Bundaberg News 16/02/2012: Rent stress soars

By Lea Emery

A TIGHT housing market combined with low income has hit Bundaberg tenants hard, with about 44% in the region experiencing rental stress.

The figures come from a survey compiled by Australians for Affordable Housing, which put Bundaberg as one of the regions with the highest rates of rental stress in the state, along with the Fraser Coast, Gympie and Somerset.

The survey defined rental stress as those paying more than 30% of their weekly income on rental costs.

Bundaberg Regional Housing CEO Jackie Richards said the service had been steadily seeing an increase in people coming to them for financial help.

"We have a lot of people on low incomes come in because their rent has increased and, with it, so have utility bills, such as electricity and phones," she said.

"My staff are spending a lot of time negotiating and helping people with their financial planning."

Ms Richards said it was nothing new for people in Bundaberg to be seeking help with rent.

"In the months since Christmas we have seen an increase in people asking for help," she said.

Ms Richards said from her experience, 30% was certainly the threshold at which rental costs started to cause flow-on problems for other household expenses.

Salvation Army Tom Quinn Centre spokeswoman Janette Young said staff there had also seen an increase in the number of people who were seeking financial help from them - many of whom were struggling with basic expenses because of their rental commitments.

"A lot tend to realise that the most important thing is to keep a roof over their head, so that is the first bill they will pay," she said.

Mrs Young said in 2011, 63% of welfare given out by the Salvation Army was for food.

Both Mrs Young and Ms Richards urged those who were experiencing rental stress to contact their rental agents as soon as possible.

"If you do find you are having trouble, be a responsible renter and let the agent know - a lot of the time something can be worked out," Mrs Young said.

She said if it was left too late, there was often little the agent could do to help.

Australians for Affordable Housing campaign manager Sarah Toohey said while the high cost of housing was not new, the figures did show the pain that was being widely experienced.

"When low-income households spend more than 30% of their income on housing costs, they are officially in housing stress," she said.

"This means they have very little left over to cover other costs like food, transport, bills or money for emergencies."

Queensland Shelter executive officer Adrian Pisarski described the figures as a wake-up call to governments.

While rental stress was quite high, Bundaberg's home owners were slightly more comfortable, with 23% experiencing mortgage stress by comparison.

Rental stress

·         Bundaberg - 44%

·         Fraser Coast - 46%

·         Gympie - 45%

·         Gladstone - 27%

·         North Burnett - 25%

·         Mackay - 28%

·         Sunshine Coast - 42%