Rental-Insights-A-COVID-19-Collection - Flipbook - Page 36
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RENTAL INSIGHTS:
TENANT SATISFACTION
TENANT SATISFACTION
Steven Rowley
Curtin University
Poor quality, unaffordable
housing:
a dangerous trap
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Key findings
Why is it important?
Who is most affected?
Poor quality housing
is often viewed as
more affordable, but
the Australian Rental
Housing Conditions
Dataset shows that
almost a quarter of
households living in
what they regard as
poor quality housing
also rate their housing
as unaffordable. Such
households are the most
dissatisfied with their
housing outcomes.
Households struggling with housing
costs are often forced to move into
low quality dwellings that can have
an impact on both their mental and
physical wellbeing.
While just 7 per cent of survey
respondents living in good quality
housing believed their housing to be
unaffordable, this figure rose to 13 per
cent of those living in average quality
housing, and 24 per cent for those in
poor quality housing. Only 56 per cent of
households in poor quality, unaffordable
housing reported being able to meet
essential expenditure (compared to
90% of all renters) while just 15 per cent
could meet non-essential expenditure
(compared to 67% of all renters). Ten
per cent of those in unaffordable, poor
quality housing were renting from a
state or territory housing association.
Forty-two per cent of all households
living in poor quality and unaffordable
housing contained children, with 17
per cent of the total being one-parent
families with children.
While 70 per cent of good quality
housing was considered affordable by
survey respondents, almost a quarter
living in poor quality housing rated it
unaffordable. Many households struggle
to afford even the lowest quality
dwellings with little chance to escape
to better quality accommodation.
Households in unaffordable housing
reported suffering from dampness
(32%) and mould (39%) while cracks
in the walls/floors were even more
common (52%). Other common issues
included plumbing problems (42%)
and electrical faults (27%). All these
issues affect the quality of life and are
potentially dangerous.
Unaffordable housing does not
necessarily equate to housing
dissatisfaction, but when combined
with low quality the outcome in clear.
Of those in unaffordable housing,
85 per cent were satisfied with their
housing when its quality was considered
good or better while 81 per cent were
dissatisfied when the quality was rated
as poor. Hence, households can live
with unaffordability, but they struggle
when it is combined with poor quality.
… households can live with
unaffordability, but they struggle when
it is combined with poor quality.
