News

Almost 40% of Australian tenant households can’t afford essentials such as bills, clothing, transport and food, after paying rent, because their incomes have reduced significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, new research from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute has found.

The Australian Government released its 2020 Budget on October 6. In particular, the Budget is focussed on the impacts of the COVID–19 pandemic and the economic contraction that has caused for the community.

While crisis accommodation and other emergency responses are generally effective in helping women and children escape domestic and family violence in the short term, finding safe and affordable long term housing is much more difficult, new AHURI research has highlighted.

It is estimated that up to 40 per cent of Australian households who rent their housing may be experiencing energy hardship, due to a meeting of rapidly rising energy costs, a large stock of poor-quality and energy-inefficient dwellings in the rental sector, uneven access to efficient technologies and government interventions, and a large number of households in financial hardship.

‘Safety and security’ are fundamental to the housing aspirations of Australians, with 75 per cent of respondents to a national housing aspirations survey indicating these are the most valued housing attributes.