Rental affordability crisis hits home: Region tops most expensive list

NEW Rental Affordability Index data has revealed rental properties across the Surf Coast are among the most expensive in regional Victoria.

The Rental Affordability Index – published annually by SGS Economics and Planning, National Shelter shows that the Australian rental crisis is getting worse, spreading from capital cities to regional areas.

A household is considered to be in rental stress if they are paying more than 30% of their household income on housing costs.

Torquay (3228) and Barwon Heads (3227) were listed as “severely unaffordable” to the average regional Victorian rental household.

This means that residents in those areas earning the average household income of $81,566 are paying between 38 and 60% of their income on rent.

In the first quarter of 2023, Anglesea (3230), Ocean Grove (3226) and Queenscliff (3225) were among regional areas also ranked as “severely unaffordable”.

Principal and Partner at SGS Economics and Planning Ellen Witte was the lead author and analyst of the report.

“Unaffordability has spread from the cities well into the regions,” she said.

“Households will have to live further away from where the jobs are to access affordable rents, and businesses are struggling to find workers,” she said.

Tenants Victoria CEO Jennifer Beveridge said the rental affordability problem was no longer exclusive to people on low incomes.

“This data reinforces what we see on the ground: rental affordability is a problem for people not just on very low incomes but is extending to Victorians who have more resources and have paid work and often long histories as renters,” Ms Beveridge said.

“Popular regional areas, such as the Bellarine and Surf Coast and other coastal hubs, are feeling these pressures intensely.”

Lawyer and tenant advocate Jordan van den Berg said the Rental Affordability Index showed regional Australia is quickly becoming the most unaffordable place to live.

“This is a result of decades of successive government failures,” he said.

Mr van den Berg said an effectively enforced vacant land tax and the increased regulation and registration of short stay accommodation would positively impact the availability and affordability of housing both in the short and long-term.

“Over 70 per cent of Airbnbs were previously long-term rentals, and it is essential that these profit-driven homes be returned to the rental market in a rental crisis,” he said.

“The fact we refer to housing as a market instead of a human right is exactly how we got here in the first place – we need to stop commodifying something that is a human right,” he said.