This is a story about renters and a rent affordability. You may recall here in wa during COVID that the government did tough in rules on landlords to make it harder to evict people during the COVID lockdowns and the COVID situation. But since that time we have had a shortage of rental accommodation. Here in Perth, you hear stories of you know, hundreds of people turning up at home
opens to look at places. And now there's a report that maybe people are too worried about asking for repairs for fear they make copper rent increase or even get kicked out as seen as vexatious by the landlords. Joining me now is Cassandra Goldie AO, the ACOS CEO joins me. Now, hey Cassandra, how are you can?
I well? Thanks? How are you?
Yeah? Well, thank you? This is worrying, isn't. This is an Australia wide survey. There's a couple of things in this, but this notion of not asking for your place to be repaired is a worry.
Yeah, look it is and it doesn't. Nobody wins when that's the reality for people. But we have to understand why I mean the survey, which is a national survey done by the University of New South Wales, found that, you know, seven out of ten people reported being scared to report repairs that were needed on the property because they were worried about another rent increase when they couldn't afford it, or because they're on a for example, a fixed term tendency, or worried that they might be evicted
that they at least may not be extended. And so this is the reality for people. They know that they don't have a lot of marketing power, that's the sense they have. And if they can't stand that property law, then where do they go. As you say, vacancye rates are at an all time low at just one percent, and there are long queues everywhere you go to try and get another rental property. And so people you know, are not speaking up and nobody wins out of that.
It's not good for the landlords either if they don't know that there are important repairs that need to be done in their property.
Yeah, for sure. And one of the other concerning things in your report is people, i mean property managers talk to each other worried about being blacklisted.
Well, look this is a real fear for people because for many people, renting is the only option that you have to have a place to call home. One in three people in Australia now are renting, and we know that that's only going to increase further. I mean many other countries, renting is seen as a decent, long term solution to having a home, but Australia is unusual in this way. We have most properties that are put out on the rental market are flipped in overy five years
on average. The tax rules associated with property investment encourage that kind of property investment because you're chasing the capital growth. We know that got that capital gains discount, and so most leases are very short term. They're typically twelve months. Our survey found over eighty percent of people in six term leases, and so they really feel insecure in this situation. And the thoughts of repairs that were apported we're pretty serious.
I mean one in three reported pest trial problems, one in four reported leaks or flooding in their property, and one in five talked about hot water supply of being an issue. And so these are real basics here, aren't they. And as they say that, you know the person that owns the property. They don't win out of that either. Because of course, some of those kinds of repairs, if you don't get on top of them quickly, it can lead to longer term structural problems.
And some of the other facts you found that nearly three quarters of people had to rendecrease in the past twelve months, and around about a third of renters would ride at the limit. There aren't they, Cassandra, They couldn't afford to go another five percent higher, they would that would really impact on.
Them, You'll tip them over. I mean, this is the reality, you know that town. For most people on low and modest incomes at your biggest expense is keeping a roof over your head, followed by your energy bill. And for many people, particularly people on really low incomes like social security job seeker is just fifty six dollars per day, that's unbearable. Mostly people can't afford to rent in the private So one of our recommendations, of course is to
continue to boost low income housing like social housing. It's you know, we've go only got four percent of or housing now in Australia. With social housing, the federal government has put a big boost in there, but we need to go further with that. But then when it comes to the private rental market, which of course is the big part of the picture. We want to encourage property investors into producing more supply, but it's got to be the right kind of property investment where you're really wanting
long term renters. You know, you're incentivized to have somebody in there for five to ten years with a good yield on the property, rather than this notion that you're in the market to buy and sell, buy and sell because you're chasing the capital growth.
Yeah, all right, we'll see what our listeners think. Cassandra, thanks so much for talking to our listeners here in Perth. Really appreciated.
Thanks so much.