According to the latest Rental Affordability Index (RAI), all capital cities across Australia experienced a decline in rental affordability in 2022. Low-income renters are most vulnerable and require immediate support.
The annual report is prepared by SGS Economics and Planning, National Shelter, Beyond Bank and Brotherhood of St Laurence. The RAI is a price index for housing rental markets and is a concise indicator of rental affordability relative to household incomes, applied to geographic areas across Australia.
According to Ellen White from SGS Economics and Planning,
“We found that the static or slightly falling rents of the early pandemic were short-lived, with rents now being equal or higher than pre-pandemic, and Hobart still the least affordable city.
The pandemic also saw the existing rental crisis spread to the region, when many households left capital cities. More and more regional households are struggling to pay their rent and key workers are unable to access housing, especially in the regional areas of Queensland, Tasmania, NSW and Western Australia.
This year’s severe floods also significantly impacted affordability in the Northern Rivers of NSW. Lismore is one of the worst affected towns, where affordability declined by 10 per cent between 2021 and 2022. Bellingen was similarly affected, with affordability declining by 14 per cent.”
The report presents the rental affordability outcomes for ten Australian household types.:
– Single person on JobSeeker
– Single pensioner
– Pensioner couple
– Single part-time worker parent on benefits – Single working parent
– Single income couple with children
– Dual income couple with children
– Student sharehouse
– Minimum wage couple
– Hospitality worker.
The report can be downloaded here: Rental Affordability Index November 2022
