Rental-Insights-A-COVID-19-Collection - Flipbook - Page 3
RENTAL INSIGHTS:
A COVID-19 COLLECTION
Foreword
Michael Fotheringham
AHURI
The COVID-19 pandemic has provided
a stark reminder of how we are housed
– where we are located, the quality,
security and amenity of our housing
– impacts on our health, wellbeing
and economic productivity.
Governments across Australia (and
indeed globally) responded rapidly
to the pandemic, with a high level
of coordination, to address the
health and economic crises. The
speed and success of Australia’s
policy responses to COVID-19 has
rested heavily on investments into
evidence building– for vaccines, but
also for monitoring effects, and
developing successful interventions.
The dataset upon which this collection
is based emerges from a sustained,
multilateral commitment to invest in
research and research infrastructure
from the Australian Government and
state and territory governments. This
funding to the Australian Housing
and Urban Research Institute, as well
as the Australian Research Council,
and the Linkage Infrastructure,
Equipment and Facilities scheme
(LIEF) has enabled the development
of the foundational dataset.
When the pandemic emerged, and the
economic lockdown hit, this existing
research and infrastructure was able
to be leveraged through AHURI’s special
COVID-19 Funding Round, which was
implemented to inform rapid policy
development and support national
recovery. The Funding Round was just
part of AHURI’s strategy in responding
to the pandemic, which also included:
• leading and facilitating national and
international policy exchanges to share
new knowledge on emerging research
findings and policy innovations
• establishing a COVID-19 Research
Hub as an online resource with the
latest research, policy analysis and
news on housing, homelessness
and urban responses to COVID-19
• disseminating evidence and
policy implications through an
ongoing series of free webinars
that showcase new research and
consider its policy application.
The Australian Rental Housing
Conditions Dataset (ARHCD) had been
funded through the ARC LIEF scheme,
and had already undergone ethical
clearance. The research team were
able to pivot and introduce a COVID-19
specific module to supplement the
ARHCD. This dataset provides a new
and rich understanding of the housing
conditions in Australia’s private rental
markets, and will establish a muchneeded baseline to monitor the
rental housing conditions.
Understanding the housing conditions of
this growing segment of the population is
valuable for policy makers interested in
Australia’s wellbeing and productivity. It
is also an issue of keen research interest.
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The private rental sector has grown
by 36 per cent over the last ten
years—twice the rate of household
growth. More than a quarter of
all Australian households—some
2.1 million households—are private
renters. This growth is set to continue
as home ownership declines,
particularly amongst younger and
middle-aged Australians faced with
rising house prices and a shrinking
social housing sector.
Understanding the housing conditions
of this growing segment of the
population is valuable for policy makers
interested in Australia’s wellbeing
and productivity. It is also an issue of
keen research interest. This collection
demonstrates the value of a robust and
representative dataset addressing an
area of important policy concern. The
insights generated by a wide range of
contributors canvasses a number of
key themes, each of which are worthy
of further, more in-depth analysis as
subsequent waves of the dataset are
lodged. Some of these themes include
• Lack of available and affordable
private rental housing
• The financial impacts of the COVID-19
pandemic and associated shut-downs
• Relationships between renters
and landlords
• Impacts of unsuitable housing on
the health of individuals and families
• Social isolation, and mental health
impacts of COVID-19 restrictions
• The aspirations of renters to enter
home ownership.
This collection offers insights into the
ways Australians have responded in a
pandemic. The ways in which we recover
as a nation, any the renovations we make
to our housing systems, will be important
in shaping the housing experiences we
share over the coming years.
