living in Cairns were homeless – another 660 were living in crowded dwellings and 151 were housed in marginal accommodation, such as caravan parks.
Overall numbers of people experiencing homelessness rose by about 800 people statewide and the rate in regional Queensland was an alarming 237 per 10,000 compared to 125 per 10,000 in Brisbane.
On Tuesday Housing Minister Leeanne Enoch announced plans to build 23 new social units at Earlville and eight, one-bedroom detached houses in Parramatta Park expected to be ready for tenants by mid-2025.
Access Community Housing will add the proposed units, currently in the early stages of planning, to an existing portfolio of 650 social properties.
Chief executive officer Liz Brown welcomed the investment amid a chronic housing shortage but conceded the project was “small in the context of what is required”.
“It’s essential that we continue to maintain the momentum to build housing supply,” she said.
Shelter Housing Action Cairns executive officer Sally Watson said “piecemeal” boosting of affordable housing stock was positive but an “overarching structural and co-ordinated approach” was needed to address the crisis.
“We’re very pleased to see those houses but across the state more needs to be done and Cairns is no different,” she said.
“There is not enough money to fix the gap in housing supply.”
According to the latest Proptrack data rent on a house in Holloways Beach has climbed $40 in the past year to $520, in Bentley Park the average rent in February was $500 in a $50 hike and in Trinity Beach a year-on-year increase of 17 per cent bumped rent to $620 from $530 in 2022.
But alarming rental increases well above the average combined with reports of property owners not repairing broken airconditioning systems or addressing mould issues and tenants buying houses to escape rental stress is driving significant increases in the breaking of leases.
Unscrupulous landlords have been accused of taking advantage of a vacancy rate that has hovered below 0.5 per cent for the past year.
Lee Maynard and Tommy Vucetic were forced to break their lease in Kewarra Beach after the rent got too much and the landlord did “f*** all” to maintain the property.
“He wanted us to refurbish the kitchen and bathroom and put 1500 screws in the roof,” Mr Vucetic said.
After appearing on page one of the Cairns Post in a desperate plea to avert homelessness the family was able to secure affordable accommodation but Ms Maynard said not everyone was so fortunate.
Tenants Queensland, who run a statewide advice line have been swamped by tenants reaching out for support, Shelter Housing Action boss Ms Watson said.
“Landlords are just not fixing stuff and if tenants make a noise they say ‘see you later’ and they find someone else,” she said.
“Rents are going through the roof. We have a program to assist people in private rentals and we’re dishing out more and more money every day to assist people to stay.
“And they are big bills, we’re assisting with arrears of between $2 and $5,000 which is bigger than we have seen in the past.”
A controversial rental cap being “very seriously” considered by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has come under fire by economists but Ms Watson believes rental freeze policy had merits.
She said support payments also needed to increase to help tenants make ends meet.
“Income support is far too low with the cost of living but I also think that rental caps are required because rents are rising way above inflation and landlords that own investment housing are profiting,” she said.
A follow up roundtable discussion will reconvene next week to discuss issues raised at last year’s landmark housing summit.
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