Pressure on renters continued last month, with vacancy rates for apartments and houses at extremely low levels while asking rents kept rising.
According to the rent.com.au rental market snapshot, capital city apartment rents rose 1 per cent in August, while rents for houses increased by 1.8 per cent.
Across the country, there are 54 per cent fewer properties available to rent in August 2022 than at the height of the pandemic in April 2020, with the most significant falls in WA, QLD and SA.
The report said a “rough combination” of increasing rental demand and insufficient rental supply has created an acute rental shortage, and it’s not improving.
“Aussie renters are being hit by a particularly challenging set of circumstances right now,” the report said.
“We’re talking rising rental costs and low availability – and it’s a mix that’s leaving some in impossible situations and many forced into homelessness.
“It’s a dismal reality for those most affected and looking for practical options that can offer some (or any) sense of relief.”
According to August’s median rent data, the most affordable capital city was Adelaide, where apartment rents were $395 a week.
Darwin was one of the few capitals to record a significant increase in median apartment rents month-on-month, rising 6.3 per cent to $500 weekly.
Sydney continues to be the most expensive capital city market to rent in, with houses current sitting at $700 per week and apartments at $550.
Over the past month, houses in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Darwin didn’t see median rents increase, while Canberra saw a fall of 0.7 per cent.
For apartments, median rents fell in Hobart and Canberra.
Across regional Australia, rents were up 1 per cent in August, with much of the recent regional growth in areas adjacent to major capital city boundaries.
In August, regional Northern Territory led the pace of growth, recording a month-on-month increase of 7.8 per cent to $550 a week. Increases were also recorded in Western Australia (up 4.3 per cent), South Australia (up 3 per cent), Queensland (up 2 per cent) and Victoria (up 1.3 per cent).
The 16 median days to lease a property in Darwin in August was 15 per cent faster than in July 2022 – and the most significant change to time on market for both property types across the board.
Canberra houses stayed on the market the longest in August, averaging 23 days listed on rent.com.au before leasing.
Annually, the most significant change was recorded in Brisbane, with apartments leasing 38 per cent quicker than in August 2021.
According to the report, some of the upward pressure in rents came from opportunistic landlords trying to capitalise on the housing shortage.
“Back in July, the media reported Australia’s rental cost increase rate was the highest in 14 years,” the report said.
“And while some of this is related to the higher interest rates and cost of inflation, there are also opportunistic landlords around who are adding to this pressure.
“As a renter, the only limit regarding the degree to which a landlord could increase your rent is a caveat that the increase shouldn’t be ‘excessive.’
“There’s no percentage-based cap, unfortunately – it wouldn’t go awry right now.”
The report also noted that the Greens have been looking at more protections for renters including removing no-grounds evictions, introducing a cap on rent price hikes (2 per cent every two years) and broadening tenant rights.
