There has been a 20 per cent drop in affordable rental properties in Brimbank in the past 13 years, a new study has revealed.
The Tenants Union of Victoria is urging the federal government to increase rental assistance after an ‘‘affordability bulletin’’ revealed six out of the seven different types of rental households in Sunshine would experience ‘‘housing stress’’ if paying median rent prices.
Housing stress is defined as spending more than 30 per cent of income on rent.
Deemed a “hypothetical report” examining the percentage of income needed to pay median rents, the bulletin reveals that students on Austudy would need to spend
75 per cent of their payments on rent.
Sunshine West resident Vicki Palmer said paying rent on a disability pension was often a struggle.
“I’m on the highest amount of rent assistance,” she said. “If my rent goes up any more, it will make things difficult. I pay my rent most weeks, but it’s hard when bills come in … it puts me behind for the next week.”
Union worker James Bennett said housing was the largest single cost for people on low incomes.
Department of Human Services data revealed that despite the addition of hundreds of new houses, there had been a 20 per cent decline in Brimbank’s “affordable lettings” – rentals costing no more than 30 per cent of various Centrelink payments – with 380 affordable lettings in March 2000, compared to 379 in June last year.
Gellibrand Labor MP Tim Watts said enormous investment in Sunshine had exacerbated housing affordability problems.
“I know from speaking to constituents that life is tough when up to three-quarters of your income goes on rent,” he said.
“Labor has instigated a parliamentary inquiry to make sure this issue stays on the agenda.”
