Severe rent stress eased by COVID-19 income support; urgent longer-term increase to payments needed

Date Posted: 30/04/2020

 

Anglicare Sydney’s 2020 Rental Affordability Snapshot released today reveals that without the JobSeeker coronavirus supplement less than one per cent of rental properties in Greater Sydney and the Illawarra are affordable for people on low incomes.

Anglicare Sydney is calling on the Federal Government to form a new independent body to determine a long-term approach to increasing and monitoring income support payments once the coronavirus supplement ends.

“Our Rental Affordability Snapshot clearly shows that the JobSeeker coronavirus supplement substantially increases the number of affordable rental properties for low-income households,” said Sue King, Manager of Advocacy and Research.

“With unemployment forecast to rise, there is an urgent need to increase the long-term level of income support payments so that people have enough to live on,” said Ms King.

Anglicare Sydney found that increasing JobSeeker by $550 per fortnight meant couples with two children could afford 2,000 rental listings in Greater Sydney and the Illawarra compared to just 13 affordable rentals under the base rate of the payment.

In effect, the JobSeeker coronavirus supplement enables households receiving the payment to affordably rent 10 per cent of rental listings in Greater Sydney and the Illawarra, compared to less than one percent on the base rate.

On the base rate of Parenting Payment, JobSeeker or Youth Allowance, no rental properties in Sydney and the Illawarra were affordable and appropriate for single people without placing them into rental stress.

“The Federal Government must look beyond the six month increase of the JobSeeker payment to establish a sustainable increase in income support.

“We need to make sure that people who will face unemployment and financial hardship over the coming year or more have a safety net that enables them to maintain economic participation and sustain a decent standard of living”, said Ms King.

Anglicare Sydney’s 2020 Rental Affordability Snapshot analysed 24,000 rental properties on the weekend of 21-22 March. Only 84 properties in Greater Sydney and the Illawarra were affordable for households receiving income support payments, before the coronavirus supplement is considered.

 

Media contact:

Chris Pettett
Public Affairs Manager
0429 569 278
[email protected]