Rental affordability has worsened in Ballarat in the last year, new data shows, with a lack of available rentals the biggest issue facing smaller towns around the city.
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Anglicare Victoria analysed rental affordability using properties available on March 19, 2022 and found there were no rental listings in Hepburn, Moorabool, Pyrenees or Golden Plains Shires on that day.
Two thirds of regional areas did not have a single rental listing on the day of the survey, highlighting a critical shortage of rental properties in regional Victoria.
Regional rents have risen 6.7 per cent in the past year, faster than the pace of inflation.
Anglicare Victoria chief executive Paul McDonald said rental affordability was a slow-moving car crash that had been ignored by the Federal Government for many years.
"Intense competition for properties continues to drive rents higher, both in Melbourne and the regions," he said in a statement.
There were 227 rental properties listed in Ballarat on March 19, the Rental Affordability Snapshot showed.
Our agency is seeing dozens of single mums who have had to flee domestic violence situations - often with just the bare essentials - and are finding it hard to get rentals they can afford.
- Paul McDonald, Anglicare Victoria chief executive
Of those properties, 63 per cent were affordable to someone on the minimum wage, this is compared to 86 per cent at the same time last year.
Four per cent of available rental properties were affordable to someone on income support payments, compared to six per cent at the same time last year.
A property is considered affordable if it costs less than 30 per cent of a household's total income.
RELATED COVERAGE: Rental affordability snapshot highlights Ballarat's housing crisis
The median and mean rental price in Ballarat increased this year, with the mean rising from $364 last year to $382 this year and the median rising from $360 to $370.
Ballarat was found to be the ninth most affordable regional local government area in the state.
Mr McDonald said both major federal parties needed to take this problem seriously in the lead up to the election, at a 'critical' time when the cost of everyday essential was rising.
"While the Victorian Government has recognised the seriousness of the situation and is acting to build a record amount of social housing, the problem barely enjoys the most cursory lip service from the Morrison Government," Mr McDonald said.
Anglicare Victoria's Rental Affordability Snapshot revealed there were 40 per cent less private rental listings in Victoria compared to the same time last year.
The report found families and single parents on income benefits were among the worst affected with just 13 properties out of 18,934 affordable for a couple with two children living on JobSeeker.
"Our agency is seeing dozens of single mums who have had to flee domestic violence situations - often with just the bare essentials - and are finding it hard to get rentals they can afford," Mr McDonald said.
"This year there were just seven properties out of almost 19,000 which were affordable for single parents on income support. Petrol, utilities and groceries make up a huge proportion of the expenses for people on minimum wage or income support.
"With all of them rising in cost recently and rents going the same way, vulnerable people will need to make choices that no-one should have to make to keep a roof over their heads. We know from experience that this can include regularly skipping meals and turning off heating in winter."
Anglicare Victoria proposes federal government policy solutions to assist vulnerable people in rental stress including reforming Commonwealth Rent Assistance and increasing the rate of JobSeeker.
The organisation is also calling for more social housing, better targeted tax incentives and the expansion of head leasing programs which are set up to help specific categories of vulnerable people.
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Rochelle Kirkham
Rochelle covers court and has a particular interest in social issues including homelessness, food security and family violence.
Rochelle covers court and has a particular interest in social issues including homelessness, food security and family violence.
