No affordable housing for those who need it most
Affordable rental housing for people on a low income is in very short supply in Adelaide according to a survey undertaken by Anglicare SA.
It found that only 17 properties, or 2.9 per cent of available properties, would be affordable and appropriate for low income households.
The survey looked at properties advertised for rent in the Adelaide Advertiser on Saturday 10 April.
Anglicare's executive manager of Family, Community and Enterprise Services, Helen Connnolly, said the survey was designed to highlight what a South Australian living on a low income would confront on an average weekend if they were going through the classifieds looking for somewhere to live.
“Homelessness and housing stress affects close to 8000 people in our community and there is simply not enough affordable housing stock for those who need it,” Ms Connolly said.
“In fact, the waiting list for community housing has increased 146.4 per cent over the past eight years (2000–2008).”
Ms Connolly said it is unlikely that people in the low income households included in the survey would be able to obtain more than half of the properties considered affordable.
“Also of great concern is that single parents, and single people receiving Newstart, Youth Allowance or Austudy could not afford any of the properties advertised for rent,” she said.
“It is also important to remember that just because a property was affordable, this didn’t mean that a low income earner was guaranteed a successful application.
“For example, 10 of the properties were share houses which, despite being affordable for single people on an Age Pension or Disability Support Pension, are generally only rented out to employed persons or students,” she said.
“Usually owners are looking for a younger person with a job rather than a single Age Pensioner or Disability Support Pensioner, yet rents in share houses are often the only ones low enough to be affordable on a single benefit.”
Survey results:
The survey of 583 properties advertised for rent in the Adelaide Advertiser on Saturday 10 April revealed that only 17 (2.9%) were affordable for low income South Australians.
The breakdown of affordable properties by household type is displayed below:
| Household type |
Number affordable |
Percentage
affordable |
| Couple on Age Pension |
5 |
0.9% |
| Single person on Age Pension |
10 (all share houses) |
1.7% |
| Single person on Disability Support Pension |
10 (all share houses) |
1.7% |
| Single parent with one child |
0 |
0 |
| Couple on Newstart Allowance with two children |
2 |
0.3% |
| Single parent with two children |
0 |
0 |
| Single person on Newstart Allowance |
0 |
0 |
| Single person on Youth Allowance |
0 |
0 |
| Single person on Austudy |
0 |
0 |
Methodology:
For the purposes of this survey, an affordable property was one which cost less than 30 per cent of the household’s income (including their basic Centrelink payment, Rent Assistance and Family Tax Benefit if applicable).
The survey assumes that a room in a share house or bedsit is only appropriate for a single person, a property with at least one bedroom is appropriate for a single person or couple, and a property with two or more bedrooms is appropriate for parents with children (as long as it allows a separate bedroom for each child).
For more information, contact: Jenny Barrett, Media Coordinator, M: 0408 717 025 P (08) 8305 9301
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