- Young renters face extreme financial pressure
- Rent now takes 73% of their income
- Urgent need to lift Youth Allowance and Rent Assistance
Young renters living on youth allowance are under extreme financial pressure as rising rents are leaving them with just $13 a day to live on.
According to Homelessness Australia, soaring rents have seen young Australians paying 73% of their income on rent, up from 64% two years ago.
The analysis looked at the cost of 50% rent of a two-bedroom apartment against the maximum income support payment available to a young person living away from home.
While overall income support payments increased 10% in two years (due to CPI indexing), rents surged 24%. A young person who paid 64% of their income two years ago to share a two-bedroom unit will now have to pay 73% of their income.
Ridiculous expectations
CEO of Homelessness Australia, Kate Colvin, said, “After paying rent a young person on income support in Australia has only $13 a day to cover food, transport, medicine, power, and other costs. Unless there’s some magic pudding we’re not aware of, this is a ridiculous expectation.”
“The reality is landlords will not rent to a young person whose budget is stretched this thinly, making it almost impossible for young people who can’t live safely at home to find somewhere to live.
“We urgently need to lift Youth Allowance and Commonwealth Rent Assistance so young people have the income they need to avoid homelessness. By failing to act, we are condemning growing numbers of young people to homelessness and poverty. It’s impossible to develop skills and experience or attain an education when you’re hungry or unsure of where you will sleep.”
The latest figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare show that each year, 39,300 children and young people aged 15-24 come to homelessness services alone. Many cannot be safely reunited with family and need long-term housing and support.
“It is harder and harder for homelessness services to find young people a rental home and when they do, the rent is eye-wateringly expensive. If we want to give the next generation a genuine shot in life, the least we can do is give them the income they need to survive,” Colvin said
