‘Hazardous’ trap snares renters as vacancies vanish
New research has revealed a “frightening” number of tenants are living in below par conditions, with no chance of getting their problems fixed due to a rental market change.
Three in five Aussie renters have excused an issue with a property for fear of missing out on a place to live, new research shows.
It amounts to an estimated 1.7 million renter households who have put up with issues ranging from unsuitable to unsafe just to get a roof over their heads, according to the Finder.com.au polling.
One in five (21 per cent) of tenant respondents in the survey said they have rented a property that was not the size that they needed.
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One in seven renters said they tolerated lack of features such as airconditioning or a laundry to secure somewhere to call home, while 13 per cent looked past an outdated interior.
About one in 10 Aussie renters claimed they accepted mould was growing in the property.
And a similar proportion of renters said they refrained from asking for repairs to be carried when they noticed damage or substandard living conditions not recorded on the entry condition report.
Richard Whitten, home loans expert at Finder, said the number of tenants living in below par conditions was frightening.
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“Tenants are having to lower their standards and accept some really unpleasant living situations in an incredibly tight rental market,” he said. “Thousands of tenants are stuck in rentals which would be considered hazardous purely because there aren’t enough properties available to rent.”
Mr Whitten said the situation was getting out of control. “Renters fork out tens of thousands of dollars a year to live in less than ideal conditions,” he said.
Loud neighbours, high crime rates and unpleasant smells were other property flaws that tenants reported turning a blind eye to in order to secure a place to live.
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It comes as SQM Research figures showed rental markets across nearly every capital remain strained, with tenant demand outstripping the supply of available accommodation.
“It is still very much a landlord’s market for most capital cities,” said SQM Research director Louis Christopher.
Capital city rents were now an average of nearly 20 per cent higher than a year ago, SQM noted.
Vacancy rates – the proportion of all rental stock available – were below 1 per cent in Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra and Darwin over May, signalling an “extremely” tight market.
Sydney’s vacancy rate was 1.7 per cent and Melbourne’s was 2.2 per cent – less strained than the other capitals but still well short of the level needed to meet soaring tenant demand.
LJ Hooker Group’s Head of Research Mathew Tiller said new thinking was needed with the rental market currently impacted by an unhealthy imbalance between demand and supply post-pandemic.
To address rental market challenges, solutions should focus on housing supply, including maximising the utilisation of existing homes and constructing quality built new ones, Mr Tiller said.
“Unfortunately, the outlook for new housing is not positive with the number of new dwellings being approved continuing to decline,” Mr Tiller said.
“High construction costs, a shortage of skilled tradespeople and increased financing costs have put pressure on developers and builders, leading to a slowdown in construction times and a number of high-profile insolvencies.”
PropTrack data showed rental supply would likely remain low for at least the rest of 2023.
Originally published as ‘Hazardous’ trap snares renters as vacancies vanish