Latest news with #rentalcrisis
Irish Times
11-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
New rent rules: What will changes mean for you? Send us your questions
The Government has announced major reforms to rent caps and tenancies in a bid to address the rental crisis. As details on the plans continue to emerge, do you have questions on how the moves will impact you and your particular situation? We'd like to hear your queries and our journalists will try to answer some of them. Please leave them in the form below. Here is what the proposals will entail: Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) will be extended across the entire country with increases capped at 2% or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower. However landlords of newly-built apartments will be allowed to impose higher rent increases in line with inflation. Landlords will be allowed to reset rents on tenancies , beyond the RPZ cap, every six years or when tenants decide to move out. Tenant protections from so-called 'no-fault evictions' will be increased. It will be years before any increased housing supply brought about by rental market reforms lowers the cost of renting, the Coalition was told The proposals raise several questions. How will all this help renters? Will it ultimately reduce rents? Can I expect a rent rise if I'm in my apartment over six years? Will existing tenants be protected? Will landlords be incentivised to force tenants out to increase rents? And will all this encourage foreign funds to build more properties, and how long before we see change? Please leave your questions using the form below. You can submit anonymously or include contact details if you'd be happy to speak to a journalist about your situation. READ MORE We will curate a selection of questions for a piece but please note we may not answer every submission we receive.
News.com.au
11-06-2025
- Health
- News.com.au
‘Being punished': 35-year-old Aussie reveals rental nightmare
A single mum who spends over 60 per cent of her income on rent says her own home has made her physically ill. Genevieve, 35, lives in a small apartment with her 10-year-old son in Queensland, and almost all her money goes towards keeping a roof over their heads. Genevieve is just trying to survive, so when she discovered mould in her rental, she had no financial options. She couldn't afford to rush out and buy a dehumidifier or a bunch of fans, so she contacted her real estate agent. However, nothing was done, and in the meantime, she and her son got sick. 'There have always been ongoing issues with moisture on the carpet,' she said. 'I raised the issue last November that there was quite a lot of mould and black mould, but I haven't heard anything back. 'Then I noticed more mould on our clothes, shoes and bags.' The young mum's rent is $453 weekly, and she earns around $750 weekly, leaving her with less than $300 to cover everything else. 'I feel like I spend 90 per cent of my income on rent,' she told 'Fortnightly, it is about $1500, and then I'm paying close to $1000 on rent, and the rest goes on bills.' Genevieve said it isn't uncommon for her to end up in a 'deficit' after spending money on the essentials. 'If I'm not in the deficit, I use the rest on groceries,' she said. To make the $300 she's left with stretch, she's cancelled subscriptions and her health insurance, bought as much as she could second-hand, and often relied on charities for food and basics. She said two contractors were sent out to the property and confirmed there was a 'long-serving mould' issue, but nothing further has been done. Meanwhile, she noticed her and her son's health started to go downhill. 'He started waking up with nose bleeds like twice a week. He has asthma so I am concerned about him,' she said The mum has also noticed that if she and her son are out for most of the day, their breathing improves and then declines if they spend more time in their rental. It also wasn't just the mould in general; the rental she was spending most of her money on wasn't comfortable to live in – the damp carpet was a major issue. 'If you walked around in socks, you had to change them after about an hour because they'd get wet,' she explained. Genevieve's said fixing the mould issues would involve extensive work to address the damp problem, and there's certainly nothing she can do as a tenant. It's not a simple fix of scrubbing away the mould. 'It'd be s**tfight for them and they're going to have to pull up the carpet plus treat the slab underneath for mould,' she said. Genevieve felt helpless because she could not fix the mould issue and create a better living situation for her son. 'I feel like I am being punished because I'm not earning enough, and so, therefore, I don't deserve a healthy standard,' she said. 'I just don't have the income and stability to do much. I'm already getting food vouchers and stuff like that from our local food services.' The 35-year-old said if she 'had the money', she'd have paid to pull up the carpet herself, but she's not in a financial position to do that. Ms Genevieve's financial situation is so dire that she launched a GoFundMe to raise funds to move into a new rental. She's thrilled and excited to move somewhere that doesn't have a damp carpet, but she's also saddened she spent months suffering and couldn't afford to make a change sooner.
Irish Times
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Micheál pummelled from all sides over Government's latest plan to ease rental crisis
Micheál Martin isn't losing the run of himself as he jets around the globe, rubbing shoulders with world leaders. He's still just a lad from Turner's Cross who did well for himself above in the Dáil – and anyway, being Taoiseach is a very humbling job. But at those rare times when he might be in danger of succumbing to notions, Micheál asks himself a simple question: 'What would the king of Jordan say?' We learned this a little later in Tuesday's proceedings, after he had survived yet another torrid round of Opposition questions on the subject of housing and attention turned to the continuing horror in Gaza. READ MORE The Taoiseach prefaced one reply with this memorable line: 'As the king of Jordan said to me ...' But back to the intractable issue of housing, Micheál was pummelled from all sides over his Government's latest plan to ease the rental crisis. Thankfully, he had his Minister for Housing there for guidance and moral support, which must have been a comfort. Situated almost by his side, a mere six seats away on the front bench, James Browne was a tower of strength. At one point during Micheál's lengthy grilling at the hands of Mary Lou McDonald, Ivana Bacik, Cian O'Callaghan and Paul Murphy, the Minister even passed him a short note. This was most dramatic. The Taoiseach had been under pressure over the confusing details of these new proposals which have the twin objectives of further protecting tenants' security while ensuring decent profits for institutional landlords in an effort to get them building again. James, the man at the epicentre of what everyone in Dáil Éireann agrees is the single biggest issue facing Ireland today, was sandwiched between Minister for Children Norma Foley and Minister for the Arts Patrick O'Donovan. From his exalted pew, he scribbled a few words on a piece of paper and handed it under the ledge to Norma, who passed it underarm to Noel Grealish, who sneaked it to Dara Calleary who slipped it swiftly across the empty seat to his boss. [ Proposed changes to rent rules will incentivise evictions, housing charity warns Opens in new window ] Presumably it was a reminder to Micheál to continue saying the proposed measures 'won't affect existing tenants'. A clear enough statement in that it clearly did nothing to clear up the continuing confusion. The Taoiseach was doing his level best to convince the chamber he feels good about James Browne's big production number. But he was hampered by a press release sent out by the Minister's department about an hour before the Dáil resumed for the week. Sinn Féin, Labour, the Social Democrats and People Before Profit had copies of it and it seemed to cast huge doubt on the 'won't affect existing tenants' aspect of the plan. This statement – with pertinent lines highlighted in neon – was waved with abandon at Micheál from across the floor. Time and again he was asked to explain it. He didn't, leading People Before Profit's Paul Murphy to put the question yet again when he grabbed the baton for the last lap and bore down on what he called the Taoiseach's 'incredibly brazen performance'. Here's the particular detail which had everyone in a tizzy: 'All landlords will have the right to reset rent where the rent is below market at the end of each six-year tenancy.' Paul read it 'very slowly' for the Taoiseach, in case he missed the point when it was made by the three previous speakers. The TD for Dublin South-West was puzzled – like a lot of people. How could he say sitting tenants will keep their existing 2 per cent/Consumer Price Index rent cap indefinitely when the Minister for Housing has it down in black-and-white that 'all landlords' will have the right to adjust upwards after six years? 'It's not just new landlords, not just big landlords, not just small landlords, but every single landlord. That means it affects existing tenants and new tenants,' said Paul, his Opposition colleagues nodding in agreement. Maybe the Minister could enlighten him as to the finer details of this policy? Sinn Féin's Louise O'Reilly chimed in: 'Do you want to phone a friend?' Micheál was sticking to his guns. He had the note from James in front of him on the ledge. The measure is due to come into effect next March. After that, all new tenants will be subject to the six-year rule, be they students returning after the summer and looking for a place to stay again or renters who left accommodation for whatever reason and are in the market again. A short time after Leaders' Questions, the housing body Threshold issued a statement giving a qualified welcome to the proposed rental sector reforms. This will have come as some solace to Micheál, who may just have to mention this intervention when the subject comes up again on Wednesday. Meanwhile, in her contribution, Labour's Ivana Bacik quoted her own housing spokesperson, Conor Sheehan, who had been out on the plinth earlier in the day voicing his reservations about the proposals. [ Rules for renters: What are the planned reforms and will they work? Opens in new window ] She had to agree with him when he said there were 'more holes in the policy announced today than there were in the Titanic'. Conor has a flair for the dramatic. He also said that renters were 'thrown to the wolves' and 'thrown under a bus' by the Government. As for the Titanic, wasn't it just one big iceberg-inflicted hole which did the damage? Almost all Dáil business on Tuesday was taken up with the housing crisis. But during Questions on Policy, the horrendous situation in Gaza was discussed. Ruth Coppinger asked if the Naval Service could be used to deliver humanitarian aid to the stricken population there. 'If 12 activists can go on a ship, how can a professional Navy not do that?' This wasn't possible, replied the Taoiseach, applauding the crew of the Madleen for their actions. However, its crew acknowledged this was a symbolic gesture. And then he added: 'As the king of Jordan said to me at the weekend, the people need trucks and trucks of aid. Not drops. They need absolute unimpeded aid going into Gaza at huge scale ...' The king of Jordan, like. As you do.
News.com.au
09-06-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Rental prices drop across one third of Sydney suburbs
Rents have fallen or frozen in more than a third of Sydney's suburbs over the past year in breakthrough signs of the rental crisis easing. Latest rental data from PropTrack has showed median rental prices have dropped or stayed stagnant across over 250 Sydney locales. Falls in average rents were as high as $350 a week in some areas. It's a notable change from the period between 2022 and 2024, when rampant hikes in rent were the norm across nearly every suburb – driven by post-Covid international boarders reopening, soaring migration, tight rental vacancies and high interest rates. The recent shift will be welcome news for renters considering almost half of NSW tenants polled in a recent Residential Audience Pulse survey by said they're experiencing financial difficulty due to high rents. Wild number of Aussie millionaires revealed Suburbs with some of the biggest rental decreases over the past year included Woollahra, Bondi Junction, Forest Lodge, Kensington, Beaconsfield, Peakhurst and Matraville, with rents in these areas falling $100-$350 a week. There was multitude of other suburbs where the fall in rents was about $50 a week, which would save tenants about $2600 a year. Much of that decline occurred over the last three months, coinciding with moves by the Reserve Bank to cut interest rates. PropTrack economist Anne Flaherty said it was a positive change for Sydney tenants who faced the highest levels of rent across the country. 'It's really good news for renters,' she said. 'The level we saw rent rises, particularly over 2023 as really extremely high and for a lot of renters it was that fear every time that negotiation time came around we were seeing some big jumps.' 'The fact that we have seen the rate of growth slowed to what's hopefully a more sustainable level it's given more people to plan ahead.' Many of the suburbs that were falling were areas with a lot of apartment stock or the higher end of the market, she added. Rate drops had seen an increase in investor activity in NSW, which of 19 per cent over the 12 months to March, could be contributing to the drops. 'Although increased investor activity isn't great news for first home buyers, it can be a good thing in that it increases the supply of rental properties coming up for rent and can slow the rate of growth and provide a bit more supply and choice out there for renters.' This trend could continue later in the year as more first home buyers transition from renting with first homebuyer schemes coming into affect and more potential rate drops come into fruition. Regional NSW was not seeing the same levels of relief as Greater Sydney. 'I think because of that affordability piece, we do see a high portion of people leave greater Sydney and move to regional NSW.' Louis Christopher, Managing Director of SQM Research noted that the rental market remains tight in many areas. 'Landlords appeared to have reduced their rental expectations somewhat and the overall rate of rental growth has slowed since 2024 … yet the rental crisis does remain with us.'
News.com.au
29-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Local: Kensington offers speed dating for housemates in bid to tackle roommate horror stories, rental crisis
Tenants desperate to escape Melbourne's rental crisis are being offered an unexpected solution: speed dating for housemates. In a city where one corporate landlord has already offered to waive lease-breaking fees for tenants who decide to shack up with their neighbour, a new build-to-rent operator is planing events to get like-minded tenants partnered up. With the housing crisis and rising rents driving a growing number of Victorians to seek out flatmates, the novel idea of a speed dating-style event was drummed up for the new tenants-only Local: Kensington complex. People looking for the perfect person to share their life with, romance not included, will be given the chance to connect with a group of like-minded individuals in June. Developer Local's marketing general manager Megan Hondromatidis said after an initial online registration, matchmakers would group people with similar interests and needs for scheduled events where they tour the building — then move on to dinner and drinks. 'It will be helping to break the ice, so it's not all just people having awkward conversations,' Ms Hondromatidis said. 'And we will have targeted questions to help them get to know each other. 'Ultimately, we are trying to provide the best experience possible. And hopefully we can mitigate the rental pain points.' Topics at the events dubbed 'Housemate Huddles' are expected to include: how pet friendly you are, whether you're a night or morning person, how you like your home furnished and what your typical day looks like. The goal is to then find someone else to compliment your lifestyle, and minimise the risk of a messy break-up as you fight over custody of the apartment and the Netflix account because one of you gets up at 5am and the other hasn't seen the sun rise in seven years. Ms Hondromatidis said while it would be interesting to see who would attend, they were expecting new arrivals to Melbourne, those looking to move out of their parents' home and others wanting to try sharehousing out for the first time. Specialty women-only nights and queer-friendly events will also be a part of the schedule. Ms Hondromatidis added that with the completion of new build-to-rent projects creating short-term waves of new apartments for the rental market, Melbourne was now primed for more similar events. The 477-apartment complex is the first build-to-rent complex by developer Local, but they have additional sites on their way around Melbourne — and are aiming to have some launched, most likely with similar events for tenants, interstate in the next year or two. 'I don't think house sharing is going anywhere, so I think we will start here and see where we go,' Ms Hondromatidis said. The building's two-bedroom apartments starting from $822 a week and three-bedroom offerings from $1258 a week. Amenities around the building include a cinema, fitness studio, working hub and residents' lounge with its own kitchen. Apartments are furnished with kitchen and laundry appliances, as well as split-system heating and cooling. The build-to-rent complex is very pet friendly, encourages residents to paint walls and live there long term. Events will be held at the 348 Macaulay Rd, Kensington, building on June 17, 18 and 24. Earlier this year, build-to-rent developer Greystar announced an offer to allow tenants who found a romantic partner or their ideal flatmate among their neighbours to make their relationship official and move in together — without a lease break fee. Considered a novel solution to Melbourne's rental crisis, build-to-rent development is defined as a corporate group that creates a new building with the intent of offering it as a long-term rental site. The system is common in other nations, particularly the United States of America. It has had significant backing as part of Victoria's housing solution from both state and federal governments, but remains a small fraction of Melbourne's rental supply.
