Forgotten victims of Australian housing crisis

One group of Aussies, largely forgotten in the housing crisis and potentially facing very precarious situations, need to be taken care of before it’s too late.

The necessity to create a rental system where tenants can reside for lengthy periods is an emerging imperative given increased numbers of older people needing housing.

Many low-income, older Australians, either in or approaching retirement, don’t have the security of home ownership but instead are facing potentially precarious rental housing situations. Continuity of tenure is important to older people seeking the security of ageing in place.

With our increasing longevity, we need to have sustainable rental housing solutions that enable the elderly to age in place for another 20 to 30 years. It requires strategies from all three tiers of government as Australia’s population ages.

Of course the federal government has responsibility for the policy levers that impact housing demand, but it is the state and local governments that are chiefly responsible for housing supply. Grattan Institute analysis suggests homeowning retirees now, and in the future, can expect comfortable living standards, but this will not be the case for non – homeowners without policy changes.

The necessity to create a rental system where tenants can reside for lengthy periods is an emerging imperative. Picture: James MacSmith

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There were 640,000 low-income renters in Australia aged 50 plus in the 2016 census and, within nine years, that is expected to increase to 839,000.

Back in 2016, over 400,000 were renting from a private landlord with the remainder in social or public housing tenure arrangements. Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute researchers note the average low-income, older renters are more likely to be female, to live alone and not be in the labour force. They have a higher need for assistance with core daily activities than others of a similar age.

They are especially likely to be in outer-suburban regions, peri-urban along with regional and rural locations. In NSW, the inner-western suburbs are expecting increases in older, low-income renters of around 40 per cent to 50 per cent. Austral and Leppington are expected to also see big increases while there will be large increases in Nowra, Shellharbour, Orange, Muswellbrook and Maitland.

This will need careful, long-term planning to ensure the right housing stock is provided in the right places, according to an AHURI report on housing policies and practices for precariously housed older Australians. The research, led by academic Helen Barrie, noted our changing demographics had already led to the evolution and innovation in health delivery, but housing policy and practice lagged behind market demands.

Alarmingly the report suggests there is growing evidence the current private rental sector is unsuitable for older people, with the traditional mum-and-dad private rental sector facing headwinds threatening their continued ownership. So the solution needs sharper focus and consideration of innovation in housing supply by the emerging build-to-rent sector.

Originally published as Forgotten victims of Australian housing crisis