Tenants across Australia are facing steep rent increases and eviction notices as rental prices hit record highs, with Sydney bearing the brunt of the crisis. Weekly rents in Sydney have climbed by 23.7% over the past 12 months, with the median combined cost for units and houses now at $666.41 a week, according to SQM Research data. In the CBD, the median unit price has risen to $847.52 a week, a 30.1% increase from a year ago, while house rents have surged 44.4% to $1,273.67 weekly.
David, a Sydney tenant, was issued a 50% rent increase from $800 to $1,200 a week for a three-bedroom home with a study. After negotiating to pay $1,000, he received a 30-day eviction notice. 'We've negotiated in good faith but they just want to kick the can down the road,' he said. 'It's really heartbreaking.'
Brisbane rents have risen 22.2% in the past year, averaging $557.77 a week, followed by Melbourne (19.3%), Adelaide (18.6%) and Perth (15.6%). Samantha, a high school teacher in Brisbane, faced a $60 weekly increase (12.5%) on her lease renewal. After trying to negotiate a smaller rise, she was told to vacate within 60 days. 'I only make two grand a fortnight. It's a quarter of my wage gone,' she said.
The national rental vacancy rate fell to 0.9% in August, the lowest since 2006, according to SQM Research. In south-western Sydney, where the vacancy rate is 0.7%, rents increased by 9.3% over the past quarter. Kate Colvin, national spokesperson for the Everybody's Home campaign, described the situation as 'a social calamity and an economic disaster.' She said, 'Renters on modest incomes are bearing the cost of the national inflation challenge. We need to urgently expand social and affordable housing.'
In response to the crisis, the Queensland government announced emergency planning changes to allow granny flats to be rented privately for the next three years. The state's planning minister, Steven Miles, said people could be moved into secondary homes 'much more quickly' than constructing new housing. A survey by Property Investment Professionals of Australia found Queensland's rental supply had dropped by up to 30% in the past two years as over 160,000 investment properties were sold to homebuyers.
