Rents have risen to unaffordable levels in several Australian capital cities, new research has found.
Welfare recipients, minimum wage workers and single-income households are being hit hardest.
The National Shelter Index, released yesterday, shows that renting an average home is unaffordable in every city except the Canberra metropolitan area.
The situation is even worse for low-income households, with some poor people spending more than their entire income on rent in major cities.
Affordable housing prices in Sydney and Perth have hit record lows, while in Melbourne they are normal.
Rents in Sydney and Perth are now 30 per cent of a tenant’s income and in Perth 31 per cent.
An Adelaide resident is said to be paying 30 per cent of their income on rent and a Brisbane resident is said to be paying 29 per cent of their income.
Melbourne renters are paying 25 per cent of their income and it has also been revealed that there is a lack of affordable housing in the Melbourne metropolitan area.
A minimum wage couple looking to rent a two-bedroom house will need to spend 37 per cent of their income in Sydney, 30 per cent in Melbourne, 31 per cent in Brisbane and 30 per cent in Perth, new reports show.
