RENTAL CRISIS GROWS

Affordability fears

AFFORDABLE rentals have dropped to a record low in the Geelong region as advocates plead for help to solve the growing housing crisis.

The drop comes as thousands of people in the region languish on the social housing waitlist. For the June, 2019, quarter, there were just 266 rentals deemed affordable in Greater Geelong, Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) data reveals.

The 14.9 per cent rental affordability rate is the lowest recorded since DHHS data collection began in 2000.

It marks a decline from 15.6 per cent (338 affordable rentals) in the March quarter, and 18.6 per cent (385) in the December quarter.

The department classifies properties as affordable if tenants are spending less than 30 per cent of their gross income on rent.

The figures are in stark contrast to Greater Geelong in 2001, when more than 80 per cent of rentals were considered affordable.

Surf Coast renters are also hurting, with just five rental properties (1.7 per cent) in the shire deemed affordable in the June quarter, plummeting from 5.3 per cent in the previous quarter.

The Borough of Queenscliffe was the only local government area in the state to have no rental properties considered affordable.

And as affordable rental properties declined, the number of people on the social housing waitlist in the region has ballooned. There are now 2895 social housing applicants in the Barwon region, DHHS data from the June quarter showed, up from 2786 the previous quarter.

G21 chief executive Elaine Carbines said while the region was enjoying record population growth, it was important attention turned to those who were struggling.

“We will pay a great social price if we don’t,” Ms Carbines said.

She said housing crises led to mental stress and called on charities, businesses and governments to work together to help increase the number of affordable rental homes.

Give Where You Live Foundation chief executive Bill Mithen said the chronic shortage of housing was causing increasing distress.

He said the foundation wanted to see more “inclusive growth”, with disadvantaged people benefiting from the Geelong’s population boom.

Geelong’s affordability woes set it apart from other regional centres — in both Ballarat and Bendigo, about half of rental properties are deemed affordable.