Tenants in ‘state of chronic anxiety’

QUEENSLAND’S crippling rental crisis is officially the worst in Australia, with Brisbane recording the sharpest decline inaffordability, and regional Queensland named the least affordable regional market in Australia.

The sobering revelation was revealed in the national Rental Affordability Index (RAI) report, which noted that declining affordability was extending beyond the southeast corner.

The index, which was developed by National Shelter and SGS Economics and Planning, measures housing stress by indicating rental costs relative to household incomes.

It found the Brisbane suburbs that had experienced a notable decline in rental affordability this year included those in the eastern suburbs, from Yeerongpilly to Birkdale.

Meanwhile, suburbs on the outskirts of Greater Brisbane, including Woodford, Rosewood, Sandstone Point and Caboolture, declined in affordability by between 10-20 per cent over the past year.

Rental affordability in regional Queensland has also reached a historic low point, according to the report.

The downward trend in affordability also continued on the Gold Coast, as well as in Cairns and other regional cities and towns.

“If you are a single pensioner living in Brisbane spending 53 per cent of your weekly income on rent, then life is really tough,” Q Shelter executive director Fiona Caniglia said. “It isn’t possible to pay for other living costs, and people go without.

“We are hearing from people who are in a state of chronic anxiety about their future.”

For young people on a JobSeeker payment and rent assistance, the situation is even worse, with the report showing some are spending 92 per cent of their income on rent. It is only going to get worse, with almost 200 properties across the state listed as “break lease” rentals, with many increasing rents at the end of the term.