20 suburbs where renters are facing crisis

They’re left with a snapshot of the suburbs where residents looking for housing are facing dire circumstances.

“The RentRabbit.com.au Rental Crisis Report is designed to highlight the rental crisis facing significant numbers of people,” RentRabbit.com.au co-founder Ben Pretty explained.

For that reason, the group filters out areas rated above-average in socioeconomic standing, as residents in those neighbourhoods have more options in the face of tightening vacancy rates.

In the 20 suburbs that RentRabbit’s research singled out, the situation “really is a crisis”, according to Mr Pretty.

The suburbs were located in five states: South Australia (home to six of the suburbs), NSW (five), Tasmania (four), Victoria (three) and Queensland (two).

Five of the suburbs were in capital cities, while the other 15 were in regional locations.

All the suburbs had a vacancy rate under 1 per cent, while the majority had a vacancy rate of 0 per cent. This doesn’t mean there are no vacancies available, as a property is only considered vacant after 21 days on the market. It does, however, mean that rental properties are being snapped up within days of being advertised.

Below are the 20 suburbs classified as being in “crisis”, along with their vacancy rate and average resident’s monthly income.

Rocherlea, Tas, 0 per cent, $627
Venus Bay, Vic, 0 per cent, $677
Golden Beach, Vic, 0 per cent, $694
Elizabeth South, SA, 0.5 per cent, $696
Elizabeth North, SA, 0.5 per cent, $699
Batemans Bay, NSW, 0 per cent, $703
Port Pirie West, SA, 0 per cent, $712
Bundaberg Central, Qld, 0 per cent, $714
Laurieton, NSW, 0.7 per cent, $716
Shorewell Park, Tas, 0 per cent, $721
Elizabeth Vale, SA, 0.4 per cent, $731
St Helens, Tas, 0 per cent, $732
Ravenswood, Tas, 0 per cent, $733
Goolwa, SA, 0 per cent, $734
Nambucca Heads, NSW, 0.4 per cent, $735
Tuncurry, NSW, 0.4 per cent, $750
Davoren Park, SA, 0.6 per cent, $756
Wonthaggi, Vic, 0 per cent, $758
West Kempsey, NSW, 0.3 per cent, $761
Bongaree, Qld, 0.2 per cent $761

Mr Pretty noted that in many of these areas, particularly those with vacancy rates at 0 per cent, “rents have increased over the past year, often by double-digit percentages”.

He describes the situation faced by many Australians in areas such as these as “a triple whammy – they live in socio-economically disadvantaged areas, they have low household incomes and it’s incredibly hard for them to find rental accommodation”.