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The forgotten people, Victoria's 1 million renters; Rising pressures faced by renters increasingly squeezed out of Victoria's private market
Topic Started: 3 Nov 2014, 03:39 PM (319 Views)
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The forgotten people, Victoria's 1 million renters

November 2, 2014
Ben Schneiders

Sharon Moore has moved house at least a dozen times in the past 25 years, mostly against her wishes. Sometimes the landlord has sold, other times the rent has gone up "to a ridiculous price". It has left her with little sense of security.

"You can't really get settled. You've always got that hanging in the back of your head, something is going to happen," she says.

Moore, 59, is on a disability pension. Half of it goes on a $250 a week flat in Wyndham Vale, in Melbourne's south-west. It makes it hard to get by.

Matthew Cheyne has also had to move against his wishes. Suffering from fibromyalgia, a chronic condition causing pain and fatigue, he had to give up his job. When the rent for his apartment in Spotswood was increased from $190 to $230 a week he moved out of town to Morwell. He now lives in a small flat at the back of a house, paying $90 a week.

Cheyne says it's not great, but "it's a place over my head". Now 37, he has been on a pension since 2008. He still has to commute regularly to the city for medical care and dreams of moving back.

"I'd like to return to Melbourne one day, but it'd have to be public housing - the private housing market is unaffordable," he says.

Moore and Cheyne are two examples of the rising pressures being faced by renters increasingly being squeezed out of Victoria's private market.

There are about 1 million Victorians who rent in a system that is heavily weighted towards the interests of landlords and has become steadily less affordable, even for those on middle incomes.

The Victorian Residential Tenancies Act gives extensive powers for landlords to remove tenants. This applies particularly once a lease has expired, but tenants can also be given 120 days notice for "no specified reason" or 60 days if the landlord wants to do something else with the house or flat.

It often means renters move far more often than they would like. Ninety per cent have moved in the past five years. It can cause problems for the growing number of families in rentals, with children having to change schools and social networks and parents facing challenges with work arrangements.

The interests of renters are unlikely to attract much attention in this state election campaign. When housing has received a mention in recent state and federal campaigns it has tended to focus on the woes of first home buyers - not renters.

This is despite renting having become far more mainstream in Victoria, which is now a long way from the stereotype of students in share-houses. Families with children make up more than a third of renters and growing numbers have rented for more than a decade.

Part of the problem is cultural. Home ownership has long been seen as the Australian dream, and is now close to being an obsession in Australia if the popularity of TV shows such as The Block are a guide. Renting is rated as very much a second-best option and few state MPs directly experience it. On average, they own nearly two properties each.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/victoria-state-election-2014/the-forgotten-people-victorias-1-million-renters-20141101-11f29t.html
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