The Department of Health and Human Services’ quarterly rental report shows in the three months to June 2017, affordable renting stock in Ballarat increased 6.2 per cent. 

Currently, 67.6 per cent of private rental housing in Ballarat classified as affordable by the DHHS. 

According the DHHS, a rental property is defined as affordable when the rental payments do not exceed 30 percent of of gross income for low-income households in receipt of Centrelink payments. 

Ballarat is the 26th most affordable area in the state out of 79 council municipalities with the average affordable rental stock in regional areas at 57.3 per cent. 

In the 12 months to June this year there were 10,810 active rental bonds in the private rental market in Ballarat. 

While the statistics show private rental affordability is stable in Ballarat, Peter Sheen from child and family services (CAFS) said stats don't tell the whole story. 

Mr Sheen said the report from DHHS doesn't take into account the amount of people in precarious work situations who are struggling to pay their rent. 

"For a bulk of our clients a vast majority of houses in Ballarat aren't affordable, especially for a regional center," he said. 

"For people on Centrelink or in casualised work, they are really struggling to maintain tenancies and are struggling with rent arrears." 

Mr Sheer said while the public housing system remains over-stretched and under-supplied, the private rental market is the only option for many people on low incomes. 

He said that the figures in the report don't tell the hidden story behind private renting on a low income in Ballarat. 

"In terms of affordability, if someone is on a Newstart Allowance with some rent assistance and they are earning $500 a fortnight, there is no way known they can rent alone on that," he said. 

"Most rentals are going to start at around $200 per week and up so people are put in a position where they have to rent with other people but these relationships often break down."

Mr Sheen also said the problem goes beyond people relying on government assistance and also affects people in increasingly unstable employment. 

He said a lack of steady income for employed people has seen an increase in people not being able to meet their rental obligations over the life of a lease. 

"We have seen increasingly over the last two or three years more people who are working returning to our services," he said. 

"We are seeing a trend of a highly casualised workforce in unstable employment that is impacting them in terms of their capacity to pay rent."