Rent Grab Putting Families On The Street

“In NSW, rents (new leases) went up by 10% between the December 2007 - December 2008 quarters. That is nearly three times the inflation rate for the same period (3.7%).

“There is no good reason why rents should be rising at three times the inflation rate. Year after year renters are paying more of their income to put a roof over a family’s head,” Ms Hale said.

“This annual rise is not an isolated event. There have been double digit annual increases in many places for several consecutive years,” said Ms Hale.

“The rent rise hotspots are mainly in the cities, but regional centres are also showing worrying rises. The December 2007 quarter when compared to the December 2008 quarter shows:

• For two bedroom flats/units, the biggest increases in median rent were in Fairfield (21.1%), Holroyd (18.5%) and Hurstville (17.9%), Wollongong (19.0%), and Cessnock (18.2%). Half of the 43 Local Government Areas within the Sydney metropolitan area recorded annual increases of 10% or more.

• For three bedroom separate houses, the biggest increases in median rent were Sydney (18.2%), Fairfield (17.9%) and Campbelltown (16.0%). Nearly half 43 Local Government Areas within the Sydney metropolitan area recorded annual increases of 10% or more.

• There were also significant rent rises in many regional areas.

[Source: Rent and Sales Report no. 86, www.housing.nsw.gov.au and see over page for more]

“In addition fewer bonds are being lodged, which means fewer new rentals occurring and fewer people entering the private rental market. People looking for affordable accommodation are being squeezed out.

 “Ever-increasing rents are unsustainable and a prime cause of homelessness. This is what the welfare agencies are telling the government, as more people, including those with children seek assistance. Rent rises need to be more closely linked to the CPI.”

 “We can only expect that the growth in homelessness will accelerate unless there are some controls on rent rises, or housing alternatives provided. The Government’s building and buying of more social housing will take time to impact.”

“In the meantime, the State Government needs to complete its review of the Residential Tenancies Act and introduce measures to put a brake on excessive rent increases,” concluded Ms Hale.

Contact: Chris Holley on 02 9230 3030 or 0437 779 546

Selected Statistics for all of NSW (in the year from December 2007 to December 2008):

·         median rents (new rentals) increased by $35 in the Sydney Statistical Division, by $50 in the Inner and Middle Ring suburbs and by $40 in the Outer Ring suburbs.

Sydney  - examples of rent increases:

·         rents in Ashfield for one bedrooms increased by 16%; for 2 bedrooms by 12.9%; and for three bedrooms by a massive 16%.

·         rents in Marrickville for one bedrooms increased by 12%; for 2 bedrooms by 8.3%; and for three bedrooms by 14.6%.

·         rents in Bankstown for one bedrooms increased by 15.5%; for two bedrooms by 14.8%; and three bedrooms by 8.8%.

·         rents in Hurstville for one bedrooms increased by a whopping 33.3%; for two bedrooms by 17.2%; and three bedrooms by 8.4%.

·         rents in Auburn for two bedrooms went up by 12.1%; and three bedrooms by 14.3%. One bedroom rents decreased slightly in the December 2008 quarter, but that was after a rent rise of 20% between June 2007 and June 2008.

Regional - examples of rent increases:

·         rents in Shellharbour for one bedrooms have increased by 6.7%; two bedrooms by 15%; three bedrooms by 12.1%; and four bedrooms by 13.9%.

·         rents in Wollongong for one bedrooms have increased by 10%; two bedrooms by 8.7%; three bedrooms by 10%; and four bedrooms by 10.5%.

·         rents in Maitland for one bedrooms have increased by 3.6%; two bedrooms by 14.3%; three bedrooms by 7.7%; and four bedrooms by 9.4%.

·         rents in Lismore for two bedrooms have increased by 13.9%; and three bedrooms by 7.8%.

·         rents in Wagga Wagga, for two bedrooms have increased by 15.9%; and three bedrooms by 3.8%. The rent rise for two bedroom units was 11%.

·         rents in the Richmond Valley for two bedrooms have increased by 10.6%; and three bedrooms by 13.3%.

Less new bonds are being lodged:

·         During the year, the number of new bonds lodged decreased in each of the Sydney Rings - 5.1% in the Outer Ring to -7.9% in the Inner Ring).

[Source: All data from 2006 – 2008 Rent and Sales Reports, www.housing.nsw.gov.au; and Greens Excel table based on that data, available on request]