Chapter 2The experiences of renters
2.1At the heart of this inquiry are the lived experiences of people whose lives have been, and continue to be, impacted by the rental crisis. People from all walks of life have shared their stories with the committee, expressing their anger, anxiety, fear, and feelings of powerlessness due to the state of renting in Australia. The committee has heard of the far-reaching impacts of the rental crisis on all aspects of people’s lives – from their work, studies, and connections to community, to their physical and mental health, sense of safety and security, and ability to meet their basic needs.
2.2The all-consuming impacts of the rental crisis were described by Mark, a witness at a public hearing in Brisbane:
… we have been prevented from being our best selves. The burden absorbs so much of our headspace. We have not been able to do our best as a spouse, a parent, a friend or an employee. … We have been left constantly worrying about where we are to live and how we are to pay our next bills. This is not healthy for us or our family or our child.
2.3Inquiry participants emphasised the urgency of the situation for a growing number of people across the country living in inadequate, insecure and unaffordable housing. Amity, a witness who appeared at a public hearing in Sydney, observed:
We've seen increasingly unsafe housing and homelessness due to scarcity of available rentals. More and more people are moving back in with their parents if their parents have stable housing and room for them. We've also seen people couch surfing and living in cars, caravans and motels and sleeping rough.
2.4Experiences such as these highlight that the rental crisis is ‘ultimately … a human crisis, not a fiscal one’.
2.5This chapter explores the experiences of navigating the Australian rental system in the midst of the ongoing rental crisis. It highlights the difficulties faced by people seeking rental housing as well as the myriad challenges facing current renters, including in relation to rental affordability, tenure security and duration, accommodation minimum standards, and barriers to self-advocacy and enforcement of renters’ rights.
Difficulties to secure rental housing
2.6The committee heard that people experience significant and wide-ranging difficulties obtaining rental housing in Australia.
2.7Many submitters gave evidence that the practice of rent bidding, for instance, exacerbates the unaffordability of rental housing. Rental application processes burden prospective renters with the need to provide excessive amounts of private information, with no assurance as to the security of this data. Prospective renters may also be pressured into paying for background checks from third-party platforms, thus placing them under further financial strain. Moreover, discrimination in the private rental market and long waiting lists for social housing mean that marginalised communities are often left in precarious situations as they struggle to secure rental housing.
Rent bidding
2.8Rent bidding is the practice whereby an applicant for a rental property offers more rent than the advertised asking price in order to secure a lease. The committee heard that rent bidding drives up rent prices, and has become so prevalent that people who cannot afford to offer above the advertised asking price are effectively ‘locked out of the rental market’.
2.9Georgina, a witness who appeared at a public hearing in Brisbane, said:
It has been my own experience, as someone with a good rental history, good income and good references, that securing a rental in the current market means having the means to offer above the listed rental price and sometimes to offer six months rent in advance—kind of like a bidding war.
2.10One long-term renter put plainly that applying for rental properties is ‘demeaning and competitive’:
You know that other people are so desperate to have a place that they are starting to do things like offer more rent, or offering three months’ rent up front, or starting to write a nice cover letter outlining that you are a nice person, deserving of housing. Knowing that other people are doing these things, you start doing them too.
2.11The Service to Youth Council (SYC) observed that rent bidding is a product of the tight rental market, as applicants are forced to compete over rental properties:
In this current climate of sustained vacancy rates of below 1%, tenants are ‘doing what it takes’ to ensure they are the chosen candidate and feel obligated to offer a higher amount.
2.12Many applicants feel pressured to offer amounts of rent that would put them under rental stress. Despite this, landlords may be reluctant to approve their application due to the perceived risk that they may not be able to pay the rent. This leaves prospective renters in a predicament:
Knowing the intense competition for rentals, I offered $40 above the asking price. I had a perfect rental history but was rejected. The agent said I was rejected because the offered rent was more than 30% of my income (it was 32%), which is considered unfavourable by the landlord. This system is designed to fail many of us: if you don’t offer more, you are rejected. If you offer more and it is more than 30% of your income, you are rejected. What options do we have?
2.13Submitters suggested that the advertisement of a rental property without a price or for a price range might indirectly invite rent bidding. Similarly, some of the digital technologies used to submit rental applications facilitate rent bidding by allowing applicants to specify the amount of rent they would like to offer.
2.14Efforts to regulate rent bidding across the country have failed to prevent the practice. Although some Australian jurisdictions such as the ACT, NSW, Victoria and South Australia have prohibited real estate agents and landlords from soliciting rent bidding, there are no prohibitions on accepting higher offers of rent that have been made voluntarily. At the National Cabinet on 16 August 2023, agreement was obtained from all states and territories to implement a ban on soliciting rent bidding.
Issues with the rental application process
2.15The committee received evidence of a range of issues with the rental application process. Checks of prospective renters were said to be unnecessarily burdensome and invasive, with insufficient care given to ensuring the security of applicants’ personal data. Concerns were also raised about prospective renters being forced to incur additional fees relating to their applications.
Checks of prospective renters
Requests for information
2.16Inquiry participants expressed strong concerns that the amount of personal information requested as part of rental applications is excessive. For example, a person seeking rental housing in the Canberra region submitted:
Our experience in applying for rentals has been horrible. The amount of information required is insane. Yesterday a real estate agent required us to provide proof of income and also bank statements to check how were [sic] were spending our money and also photos of our current living arrangements- in addition to rental references. It’s just so incredibly invasive and intense.
2.17These sentiments were echoed by a long-term renter who described the application process:
The real estate agents demand more forms of identification than it takes to get a passport. They ask for reams of information, prying into your bank accounts and pay slips and tax returns, your rental history, where you’ve been living, who you’ve been living with. They demand to know personal information like whether you smoke or have pets, so they might deem you too difficult to bestow upon you housing which again, you desperately need.
2.18The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) submitted that the collection of extensive personal information creates the ‘potential for judging applicants based on prejudice’.
2.19Similarly, the SYC submitted that the ability of real estate agents and landlords to request detailed credit card statements from prospective renters in order to question their spending habits is ‘a breach of privacy with judgements, bias and prejudice directly or implicitly influencing consideration of applicants’.
2.20While prospective renters are obligated to provide substantial information about themselves to landlords, landlords are under no reciprocal obligation. Prospective renters expressed frustration at this information asymmetry:
Would you like to know anything about the landlord? Who they are? Have they been good to their tenants? Has the place been well cared for? Too bad. You don’t get to know any of that information, and again, you’re so desperate for a roof over you [sic] head that it doesn’t matter. You have to roll those dice.
2.21Creating mutual transparency through central government services, such as Service NSW and other state equivalents, was considered as an option by the Homeless Persons Legal Service to ensure tenants were informed about prospective landlords:
…it would be good to have an easy and transparent way for tenants to access information about landlords, and that could be provided by government. Currently landlords and real estate agents collect a lot of information about tenants but not the other way around, so you can't actually see whether a landlord has behaved in an inadequate manner in the past or anything like that. So we would certainly support the introduction of a licensing scheme and for information to be publicly available.
Data security
2.22Prospective renters hold significant misgivings about the security of their sensitive personal data. Jennifer, a witness who appeared at the public hearing in Brisbane, told the committee her fears:
Our private identifying information is controlled. Here is some of the information we have been forced to hand over in the hope of securing a new home, and I might add that it's to each and every home that you apply for: our driver's licences, passports, birth certificates, car registrations, employer contact details, payslips, bank statements, credit card numbers, referees, friends' details, relatives' details and emergency contacts' details. We are given no assurance that this information is securely stored and where it is securely stored, if it is securely stored at all.
2.23Indeed, Digital Rights Watch cited evidence that showed a large proportion of prospective renters are pressured to submit their personal information to third-party platforms despite their misgivings about the security of this information.
…one agent emailed me to say I needed to complete an application form (in full) on Tenant Options (a website) before she would even consider me to view a rental property… (I called and asked for a paper application form and she refused on the grounds she had too many applications). …I am very concerned that this website could be hacked and my ID stolen.
2.24The PIAC submitted that improper storage of prospective renters’ information creates a cybersecurity risk:
… cybercriminals could, potentially, try to enter databases of real estate agencies and collect significant amounts of personal information which they could then use to steal people's identity or commit fraud …
2.25Digital Rights Watch pointed out that data breaches have been previously reported at real estate agencies such as Harcourts and LJ Hooker.
2.26Despite the real risk to prospective renters’ sensitive personal information, ‘the use, and potential abuse, of extensive and invasive data requirements and centralised online portals is largely unregulated’. However, at the National Cabinet on 16 August 2023, agreement was obtained from all states and territories to implement a number of reforms to improve and streamline tenancy application process and the data protection of tenancy applicants.
Application-related fees
2.27The committee was made aware of the practice of third-party platforms offering prospective renters the option to purchase background checks (see Figure 2.1 below).
Figure 2.1Screenshot of a Background Check offered by the 2Apply platform
Source: Digital Rights Watch, Submission 26, [p. 46].
2.28The committee heard that this practice is controversial, with Digital Rights Watch claiming that the cost of these checks would ordinarily fall on the landlord or real estate agency.
2.29Against the backdrop of low vacancy rates, renters feel pressured to purchase these background checks to increase their chances of securing a lease. The SYC submitted that while renters are advised that these background checks are not compulsory, ‘in the current rental market, we are aware of tenants who have not completed these Checks being not considered for properties’.
Discrimination in the private rental market
2.30The committee received a range of testimony about the pervasiveness of discrimination in the private rental market.
2.31Mr John Engeler, Chief Executive Officer of Shelter NSW, highlighted that discrimination is widespread and affects a variety of marginalised groups:
People on low incomes are more likely to be renters … as are First Nations people, people with disability and, increasingly, older Australians. These households are severely impacted by the power imbalances inherent in the private rental market. We're talking about constant and consistent discrimination. It's not occasional; it's most of the time. Often the private market doesn't just fall short; it fails. It fails considerably and it fails certain groups repeatedly.
2.32This was reinforced by Ms Kate Colvin, Chief Executive Officer of Homelessness Australia, who observed that ‘the very low vacancy rates are supercharging that discrimination and making it almost impossible for marginalised communities to get housing’. The Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) suggested that in periods of higher vacancy rates, there would be ‘increasing opportunity and choice for tenants’.
2.33Jo, a witness who appeared at the public hearing in Brisbane, spoke of her experience:
As a woman in my 40s, I've been routinely discriminated against by rental agents, many of whom often show disdain. I've literally been stood at viewings with other women where we've been completely ignored or spoken down to.
2.34The Centre for Non-Violence submitted that screening practices for rental applications can indirectly discriminate against women escaping family violence. For example, women who have not previously entered the rental market or rented in their own name are disadvantaged by the requirement for applicants to demonstrate previous rental history.
2.35Georgina, a National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) psychosocial recovery coach, gave evidence at the Brisbane hearing that discrimination was a significant barrier to securing rental housing for Harley, an NDIS participant:
Despite personally applying for well over 70 private rental listings, we have not managed to find suitable long-term accommodation for Harley. We were either ignored or blatantly told: 'We do not want to live with a disabled person.'
2.36The digital technologies used to process rental applications have been said to facilitate discrimination by using opaque algorithms to filter and rank applicants based on specific characteristics.
2.37Digital Rights Watch emphasised that the lack of human oversight of automated screening processes for rental applications leaves certain groups at a distinct disadvantage:
Renters on income support or with irregular incomes may also be negatively impacted by rental technologies. The automation of creditworthiness checks, semi-opaque tenancy databases, and income cross-checking can put applicants at a disadvantage. With very little human discretion available, these applicants will likely be looked over in favour of tenants who achieve an algorithmically determined criteria of a ‘good’ tenant.
2.38Discrimination against particular cohorts of prospective renters will be explored in further detail in Chapter 3.
Social housing waiting lists
2.39Many inquiry participants underscored the difficulty of securing access to social housing.
2.40Evidence to the committee demonstrated that wait times across the country for social housing stretch into the years, even for priority cohorts. In South Australia, for example, the committee heard that:
… for most people, they sit on that waiting list, even as priority 1, for four years, and, if you're a priority 2 or 3, you may as well forget about ever getting access to public housing or social housing.
2.41Professor Alan Morris of the University of Technology Sydney found through interviews with people on social housing waiting lists that:
All of the waitees were desperate to access social housing. … [There was a sense that social housing] would … alleviate the enormous stress, anxiety and sense of hopelessness associated with not having a home. For those waitees who were private tenants, accessing social housing would remove their constant concern that they may be asked to vacate or that their rent would be increased to an untenable level.
2.42Moreover, Ms Aimee McVeigh, Chief Executive Officer of the Queensland Council of Social Service, stressed that the number of people on social housing waiting lists does not accurately reflect the full extent of demand.
2.43The committee heard that many people with unmet housing needs are ineligible for public housing because ‘the income threshold for eligibility is … obscenely low’, disqualifying those on a disability support pension from eligibility for public housing in New South Wales. Additionally, there are people with unmet housing needs who have been dropped off social housing waiting lists and have not yet reapplied:
… [social housing waiting list] numbers look lower than they are. It's the same reason I'm not on the list now; the list looks smaller because I'm overwhelmed by the idea of applying again. I'm just trying to pay my current rent and get a window that closes, so I don't have the capacity to deal with that.
2.44At National Cabinet on 17 June 2023, the Australian Government announced an immediate $2 billion payment to be delivered to state and territory governments to provide thousands of additional homes for Australians on social housing waiting lists. To encourage the rapid delivery of these homes, a condition of this funding was for all funding to be committed by states and territories within two years, ending 30 June 2025.
Rental affordability
2.45Rental affordability is a primary concern among renters. The committee received compelling evidence of the impacts of repeated and substantial rent increases on people’s wellbeing. People are being forced to stay in unsuitable and inadequate housing and in some circumstances relocate entirely, causing immense disruption to their lives. The committee also heard how sustained rental stress affects all aspects of renters’ lives, including their ability to afford other essential goods and services.
Rent increases
2.46Inquiry participants revealed that rents are increasing across the country at an unprecedented rate and scale, creating significant hardship for renters.
2.47Amity, a witness who appeared at the public hearing in Sydney, stated:
People are in really serious distress. There's just no end in sight to our rent increases. Some of the rent increases people are getting are just awful, and it feels like it's this system that is about to explode.
2.48Robyn, who has been renting for 40 years, testified at the public hearing in Brisbane: ‘The size of the increase in rent this year is outside anything I have experienced in all my years of renting’.
2.49People told the committee that they are living in fear of the next rent increase. Lisa, a renter from Victoria, said:
With no way to predict, and therefore prepare for the inevitable rent increase, the months leading up to the annual “rent review” have me terrified. … For those of us on fixed-term incomes already paying the maximum we can afford, any increase will price us out of the private rental market and into homelessness. The fear of joining other folk sleeping in cars … in a tent … or living out of a storage facility … is psychologically unbearable, but seems inevitable.
2.50Multiple organisations reported a marked increase in the volume of requests for advice and support in relation to rent increases. For example, Ms Penny Carr, Chief Executive Officer of Tenants Queensland, said at a public hearing:
Since the end of last month, we've had over 400 contacts where people were asking about rent increases. If you use a CPI figure of six per cent, very few of those rent increases were CPI or less. On average, the increases were 25 per cent of the current rent, or $100 a week. Thirty per cent of those contacts had rent increases of between 25 and 50 per cent of the current rent. They're absolutely unaffordable increases for people.
Rent increases regardless of the condition of the property
2.51The committee heard of instances where rent increases were demanded despite the property being in a state of disrepair.
2.52The University of Melbourne Student Union Inc. provided the following example of a student’s rent increase (see Box 2.1 below).
Box 2.1 The lived experience of Jia* Jia and her housemates received a notice to increase the rent in their share house by over 50%. While the notice cited market rents in the area, it placed the property at the very top of this range, and failed to consider the age and condition of the property. Throughout their lease, Jia and her housemates had experienced numerous urgent repair and cleaning issues which the landlord had failed to address, many of which were pre-existing. These included mouse and wasp infestations; broken locks, windows and doors; rubbish and refuse left on the premises; extremely poor plumbing; broken essential appliances; and a gas leak. No renovation or general maintenance was done on the property in the 2 years since the beginning of the lease, and the landlord had also failed to provide a condition report or comply with rental minimum standards, in breach of the law. Despite this, Jia and her housemates received an indication from Consumer Affairs Victoria that the proposed rent increase was reasonable, and therefore felt they had no choice but to move out of the property. *Name changed. |
2.53Many renters may have limited options but to live in unsuitable and inadequate housing because it is all that they can afford. Submitters highlighted that this has a range of detrimental impacts on renters’ physical and mental health.
2.54Consumers of Mental Health WA (CoMHWA) submitted that:
CoMHWA members have described experiences where living in unsuitable or inaccessible housing has contributed to or worsened their mental health challenges because of factors including noise, bad neighbours or neighbourhood violence. For example, a property might have excessive noise and light, which is difficult when a person experiences sensory issues associated with neurodiversity, experiences of trauma and other mental health challenges.
Rent increases forcing people to relocate
2.55The committee also heard of renters being forced to relocate to areas where rent is more affordable. The distance that this creates between renters and their social and employment networks poses challenges, as described by Marcel from NSW:
The rent all around us has spiked above what we can afford. Our landlord has also chosen to raise the rent on us too of course, and we know it will be sooner rather than later before we will be forced to uproot ourselves, leave behind our friends and neighbours and move somewhere more affordable. It feels like it's a question of when, not if we will give in and accept we can no longer afford to live where we work. Adding longer commutes, on more and more crowded public transport or join the commuters on the crowded highways in a car that's too expensive for us to maintain and too cheap for it be reliable.
2.56Janet, a witness who appeared at the public hearing in Brisbane, spoke of the immense impact of being dislocated from her community and leaving behind treasured possessions:
I had to leave Tasmania due to the rental crisis down there. It was a place that I loved living and I never intended to move from. … I had to sell and give away everything I owned that made my home a home and my garden a garden, because bringing it back with me was not an option. Everything that I've bought throughout my working life, since I was 16 years of age, and many sentimental items, were included. They're gone. Lost. And my past now feels like it's been erased because of that.
Rental stress
2.57A growing number of renters are experiencing rental stress, as shown by research conducted by The Salvation Army and AHURI.
2.58People experiencing rental stress spoke of its far-reaching impacts on their lives. Amity told the committee at the public hearing in Sydney:
As renters, we're paying an increasingly huge portion of our wages on homes that increasingly do not meet our needs, and the financial pressures just keep rising. The impact of these things on our physical and psychological wellbeing is huge.
2.59One renter, a grandmother receiving income support payments, said she was constantly worried about spending even on basic items:
No meds, no haircuts, no extra food just basics, no going out unless free venue and parking plus bring own food … School supplies, uniforms, work clothes, petrol … it’s so hard … waiting for rents to increase and petrified of our electricity bill … it’s too hard to be this scared all the time, just too hard.
2.60People under rental stress are being ‘forced to make impossible choices’, involving trade-offs between different necessities. A renter in Sydney’s inner west said:
The exorbitant cost of rent has consistently placed limitations on my ability to spend on essential necessities like food, household goods, and engaging in the local community.
2.61The committee heard that people often prioritise paying the rent over their other needs, and consequently experience deficiencies in various aspects of their lives.
With increasing rent, we're making choices between skipping meals and skipping medical appointments and missing important family milestones because paying the rent always has to come first.
The need for emergency relief
2.62People experiencing rental stress are increasingly accessing emergency relief, with the St Vincent de Paul Society observing: ‘There is a direct relationship between high rents and increased requests for our assistance, across the country’.
2.63Ms Sarah Pennell, Chief Operating Officer of Foodbank Australia, underscored that food insecurity is a growing issue for people experiencing rental stress:
As rental costs continue to increase … households are left with reduced disposable income to allocate to other critical needs such as nutritious food. Yes, food has become a discretionary item in the household budget. … The resulting financial strain leads to compromised diets, skipping meals, purchasing cheaper but less nutritious food and, ultimately, requiring charitable assistance.
2.64Indeed, the Foodbank Hunger Report 2022 found that renters were the largest category of food insecure households in Australia. A large majority of food insecure renters attributed high living expenses, including housing, as a cause of food insecurity.
2.65Foodbank Australia noted that a growing number of renters are seeking food relief:
We're seeing new cohorts of people in search of food relief, including a cohort that is typically working at least one job … We have seen food banks opening on weekends to cater for these people who are no longer able to make ends meet. We have seen food banks conducting pop-ups, essentially bringing Foodbank into new locations and new communities.
Tenure security and duration
2.66Tenure security and the duration of leases have an enormous impact on renters. Many submitters argued that renters’ security of tenure is undermined by the legality of no-grounds evictions in several Australian jurisdictions. The Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) stated:
While some jurisdictions have made reforms in this direction in recent years, it is still possible to evict tenants without grounds at the end of a fixed-term tenancy (with a minimum 30 days or less of notice in NSW, Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory) or by demanding a disproportionate rent increase.
2.67The City Futures Research Centre cautioned on reform to grounds for eviction, specifically regarding the sale of premises:
One of the grounds that they [Queensland] have inserted—a new ground, in addition to the three I mentioned there—is that the landlord is preparing the premises for sale, and I think that's an abusive ground. That shouldn't be a ground for termination. We did some research on property investment in Western Sydney, and we found—I don't have the percentage off the top of my head—that quite a substantial number of premises were bought by investors that had previously been in the rental sector, and they kept the tenant as well. It was in the order of 40 per cent...
2.68Additionally, AHURI noted that:
Typical rental leases in Australian jurisdictions are initial 12-month (or 6-month) leases, followed by month-to-month less secure tenure. Australian rental systems allow, but do not encourage, longer leases.
2.69Indeed, the NSW Council of Social Service stated that there is a high degree of movement amongst renters in the state:
Over 80% of renters in NSW have lived in their current rental for less than 5 years, with a third for less than one year. 20-30% of renters move due to an eviction, around a quarter of which are due to ‘no fault’ termination for ‘no grounds’ evictions.
2.70Lack of tenure security combined with the short duration of leases creates constant uncertainty, stress and anxiety for renters. AJ, a renter from Victoria, submitted:
Renters including myself have constant anxiety that where we live is temporary and is not our home and we could lose it at any moment and thrust into homelessness.
2.71Amity told the committee that the uncertainty of her housing situation impacted her family’s ability to plan for the future:
My 11-year-old has already moved five times. The last few years people have been asking me, 'Which high school will he go to?' 'I don't know,' has been my reply because on a periodic lease I know that I can be evicted at any time for no reason with only 90 days notice.
2.72Organisations reported that the termination of tenancies and the inability to find a new rental property following a lease termination were among the most common concerns of renting households over the last 12 months.
2.73The committee received evidence that searching for a new rental property following a lease termination is incredibly stressful. A member of Suicide Prevention Australia’s lived experience panel described the significant mental health impacts:
I was so scared. I was having panic attacks every day. I’m like, where am I gonna go? I can’t find anywhere to live … So especially for someone like me who’s already a suicide survivor in my head, my thoughts immediately start going down that tunnel of suicidal thinking that I was like, I’m not safe. I have no where to go. I’m going to end up being a burden on other people if I have nowhere to go … and all these belongings like, I just need to get rid of them. And then I was like, started thinking I should just get rid of myself.
The impact of constant moves
2.74The process of moving from one rental property to another takes a toll mentally, emotionally and financially. For example, Robyn shared her experience with the committee:
Time spent searching for a suitable place to live, attending property viewings—along with 30, 40 or 50 other people—filling out rental applications, packing and moving is time consuming, expensive, repetitive, counterproductive and always— always—hugely anxiety-producing. Constant renewal of rental contracts every six or 12 months creates ongoing uncertainty and precarity. It diverts our attention away from security of home and place; we don't have that anymore. Our basic essential need for shelter is continually negotiated. It diminishes overall productivity and undermines our sense of wellbeing and safety.
2.75People testified that they were held back from progressing in various aspects of their lives due to constant moves:
… my ability to progress financially, professionally and personally is often slowed by the fact that I've had to move so many times. It's so stressful. It impacts every part of your life—your health, wellbeing, finances and sense of security.
2.76The University of Melbourne Graduate Student Association submitted that the stressful and time-consuming nature of rental applications and moving damages the educational outcomes of renters who are studying because they are less able to devote themselves to study commitments and research.
Accommodation minimum standards
2.77The committee received powerful evidence that many renters across the country are living in conditions that are unsafe, unhygienic, and causing great discomfort.
2.78In the context of rising rents and low vacancy rates, the committee heard that renters have little choice but to accept substandard properties:
You will see properties not fit for human habitation asking hundreds of dollars per week to rent; cabinetry peeling and rotting, kitchens with carpet in them, peeling lino, mould growing in showers, unsteady floors. Places stinking of cigarette smoke. … You will see properties with ancient, unsafe heaters, no air conditioning …
And then worst of all, you will accept one of these places. You’re a young poor student and you don’t have any other choices. You couldn’t afford something habitable, so instead you apply for and take the places with the heater that you’re scared to turn on, with no insulation, and run up the heating bill up, cranking an oil heater all through winter.
2.79It was said that some rental properties were so unsanitary that they caused health issues:
For the past few months, Harley has been living in what I would describe as an attic space in boarding accommodation. … Harley has suffered skin irritations, including a golden staph infection, whilst living in this space. I would not consider it suitable for an animal, let alone for a human. However, he pays $300 a week for this space.
2.80Mould was widely reported in rental properties, in some cases causing respiratory issues and damaging renters’ personal items.
Energy efficiency standards
2.81A significant number of submissions gave evidence that rental properties are poorly sealed and insulated, leaving renters in extreme discomfort. For example, Jennifer testified at the public hearing in Brisbane:
We have lived in homes that are nothing more than wooden tents—draughty, cold in winter, hot in summer, allowing biting insects such as mosquitoes to enter and cockroaches to infest our home.
2.82This was echoed at the public hearing by Amity, who said:
I've had houses get so hot in summer that my glasses slide down my nose while I'm working at the computer and we put our bedsheets in the fridge for a while before going to bed. Some houses have been so cold in winter that it's warmer outside than inside.
2.83Sweltering Cities confirmed that renters are ‘more likely [than homeowners] to live in low energy efficiency homes with no insulation or air conditioning’. This means that ‘renters often face higher relative energy costs to run their homes’. Research by Better Renting uncovered that renters are ‘spending an absolute fortune on heating inefficient homes’.
2.84Ada, a witness who appeared at the public hearing in Canberra, highlighted the measures she had to take to regulate the temperature in her home while minimising energy costs:
I holed myself up in the room I'd converted into a nursery, which is the smallest room and the room that is easiest to heat. It's got bubble wrap on the windows. The vents are covered over with plastic. The doors are reinforced. So I could heat up that room to a comfortable temperature, and the rest of the house I would heat to 10 to 12 degrees. … The only time I've heated the whole house this entire winter was when I was in labour, when I thought: 'As a special treat, let's turn on the central heating. We'll go 20 degrees.'
Repairs and maintenance
2.85Inquiry participants widely reported that repairs and maintenance on rental properties are not conducted in a timely manner, and in some cases fail to occur at all. Uniting Communities noted that:
Some landlords are reportedly exceeding what would be considered a reasonable timeframe to respond to both urgent and non-urgent repairs. This includes months or even years beyond what is considered a reasonable timeframe. This presents a major issue for tenants who subsequently live in substandard and poor housing conditions.
2.86The committee heard of renters’ requests for repairs and maintenance going unanswered:
My agent took ten days to get hot water maintenance during the middle of winter. They told me hot water was a "luxury" which did not constitute an urgent repair and that I could use boiled water from the stove or facilities such as the gym instead.
Routine maintenance requests were ignored while property inspections were carried out every six months to the day.
2.87Skills and trades shortages are also a significant factor contributing to the delay in repairs and renovations:
Build rates have nearly doubled. They will start to improve, but we still remain with some of the most acute skills shortages and trade shortages for the amount of work that's out there. The reason is partly COVID and the amount of work that's been going on since then, but we've also seen a significant drain of skilled labour into infrastructure projects. Renovation projects, even though new home sales have really fallen off a cliff, have continued to grow quite substantially. The draw on skilled labour is still very significant, and so we're still at close to the lowest levels of the availability of skilled labour that we've had in our history.
2.88Jo gave evidence at the public hearing in Brisbane that the lack of repairs and maintenance to her rental property created a risk to her health:
In several of the properties I've rented, maintenance has been very poor. During one tenancy, a rusty hole in the bath cut my foot, resulting in the need for a tetanus shot which cost me $45. Both the landlord and the rental agent ignored my correspondence about this issue and no repairs were carried out.
2.89The SYC submitted that issues with maintenance are ‘one of the top three primary presenting reasons for tenants to contact RentRight SA for advice and assistance’.
Reprisal against renters for raising repair and maintenance requests
2.90Renters gave evidence that they had experienced reprisal from real estate agents and landlords for raising repair and maintenance requests. In one case, the landlord refused to renew the lease after deeming the renters ‘difficult’ for requesting repairs to major subsidence damage.
2.91Cain from Melbourne said he was evicted after raising an issue with a leaking pipe:
When a pipe started leaking in my bathroom … mould started growing on the carpet. The smell was so strong that I couldn’t sleep in my own bedroom anymore … The landlord sent a cleaner in to vacuum the mould, and within a couple days it had grown back.
When I told the real estate agent that I’d be taking the issue to VCAT, the landlord decided to put the apartment up for sale and evicted me.
2.92AHURI noted that in some Australian jurisdictions, renters can appeal to the Civil and Administrative Tribunal to overturn a retaliatory eviction. However, many inquiry participants pointed out the practical difficulties with enforcing renters’ rights. These difficulties will be explored further in the next section.
Barriers to self-advocacy and enforcement of renters’ rights
2.93Despite various Australian jurisdictions having some protections for renters, inquiry participants voiced the concern that renters are often prevented from advocating and enforcing their rights.
2.94Ms Farah Farouque, representing the National Association of Renters Organisations, told the committee at the public hearing in Canberra that ‘essentially, the renter has to become the rental cop, a form of self-enforcement that is actually not viable’.
2.95Anika Legal outlined a range of barriers to self-enforcement of tenancy laws by renters:
Self enforcement assumes that renters have the understanding and capacity to enforce their legal rights, and courage to tackle the significant power imbalance between themselves and their rental provider or real estate agent. This ignores the reality that many renters face multifaceted social and economic challenges which prevent them from being able to effectively advocate for themselves, and presumes that rental providers and real estate agents are always acting in good faith.
The power imbalance between renters and landlords
2.96Chief among the reasons that renters face difficulties advocating and enforcing their rights, is the power imbalance between renters and landlords. Renters face the risk that any actions they take to stand up for their rights may be met with retaliation from real estate agents and landlords who hold significant power over renters’ current and future living circumstances.
2.97Several submitters noted that the current combination of record low vacancy rates and a shortage of affordable housing is exacerbating this power imbalance.
2.98Uniting Communities explained the dilemma that renters are faced with when deciding whether to challenge their landlord’s actions:
The current system relies on tenants to go to the Tribunal if the landlord is not following the law. Not only is this option a costly and lengthy process for the tenant but also puts tenants in a vulnerable position to repercussions from the landlord such as a rent increase, and a retaliatory eviction. In addition, tenants are reluctant to go to the Tribunal as this may result in a poor review about them on a tenancy database that could prevent them from attaining another rental property.
2.99Many inquiry participants argued that the availability of no-grounds evictions has a ‘chilling effect’ as it exposes renters to the threat of retaliatory evictions. Additionally, Mr Andrew Barker, Senior Economist at the CEDA, pointed out that ‘tenants can effectively be evicted if they're given an egregious or unreasonable rent increase’.
2.100Anika Legal provided examples of real estate agents and landlords employing ‘intimidatory tactics to coerce [people] out of asserting their rights as renters’, including:
threatening litigation, eviction or blacklisting of the renter without cause;
submitting a bond claim to the relevant tribunal with little or no evidence to force renters to give up some or all of their bond;
issuing a notice to vacate, then not following the reason given for the notice.
2.101Amity, at the public hearing in Brisbane, conveyed the real fear experienced by renters:
… we're putting up with crappy things for fear of another rent increase or a no-grounds eviction. We often talk about how we just pay the rent, stay quiet and hope the landlord will forget about us and leave us there.
2.102One renter said they are too afraid to request repairs despite living in hazardous conditions:
Our house is cold, mouldy and there are electrical problems and leaks but we don't ask for repairs because we fear being kicked out as a result or having the rent put up…
2.103Likewise, Rebecca told the committee at the public hearing in Sydney that she feared asserting her rights at the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT):
Since we moved into the property there has been an urgent repair needed in our main family bathroom. Even though we have been working with the agent and the landlord to have it repaired, it's getting up to 12 months now and the urgent repair has not been completed. I am reluctant to go to NCAT and put in a submission for the rent relief due, because I'm fearful of a termination notice. I have a 13-year-old, a 10-year-old and a seven-year-old, and my 13-year-old has moved 12 times.
2.104At the National Cabinet on 16 August 2023, agreement was obtained from all states and territories to ensure provisions to allow appeals against retaliatory eviction notices are fit for purpose (e.g. evictions motivated by tenants taking reasonable action to secure or enforce legal rights, complain or disclose information about their tenancy).
Damage to renters’ ability to secure future rental housing
2.105Inquiry participants argued that real estate agents’ power to damage renters’ chances of securing future rental housing is a significant deterrent to renters advocating and enforcing their rights. For example, Caitriona stated:
The realtor also holds the power to tarnish my future renting capabilities by giving me a negative rental reference with absolutely no repercussions for them for the handling of the situation, hence, even if you do stand up for yourself to realtors like mine, they still do hold all the power.
2.106The committee was made aware of the existence of ‘tenants blacklists’ – databases containing the personal information of renters who have been deemed undesirable by real estate agencies.Some blacklists were said to be accessible by a large number of real estate agencies, thereby effectively barring people from securing another rental property within the same state or territory, or even within the country.
2.107Jennifer and Mark told the committee that they had been blacklisted simply for requesting reasonable repairs and maintenance. This was echoed by Mr Leo Patterson Ross, representing the National Association of Renters’ Organisations, who testified: ‘It is very easy to be blacklisted, to be prevented from finding a new home, because you dared question’.
2.108Uniting Communities pointed out the opaqueness and unfairness of the blacklisting process, leaving renters vulnerable to the whims of real estate agents:
Some tenants are being blacklisted on a tenants database without their knowledge with no ability to contest the matter if they have been unfairly or inaccurately listed. … Tenants are vulnerable to poor reviews made against them on a tenants database if they exert their rights by going to the Tribunal when the landlord is not following the law.
Lack of knowledge, resources and support
2.109The committee received evidence that renters are often unequipped to advocate and enforce their rights due to a lack of knowledge, resources and support.
2.110The WA Council of Social Service indicated:
It is exceptionally challenging for tenants in the Australian rental markets to challenge increases in rent. … due to the asymmetry of information, with market data far more readily accessible for landlords and property managers than tenants.
2.111Sam told the committee at the public hearing in Canberra that she was fortunate enough to have received support from Legal Aid and gained access to a resource called ‘The Renting Book’ which was crucial in building her understanding of her rights and responsibilities. However, Sam acknowledged that awareness of renters’ rights is not widespread:
There has to be a structure, a proper legal written notice to vacate. I only found that out from getting access to what's called The Renting Book, which is something they have in the ACT, and it was only the other landlords that told me that that existed. I'd never heard of it.
2.112Sam noted that renters with lower English proficiency and other accessibility needs would have additional difficulties accessing information about their rights:
We are fortunate in that we are well-educated folk. Not everybody would have the privilege that we had, but we just didn't know the rental market. So, perhaps, for people with, maybe, English as a second language and for people with disability, having ways that that information can be accessed through organisations that can help renters would be fantastic.
Renters’ personal circumstances
2.113The committee heard that renters’ personal circumstances often make it difficult for them to invest time and energy in challenging landlords’ actions.
2.114The Renters and Housing Union (RAHU) underscored the many competing demands on renters:
Capacity for self-advocacy is modified by the level of understanding of the housing system, current health and demands on a renter's time. A renter is often struggling to get a repair carried out, fighting a rent increase, trying to find another place to live in, working a job and trying to raise a family at the same time.
2.115Ms Fiona Caniglia, Executive Director at Q Shelter, pointed out that ‘many renters will be experiencing aspects of vulnerability and disadvantage’, including histories of trauma and poor physical and mental health.Accordingly, she suggested it is understandable that renters may respond to housing issues with ‘an extreme fear reaction’ and avoidance.
2.116The arduous and time-consuming nature of the legal processes involved in challenging a landlord’s actions may be a further deterrent for renters. As one renter remarked:
Each time I have gone to [the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal] VCAT the process has been mentally exhausting and at every step I have had to meticulously document the issues, take photos and videos, keep emails, document all evidence and be prepared to fight for myself. The burden of proof is heavily weighted on the tenant.
Homelessness and marginal housing
2.117Inquiry participants consistently conveyed that one of their biggest fears was of becoming homeless. Many people expressed dismay that in the current rental crisis having a roof over one’s head is commonly considered a privilege. Georgina stated at the public hearing in Brisbane:
No, I don’t have to live in a car or a tent, but I live in an overpriced one-bedroom apartment that is on the street where people live in their cars, down the road from the park where people have spent months now in a tent. We think we've won the luck of the draw if that isn't us, when we should be asking why every person in this country, regardless of economic status, age or disability, doesn't have equal opportunity to live somewhere safe and stable.
2.118The Salvation Army’s research for the 2023 Red Shield Appeal Report found that one of the main concerns for 31 per cent of respondents was facing, or the prospect of facing, homelessness.
2.119The committee heard that many people across the country are on the brink of homelessness and are resorting to living in marginal housing such as caravans.
People living in caravans and trailers
2.120One renter who appeared at the public hearing in Canberra told the committee that she had decided to move into a caravan to cut down on housing costs. This is a sacrifice she felt she had to make to be able to afford to pursue her studies and provide for her children:
At the start of next year I have decided that I am going to be moving into a caravan while I am hopefully waiting for affordable housing and I want to start studying again so that I can afford to send them to swimming lessons. It’s going to be very difficult and hard but in a different way from what it is now. I could afford to buy them clothes.
2.121A Salvation Army housing and homelessness worker similarly spoke of a family living in regional Victoria that was forced to move into a camper trailer because of the shortage of affordable rental housing:
…They applied for rentals all over the state but were unsuccessful. There were very few rentals that were within their affordability. The family ended up, and are currently, living in a camper trailer – camping so that one of the children could still attend the local special school.
2.122Janet, who appeared at the public hearing in Brisbane, gave evidence of the severe impacts on her health and wellbeing as a result of having to live in a caravan:
For the first time in my life, and beyond my wildest dreams, I’m living in a caravan with my younger brother, who’s sharing it with me, on my older brother’s property. … How low can a person’s life get? That’s what goes through my mind. … What’s happened to me has caused my mental health to crash, and it’s crashed big time, along with my physical health. I don’t sleep well. I’m a shadow of what I was 2½ years ago. My mind screams from helplessness and hopelessness.
People living in boarding houses
2.123According to the Southern Homelessness Services Network, the number of people who are homeless and living in private boarding houses (also known as rooming houses) has nearly doubled between 2016 and 2021.
2.124The Western Homelessness Network emphasised that in many cases boarding houses were the only affordable option for single people.
2.125Various submitters raised concerns with the standard of accommodation provided, including safety and hygiene issues. The Southern Homelessness Services Network submitted that:
Rooming house residents overwhelmingly report rooming houses to be dangerous and violent, dirty, and harmful to their mental health. … Some rooming house operators take advantage of vulnerable people – using standover and extortion tactics – while providing extremely poor housing.
2.126Alice recounted her negative experience in a boarding house:
… boarding houses aren’t nice especially if you're a girl. Like … anybody could knock the doors open. Like they were locked, but a kick and they were open, so it was awful … Very unsafe, like really unsafe and then you'd hear couples fighting and screaming and you’d just think, “Please don’t knock on my door. Please don’t notice me, god no”. So yeah, it was bad, it was really bad.
2.127The Western Homelessness Network warned that the unsafe conditions in boarding houses could lead to re-traumatisation, substance abuse and deteriorating health.
Growing demand for homelessness services
2.128Homelessness services have recently experienced a considerable uptick in demand, reflecting the increasingly dire situation facing many renters.
2.129Ms Fiona Caniglia, Executive Director at Q Shelter, told the committee: ‘We're seeing homelessness services absolutely overwhelmed’. The Western Homelessness Network also conveyed that homelessness services in their area are unable to keep up with the demand for assistance:
Services report an increasing number of people presenting for assistance, who the service system has no capacity to assist. In 2021/22, one of our two access/front end services was forced to turn away 8,000 people without even an appointment.
2.130Ms Aimee McVeigh, Chief Executive Officer of the Queensland Council of Social Service, similarly noted that:
… our specialist homelessness services are under immense and unprecedented pressure. … they are seeing a completely different group of people—people who are fully employed, families with children—needing support.
2.131Numerous organisations observed that the increase in demand for homelessness services is largely being driven by a growing number of private renters who are at risk of homelessness. For example, Uniting Communities’ Homeless Connect program in South Australia is seeing:
… a new cohort of people whose rental situations have deteriorated to the extent that they are either at the end of their lease, being evicted or cannot find rental accommodation to move into.
2.132Ms Kate Colvin, Chief Executive Officer of Homelessness Australia, confirmed that ‘the rental crisis is clearly driving increased homelessness in Australia’.
Committee view
2.133The committee appreciates the brave testimonies of renters and people experiencing homelessness and marginal housing who shared their experiences of hardship.
2.134Adequate housing was recognised as part of ‘the right to an adequate standard of living’ in Article 25 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in Article 11.1 of the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Disturbingly, the committee heard many personal accounts from people of all walks of life indicating that securing adequate housing has become out of reach for many renters in Australia.
2.135The experience of prospective renters having to resort to ‘rent bidding’ to try to secure often substandard housing is extremely concerning, as are the invasive screening practices on prospective renters and reports of discrimination in the private rental market.
2.136Many renters across the country are struggling to meet the rising costs of rent. The committee heard distressing accounts of deprivation and food insecurity, highlighting the struggles of people living in rental stress. The significant increase in people seeking emergency relief and assistance from homelessness services cannot be ignored.
2.137Many inquiry participants talked about the derelict conditions of properties. The committee notes that the fear of losing their accommodation or being ‘blacklisted’ by real estate agents prevents many renters from asking for basic maintenance or repairs. This is resulting in too many individuals and families living in unsafe and squalid conditions despite paying high rents.
2.138The evidence received by the committee points to the urgent need to rectify the power imbalance between tenants and landlords. Reforming rental regulations is a priority. As referenced at various points throughout this chapter, the committee is encouraged to see that National Cabinet agreed on 16 August 2023 to ‘A Better Deal for Renters’ to harmonise and strengthen renters’ rights across Australia, which intends to address most of the concerns outlined above. The committee urges the Australian Government to continue to take an ambitious coordinating role in this process.
2.139The committee recommends that the Australian Government take a coordinating role to implement stronger rental rights.