Related Projects

• Rental housing provision for lower-income older Australians: scoping the issues, clarifying policy choices and developing a program of research
• Age-specific housing markets and housing and care for low to moderate income older persons
• Dwelling and land use by older home owners
• Older persons in public housing

Implications of loss of a partner for older private renters

Summary

Project Number: 30315
Research Theme: Private_Rental, Health_Ageing_and_Disability
Project Leader: Dockery, Michael
Funding Year: 2005
Research Centre: RMIT-NATSEM

Research & Policy Bulletin

Issue 100: How does the loss of a partner affect housing outcomes?

Losing a partner whether through divorce, separation or bereavement poses a serious threat to the housing and related financial health of those affected. In the two years following household dissolution from divorce or separation, rates of home ownership fell from 69 per cent to below 50 per cent.

Download the PDF
143 KB PDF Document

Description

Data from the survey of Household, Income and Labour Dynamics Australia (HILDA) were analysed to follow a panel of Australian couples who broke up due to divorce, separation or bereavement. Housing affordability and tenure status were measured before and after loss of a partner and these housing pathways were compared with those of 'surviving' couples.

The analysis of secondary data sets is complemented by in-depth interviews with a sample of older Australians who have lost a partner. As well, projections of the future demand for public housing from this sub-population group are conducted assuming that public housing continues to house the same proportion of older single Australians as in 2001.

The key findings of the research are:

• Overall, divorce and separation impose a greater housing cost burden than bereavement, as separating couples are forced to establish two households from the same resources that previously had supported only one household.
• In the first year following loss of a partner, the housing costs of renters and purchasers double as a proportion of their household income (the Housing Affordability Ratio increases from 11% to 22%), and rates of housing affordability stress increase from 9 per cent of these households to almost one-third.
• In the two years following household dissolution from divorce or separation, rates of home ownership among those who had lost a partner fell from 69 per cent to below 50 per cent. The contrast with 'intact' couples is stark, with home ownership rates reaching almost 90 per cent over a comparable timeframe.
• In public housing, when household dissolution is due to divorce or separation, one-third of tenants were obliged to move out of public housing and no longer benefited from the financial 'safety net' of rebated rents.
• In private rental housing, 41 per cent of remaining tenants become eligible for CRA or receive more CRA following household dissolution. However, rates of CRA do not increase for existing recipients who continue to live in the same house. Two groups are particularly vulnerable to sustained affordability problems: women with children who remain in the family home and widows (typically women), because they suffer an abrupt fall in income.
  

More Information

Research and Policy Bulletin: Issue 100: How does the loss of a partner affect housing outcomes?
143 KB PDF Document

Positioning Paper: No. 093: The implications of loss of a partner for older private renters
945 KB PDF Document

Final Report: No. 116: The implications of loss of a partner for older private renters
1.25 MB PDF Document