Anglicare’s snapshot finds no homes were affordable for single unemployed in an Australian capital city

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Only two rental listings across Australia were affordable for the 500,000 single people on the Newstart allowance last month, a new report suggests.

And of those homes considered affordable for those on the unemployment benefit, none were in an Australian capital city, according to Anglicare’s 10th annual snapshot of the rental market, released on Monday.

The not-for-profit group’s rental affordability snapshot identified two affordable homes – both in western New South Wales – among the 69,485 advertised properties it surveyed on 23 March.

“This is a wake-up call,” the report said. “What this snapshot shows is that finding an affordable home in the private rental market is a complete fiction for people on low incomes. Resourcefulness and sacrifice is the only thing keeping a roof over the heads of many Australians.”

Newstart increase: big majority of voters across parties back rise, poll finds Read more

The report used the common definition of “rental stress” where, for a low-income person, properties that exceed 30% of their income are considered unaffordable.

It also found:

For those on the minimum wage of $719.20 a week, fewer than 3% of listings were affordable

Those on the disability support pension of $421.80 a week had 317 affordable rentals to choose from

For a single parent on Newstart with one child, only 75 rental listings were affordable

For an age pensioner, 552 listings were affordable

Welfare groups are also likely to seize on the findings to pressure both major parties during the election campaign to commit to a Newstart increase, which is $277.85 a week for a single person. Additional rent assistance payments, paid to those on benefits renting in the private market, are capped at $68.60 a week.

Guardian Australia reported this month that about 75% of all students receiving the youth allowance and rent assistance were facing “housing stress”.

Anglicare used the findings of the snapshot to call for the construction of 300,000 new social housing units and a 40% increase to rent assistance, which is capped to the consumer price index and has fallen well behind rising rents.

“Housing in Australia is broken,” Anglicare’s chief executive, Kasy Chambers, said. “Our figures show that affordability is down across the board.”

Rents have started to fall in Sydney and growth has slowed in Melbourne as both markets begin to cool. Recent figures suggested Canberra was Australia’s most expensive city to rent, while median rents in Hobart recently surpassed Melbourne.

Stuck on Newstart: ‘I don’t understand why more people aren’t angry’ Read more

The report put the blame at federal and state governments. It argued rent assistance had failed to keep up with the rising cost of living, while governments had failed to build enough social housing units.

“More than 142,500 Australians are on the waiting list for social housing, and half of those who were finally given a home in 2016-17 were already homeless,” the report said.

“Governments have also been tightening eligibility for social housing so that only people in the most desperate situations can get help. This means that many Australians can no longer find affordable housing, and the social housing system no longer works in a sustainable way.

“Without the funding from rents of tenants with higher incomes, there is not enough income to maintain public housing stock.”