Rental-Insights-A-COVID-19-Collection - Flipbook - Page 7
RENTAL INSIGHTS:
DETERIORATING
RENTAL AFFORDABILITY
As a result of COVID-19
has your living situation
been affected?
‘Had to use savings for rent
until I found more work’
‘Have sold most of my personal
belongings to put food on
the table for my family’
‘Moved back home to my Mum’s’
‘Having to ask the parents
for help with money’
Looking deeper at the data, these
effects were experienced unevenly
across the population. People with
disabilities and long-term illnesses
were especially vulnerable. Across
both mental and physical health
measures, renters with the poorest
health were more than twice as likely
as people with excellent health to
have struggled to make ends meet.
For example, 39 per cent of people with
poor mental health had difficulty paying
bills and rent, compared to 14 per cent
of people with excellent mental health.
Households with children were slightly
more likely to have struggled overall.
There was also a strong age gradient
in the data, with younger people
experiencing more challenges
to their living situation than older
people. Renters at all income levels
experienced negative effects on
their living situations, but people with
low (and even moderate
