Jobs, health hit in crisis

Tablelands has tightest rental market in regions

THE rental crisis across the Tablelands has been highlighted with a report showing the vacancy rate is just 0.1 per cent – the lowest of any regional area in the state.

The Real Estate Institute of Queensland report showed as of March this year, the vacancy rate had dropped from 0.6 per cent a year ago.

In Cairns, the rental vacancy rate is a tight 0.5 per cent.

Mareeba Community

Housing manager Patricia Goldfinch said the 0.1 per cent vacancy rate was not surprising.

“We’ve been aware of this for a period of time, the vacancy rate is extremely tight, particularly on the southern Tablelands,” Ms Goldfinch said.

“People are now starting to realise it is an issue not only for people on welfare payments, it is an issue for everyday households struggling to find a rental or to pay rent increases.”

She said a big issue was that people were dissuaded from accepting jobs in the region – because there’s nowhere to live.

“That is a real concern,” Ms Goldfinch said.

“The other issue is mental health – households experiencing anxiety over ‘when is the next rent rise’ or ‘am I going to receive a notice to leave’ and those complexities.”

Ms Goldfinch has previously described how families were sleeping in cars at riverbanks in the region because there was no affordable housing.

Mareeba Shire Council is among one of very few in the state to step into the social housing sphere.

It has a housing portfolio of 128 predominantly one-bedroom units owned by the state government.

Council partnered with Mareeba Community Housing in July last year to manage tenancies.

Tablelands Regional Council has a similar arrangement with Tableland Community Housing Association and recently extended the agreement for a further 12 months.

REIQ chief executive Antonia Mercorella said one factor behind the rental squeeze could be the state’s steep population boost from interstate migration.

Ms Mercorella said with investors selling and the dominant purchasers being owneroccupiers, more homes that were previously investment properties were effectively being removed from the rental market, shrinking an already scarce base of rental supply.