If You're on Newstart, You Can't Afford a Single House in Sydney

Single people on Newstart, Youth Allowance, or Disability payments can't afford a single one of the more than 14,000 properties up for rent in Sydney right now. That's according to the Rental Affordability Snapshot 2017 report, released Thursday by Anglicare. The findings are damning for Australia's notoriously pricey city—with soaring rents making pushing low-income earners, young people, single parents, and aged pensioners out of once affordable areas, including western Sydney.

The report defines "affordable" as spending less than 30 percent of your income on rent. After moving to Sydney from Melbourne for a new job Michelle, 25, ended up paying around half of her salary to get a place. "I was hoping to pay about $300 per week," she tells VICE. "I ended up paying $395… it was fairly tight. There were some weeks where I'd be just making it between pay checks."

VICE couldn't find a single young person in Sydney who would say their rent was "affordable" but there were more than enough rental horror stories to go around. Alastair, 22, was working two jobs while studying to cover rent for his attic room in Surry Hills. "I'm pretty sure was illegal… the insulation in the attic was exposed and supposed to cause long term damage," he says. "The house was literally squalor." Rented through Gumtree, the place had a kitchen infested with cockroaches, bedrooms without windows, and a bathroom so mouldy you wouldn't go in there without shoes. Rent came in at $280 a week.

But according to Anglicare, it's not just in Australia's most expensive city where rental prices are surging. The report found chronic shortages of properties are getting worse, and that people on low incomes could essentially no longer afford to live in major cities across the country. The situation in Melbourne is almost as bad as Sydney—and it's getting worse as the city's average house price pushes towards the $1 million mark, which Sydney has already reached.

Claire, 23, moved to Melbourne three months ago from Perth after graduating from university. On Newstart while looking for a job, she only just settled into a new sharehouse in the city's inner north—a house on a six month pre-demolition lease. Claire had to fight tooth and nail for the place, along with two fellow rents: one of whom they haven't, um… told the landlord about. Rent is $1500 a month.

Applying for rental properties was "extremely competitive and soul-crushing" compared to her experience in Perth, Claire says. "You would rock up to rental inspections and there'd be like 70 people. It was honestly like being at the opening of a new small bar. In Perth, when I went to inspections, a competitive property might have four other people looking."

To make themselves competitive with other prospective young renters, Claire and her housemates took drastic measures. "In order to make real estate agents and landlords feel secure, because none of us had full time jobs, we photoshopped a bank statement," she explains. "And even though the property we were offered was only a six month lease, we just felt like we had to take it. We offered to pay a couple of months rent in advance, after that they called to offer it to us, but we had to pay the deposit in 24 hours—otherwise they would lease it to other people."

Claire's new home is about 15 minutes from the Melbourne CBD, but it's hardly luxurious. "There's black mould and a lot of plumbing problems, but I feel like there's nothing you can do about it. For the landlord there's no point in fixing anything long-term because it's going to be knocked down."

Todd, 25, faces a similar issue. The rent he pays for a room in his Brunswick share house is extremely cheap for inner northern Melbourne—$480 per month. But the price is not without trade offs. "We don't have a lot of contact with a landlord, we're not on a lease. They still do inspections but they're not willing to fix problems with the house. It's got massive cracks all across the house, paint is peeling, there's this mouldy white stuff that flakes all over the house. Our laundry is always damp, there are leaks above the power cords and appliances. There's black mould right above my bed," he says.

While living in a more far-flung suburb might mean enjoying a slightly nicer house, Todd says Brunswick is worth the health risks. "I feel like I need to be close to things. When I moved here I was at uni at RMIT in the middle of the city, so being close to uni and being able to go in everyday within a reasonable amount of time [half an hour on public transport] was a priority. Now, it's close to my part-time work."

Todd couldn't afford to live in Brunswick paying much more than he does, and worries that if his precarious rental situation changes, he'll be in trouble. "I am very aware that I am lucky to live in this house, as crazy as that sounds. The price is so rare and if I had to look for another house in Brunswick I'd be paying substantially more, and would probably have to look for somewhere a bit further out. I'm scared of that happening—if something changes with our landlord, because we don't have a lease, we have no security."

All of the young renters VICE talked to still consider themselves lucky. Even on low incomes, they've managed to secure rental properties close to the city. As Anglicare's report highlights, the situation could be far worse.