Rental Stress

Affordable Housing Needs Projected to Grow for Seniors

The number of elderly people in the US with “worst case housing needs” – defined as renters with very low incomes who do not receive government housing assistance and pay more than one-half of their income for rent, live in severely inadequate conditions, or both – is increasing rapidly. Resources for housing and supporting our aging population are scarce in relation to the scope of the problem.
2020

'Having to ask for somewhere to live, it's difficult indeed': Single, female, homeless. Australia's shameful crisis

Older women are the fastest-growing cohort of homeless people in Australia today. According to census data, the number of women aged 65 to 74 describing themselves as homeless increased by 51 per cent in the five years to 2016.
2020

Older renters doing it tough – what’s the answer?

Australia has the highest rate of seniors rental poverty in the OECD. 15% of older Australians don’t own or are paying off their own home. Rental costs have increased significantly over the past 10 years. While rents increased 29 per cent over that period, the Commonwealth Rental Allowance increased by only 23 per cent.
2019

Fall in ageing Australians’ home-ownership rates looms

According to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics Survey of Income and Housing, home-ownership rates among Australians aged 55-64 years dropped from 86% to 81% between 2001 and 2016. Mortgage burdens have spiked in the 55-64 age group. In 2001 roughly 80% were mortgage-free. By 2016 this had plummeted to only 56%. Indebtedness is even growing among owners aged 65 and over.
2019

High rents putting older people at risk of homelessness, charity says

In Ireland, older people are increasingly at risk of homelessness due to the cost of rent increasing but State pension remaining the same. Alone, a charity supporting older people, said one of the most frequent issues the organisation sees is older people living in private rented accommodation finding it increasingly difficult to pay rent as rates rise.
2019

Vulnerable Private Renters: Evidence and Options

Australia’s private rental market has worked well for most people, most of the time. However, this masks a deterioration in overall housing affordability for vulnerable renters. With vulnerable renters — those who are experiencing social and economic disadvantage — the story is more nuanced.
2019

Delivering equity: A new deal for pensioners who rent

This report is the third in KPMG’s series on workforce discrimination against women. It makes public policy suggestions to support an especially disadvantaged group in which women are over‑represented — those over 50 years of age who are renting privately.
2019

'One rent increase from disaster’ Older renters living on the edge in Western Australia

Recent trends in Australia indicate homelessness and the risk of homelessness is increasing for low income older households. The Ageing on the Edge Project is a five year initiative (2016–2020) that aims to gather evidence and conduct research that supports a compelling need for better housing and support services for older people. This is the third report produced as part of this project.
2019

House-sitting on the rise for older people in financial stress or on verge of homelessness

The article looks at house-sitting as an option for the housing crisis faced by an increasing number of older people in Australia.
2019

We’re delaying major life events, and our retirement income system hasn’t caught up

An article looking at the need to conduct an independent review of Australia’s retirement income system, in view of the fact that old age Australian renters have some of the worst relative poverty rates in the OECD.
2019
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