Anglicare Tasmania’s new report reveals rental affordability ‘worst it has ever been’

A damning new report from Anglicare Tasmania has revealed rental affordability and income support has dropped to an alarming low rate, affecting a quarter of the states population.

Rental stress generic image. Rent, housing stress. Photo: Unsplash/Christian Erfurt

The state’s rental affordability and income support has dropped to an alarming low rate, with young people, families with young children, people with a disability and elderly people forced to homelessness.

An annual Anglicare Tasmania Rental Affordability Snapshot found a rapid rise in cost of living and rent has limited options for about a quarter of the Tasmania population.

The national report described the state of rental affordability in Australia as the “worst it has ever been”.

The snapshot, which began 18 years ago, analyses rental properties listed on a weekend in March which is then assessed on affordability, appropriateness for households on low and fixed incomes, including Age Pensions, JobSeeker and Youth Allowance.

“There were 1127 properties listed for long-term residential lease across Tasmania on the Snapshot weekend, which is a modest nine per cent increase from last year,” Social Action and Research Centre (SARC) co-ordinator and economist Mary Bennett said.

“However, there has been a 58 per cent fall in listings since 2013, and these properties include shadehouses, when sharing is often inappropriate due to a person’s disability or stage in life.”

The findings revealed of the 1127 properties listed, none were affordable for single people living on income support.

“It shows that only families with two working parents can afford a rental in Tasmania, and even then they may need to move into a new community away from their support network, employment and school,” said Ms Bennett.

It also found that one room available in a sharehouse in the entire state was affordable for a single person on JobSeeker. None were affordable for people on Youth Allowance.

There were only two units in the entire state which was affordable for a single person on a Disability Support Pension, but it was inappropriate because of the remote location.

For families with two children relying on JobSeeker payment, only 12 properties were affordable but three quarters were in remote locations.

“We already know that people waiting for social housing are experiencing homelessness,” Ms Bennett said.

“Now we know that many people who can afford the small number of affordable properties in the private rental market are being out-competed and pushed into homelessness too. They include young people, families with young children, people living with a disability and older people.”

Greens deputy leader Vica Bayley said Tasmania was a difficult place to live if you were a renter, have a disability and on income support.

“This Anglicare snapshot is a real wake up call. Nothing the government has done to date has made a difference. We need to be doing more and we need to do it urgently because these are Tasmanians’ lives that are hanging in the balance,” he said.

“We do need controls on rentals. We do need no cause eviction legislation, we need to rein in short stay accommodation and we need to take other steps to improve the rental market for Tasmanians.

“We want to be putting renters rights fairly and squarely on the agenda of the 51st Parliament and we’ll be working with the crossbench and will be looking to work with the Labor Party to actually progress genuine reforms that assist renters.”