Rental-Insights-A-COVID-19-Collection - Flipbook - Page 12
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RENTAL INSIGHTS:
COPING WITH
LOW INCOME
COPING WITH LOW INCOME
Akshay Vij
University of South Australia
Key findings
The Australian Rental
Housing Conditions
Survey found that 17.5 per
cent of participants had
asked their landlord or
agent for a rent reduction
due to the COVID-19
pandemic, of which 10.3
per cent received a rent
reduction or deferment
and 5.2 per cent were
refused. Roughly one-inthree requests for rent
reduction were declined
by landlords and agents.
The imbalance of power
between tenants and
landlords
XXX
XXX
An additional 5.9 per cent of the sample
reported not asking due to contractual
reasons; 7.6 per cent reported not
asking due to it being too hard to
request a rent reduction; and 8.7 per
cent reported other reasons for not
asking that most often included fear
of negative repercussions, such as
eviction, or impact on future rentals.
The following qualitative responses
illustrate some of these experiences:
‘Would love to, but unsure
what the reaction will be, and
we would like to extend our
lease for a few more months’
‘I don’t want that on my rental
history in case I need it for
mortgage/rental reference’
‘I don’t want to get a bad rep
with the estate agent’
Why is it important?
The share of the Australian population
that rents their home has increased
steadily since the 1980s. As per the 2016
Census, 27 per cent of Australians were
renting their home.
Rental stress is measured by the
proportion of households in the bottom
40 per cent in terms of income that are
paying more than 30 per cent of their
income in rent. Rental stress is a major
source of concern for many low-income
Australian households. A 2020 report
from the Productivity Commission
found that 41 per cent of low-income
individuals receiving Commonwealth
Rent Assistance (CRA) were already
in rental stress.
The COVID-19 pandemic is expected
to increase both the number of lowincome households across the general
population, and the proportion of
incomes that these households spend
towards rent, further exacerbating
the issue of rental stress for these
vulnerable populations.
Rental stress is measured by the proportion of households
in the bottom 40 per cent in terms of income that are
paying more than 30 per cent of their income in rent.
