‘Cooked from above’ in shoddy housing amid energy shock

THE combined stresses of the rising cost of housing, energy bills and summer heat in substandard housing are having a physical and mental toll on renters.

A report from tenant organisation Better Renting has found renters were putting up with unhealthy temperatures in smelly, mouldy homes.

“Hell” was a common description of their homes during the summer months.

Some spoke about feeling “cooked from above” as heat radiated down towards them from their uninsulated ceiling.

Using portable air conditioners doubled power bills, meaning there was less money for food, rent and essential medicines.

Future summers are likely to be hotter, with heatwaves becoming more frequent, more severe and longer lasting.

Governments can respond by introducing minimum energy efficiency standards for rental homes and taking action to end unfair evictions and limit rent increases, the report recommended.

“As temperatures, energy costs and rents continue to go up, governments need to act to keep renters safe in their homes,” said Better Renting spokesman Joel Dignam.

Indoor temperatures were above 25 degrees for more than nine hours a day and above 30 degrees for an hour a day on average over summer, according to 77 renter researchers across Australia who tracked heat and humidity.

Despite milder temperatures from December to February, people who rent still struggled with heat and humidity because of poor insulation and rising energy costs.

Structural defects and poorly maintained homes, some described as shacks, added to their woes.

And while an increasing number of homeowners benefit from cheap power from rooftop solar during summer and winter, renters tend to miss out.

Renters are scared to complain to landlords and real estate agents because they fear a retaliatory rent increase or eviction with housing in such short supply.

Rising heat is a particular challenge for older renters in public housing, according to Awhina Kapa, who works with Victorian organisation cohealth.

“Our residents are using local pubs and pokies to get relief from the heat at night,” she said.

“We are seeing these residents struggling to pay for necessities such as toilet paper, bread, and milk due to feeling the pressure to spend money while inside these venues.”

– BY MARION RAE/ AAP