Sharehouse tenants are being forced to make difficult financial and housing decisions that can place entire households at risk, with new research highlighting gaps in Victoria’s rental regulations and raising questions about how shared tenancies are managed.
The research, led by Zoë Goodall from Swinburne’s Housing, Homelessness and Urban Studies research group, examined the experiences of 25 Victorian sharehouse renters and found that arrangements involving rent payments, changes in household occupants and tenancy exits can create financial and housing risks that are not adequately addressed by existing regulations.
For property managers overseeing shared tenancies, the findings highlight the challenges that can arise when one tenant cannot meet their rental obligations, a housemate moves out unexpectedly or remaining occupants struggle to agree on how to manage the tenancy.
Goodall said sharehousing remained an important part of Australia’s rental market, particularly as cost-of-living pressures encouraged people to share accommodation.
“Share-housing is relatively common in Australia but often overlooked or not considered important,” she said.
“People live in share-housing for many reasons, including to save money in a cost-of-living crisis and because they want to live with others. But sometimes these reasons actually leave them paying more money and making difficult decisions based on relationships with other housemates.
“Even though family households are far more common, it is still important that share-house renters don’t face unnecessary risks due to policy that doesn’t ‘fit’.”
When one tenant’s problem becomes everyone’s risk
The research found that sharehouse tenants frequently face decisions that involve transferring financial or housing risks between occupants, particularly when rental payments are missed or household arrangements change.
Goodall said the consequences could extend well beyond the individual tenant experiencing difficulties, with joint rental arrangements potentially leaving other occupants responsible for unpaid rent and exposing the household to eviction proceedings if arrears remain unresolved.
“In a context of inadequate policy for share-housing, risk is like a hot potato that renters throw and catch, a pattern that will affect people with the least power and privilege,” she said.
“For example, if one housemate doesn’t or can’t pay rent, the other housemates have to cover for them financially or the whole household risks being evicted. Whether people decide to cover the non-paying housemate or ask them to move out is a difficult decision influenced by friendship, trust, and their own financial capacity.
“Or, when a housemate moves out, the remaining renter(s) might have to pay extra rent until they can find a new housemate. This produces a financial risk, but making a hasty decision on a new housemate can also create risk if the new person is difficult (or even dangerous) to live with.”
The findings highlight how shared rental arrangements can become complicated when occupants have different financial circumstances, personal relationships and expectations about their responsibilities.
For property managers, these situations can also create practical challenges around rent arrears, changes to tenancy agreements and communication with multiple occupants, particularly where the interests of individual housemates do not align.
Calls for rental rules designed for sharehousing
Goodall argued that rental regulations needed to better reflect the realities of shared accommodation rather than relying on arrangements that may not adequately protect individual occupants.
She pointed to rental reforms in the Australian Capital Territory as an example of how regulations could be adapted to better accommodate sharehousing.
The researchers also found that sharehouse tenants wanted access to more targeted support services, including assistance with problematic housemates and temporary financial support to cover unpaid rent and reduce the risk of eviction.
Such measures could help address situations in which tenants are forced to choose between absorbing additional rental costs and potentially losing their accommodation.
Goodall said reforms should also make it easier for tenants to leave unsafe living arrangements without facing unnecessary housing insecurity.
“Tenants’ security should be increased through reducing the risk of eviction, and their safety should be increased by making it easier to leave a bad/unsafe share-house.
“Sharehouse renters have a right to live in housing that is safe and secure.”
The findings add to the discussion about how rental regulations can respond to changing household arrangements, with sharehousing presenting particular challenges for tenants and the property managers responsible for administering shared tenancies.