More investment needed in affordable housing
Anglicare NT is calling on the government to urgently invest in more affordable homes and raise the rate of welfare. The call is being made as Anglicare NT and Anglicare Australia release the annual Rental Affordability Snapshot.
On the Snapshot weekend of 26 March 2021, 387 private rentals were advertised for rent in the Northern Territory. Of these properties:
- No properties were affordable for singles, single parents or couples with children living on the JobSeeker payment
- No properties were affordable for singles aged over 18 on Youth Allowance in the NT
- Only 2% of properties were affordable for couples on the Age Pension, with no properties affordable for singles on the Age Pension or Disability Support Pension
- Regional areas like Katherine and Alice Springs are even more unaffordable than Darwin/Palmerston.
Compared to last year’s Snapshot, there are fewer private rentals available this year and the cost of renting has increased. The Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute shows that we currently have a shortfall of 6,700 social and affordable rentals across the Northern Territory. By 2036, that number is expected to grow to 14,500.
The Government must raise the rate of JobSeeker above the poverty line. If it doesn’t, people out of work will be pushed deeper into housing stress and homelessness. Nobody should be forced to make impossible sacrifices just to keep a roof over their head. It’s time to take real action, and make sure everyone has a place to call home.
