Melbourne is experiencing a record shortage of cheap private rental homes, with just 0.3 per cent of new lettings (or 26 homes) deemed affordable to singles on Newstart, according to Victoria’s housing department’s latest rental report… A recent Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute report said physical comfort was a basic precondition for ’“feeling at home” and that households that rent faced psychological and health effects from having a lesser degree of control over their living environment.
Melbourne’s rental market is presenting a wide range of socio-economic and health problems for welfare recipients, including respiratory illnesses and depression, as they struggle in sub-standard housing conditions. Single parent families are especially vulnerable to exploitation in the current rental market. The government has stated that it cannot intervene as the private rental market is outside of their domain, however it is set to review Victoria’s public housing sector.
The Other Sociologist 