Rental affordability drops to all-time low

23 Apr 2024

Anglicare Australia’s Rental Affordability Snapshot 2024 surveyed over 45,000 rental across Australia and found that affordability has dropped to record lows.

Out of 45,115 rental listings,

  • 289 rentals (0.6%) were affordable for a person earning a full-time minimum wage
  • 89 rentals (0.2%) were affordable for a person on the Age Pension
  • 31 rentals (0.1%) were affordable for a person on the Disability Support Pension
  • 3 rentals, (0%) all sharehouses, were affordable for a person on JobSeeker
  • 0 rentals (0%) were affordable for a person on Youth Allowance.

The report’s introduction paints a grim and harrowing picture of rental affordability:

The worst it has ever been.

That is the only way to describe the current state of rental affordability in
Australia. The stark reality facing people on low incomes is that they will not find an affordable place
to live, that families will be evicted because another rent increase will push them beyond the limit,
and for those fortunate enough to find a home, they will be forced to choose between putting food
on the table and staying warm this winter or keeping a roof over their head.

This report will mark the fifteenth edition of Anglicare Australia’s Rental Affordability Snapshot. What
we have found is nothing short of horrifying.

Decades of housing policy failure has led us to this crisis point and there are no  signs of the crisis abating.

Living without a stable, affordable home is detrimental to every aspect of one’s life – health, security, employment, education, relationships and more. That’s why housing is a fundamental human right.
All of us are responsible, particularly all levels of government, for ensuring that safe and secure housing is available for all who need it.