Welcome to our article, Australia Rental Affordability Issues.
Dear readers, we are writing about social issues that effect our way of life, and this is blog, No. 6.
Before we write this article, we want to point out that there are not enough properties for rent, because the assets test puts the small rental owners in a disadvantaged position.
Anyhow, in this article of Australia rental affordability issues, let us start with what we find on the news and internet, to show you what we mean. So, hereunder is a shortened report.
The latest property data
from research firm CoreLogic reveals Brisbane has recorded a 3.8 per cent rise
in housing rents in the three months to the end of September — the highest
rise of any Australian capital city.
As Brisbane continues to face record low vacancy rates,
rents have risen by 13.5 per cent state-wide in the past 12 months.
CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless said that equates to
about a $68 a week increase for a typical rental dwelling, or $3,536 annually.
(End of report).
Well, I hope you see what we mean. So, in this article, we want
to discuss rental affordability, because they say that in Australia most people
cannot find rental accommodation, and if they do, they cannot afford to pay for
it. But what are the reasons for these days’ rental issues. It looks like that
there are less property available for rent, but what could be the reason for
this shortage, and what can be done to fix it.
Well, if the present government wants to fix it, they need to
build more rental accommodation themselves, then rent them on low rent, perhaps
at no profit at all or at a loss. But even if the government does that, will
they be able to build enough rental property and solve the problem for good, I
do not think they can do that, because that takes a lot of taxpayer money, and
a lot of time to build enough rental properties, so, let us look at the reason
why this is happening, and if anything has changed that has caused this
shortage.
It looks like that in the past, when the rental property market
was run from the private landlords, and there was some money to be made, these
things did not happen very often, because a lot of small investors would invest
on rental properties. But today there is very little profit in owning rental
properties because they cost too much to run, and there are many taxes,
starting from the local government, the state government, and from the federal
government.
Because it is hard to make a profit, people that have money keep
away from investing on rental properties. So, in this article let us try to
find the reason this has happened and continue to happen. We want also to find
the reasons why in the past it was better.
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Let us talk about the rental past.
Rental properties in the past were more affordable, because
there were more small investors in the market, they were people that had
some money and instead of keeping it in the bank, they bought a rental property
hoping that, when they retied, they could keep their affordable rental property
rented, and they would be better off financially, in their old age, at least
this is what they wanted, but today it does not work like that anymore, because of the assets test that is set far too high.
Most of these people do not have enough money themselves, to
become a self-funded retiree. So, they would rely on the government pension,
for a modest living standard, but a lot of things have change, so, whoever is
on a government pension, would be better off if they had no rental property.
Then, there are a lot of problems and a lot of overhead expenses to run the property.
So, the small investors have stopped buying rental properties, since they give
them enough trouble and very little returns. So, what went wrong one may ask?
Well, let us try to answer that question.
We all know that most economies including Australia are set to run on capitalism, this type
of setting requires that you need to make more money from the money you have,
this works out well, when everything works the way, it is supposed to work, and
you know what you are doing. But sometimes it does not work that well. This
happens when unforeseen expenses pop up, and at the same time the rental market
goes down, so, there is no money to be made, the worst part is when you know
that you cannot make enough money, to run your properties at a profit. I
believe that this is what has happened in Australia.
Now, let us see why this has happened, who are the people that
are interested in the rental market, and if there is a way to fix this rental
shortage. I dare to suggest that the government may have to change some laws,
that permits the landlords to run the properties at a small profit, because
that is the only way to have enough properties in the market. Here I am not
talking about the rich people that run large luxurious holdings and can make
money, from their new units on high rent, because most people cannot afford
that rent. So, we are looking for affordable rentals, that the workers or the
pensioners can afford.
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Let me state my views.
I believe that there are two ways to fix the rental problem, one
way is that the federal and state governments, build enough affordable rental
themselves, and rent them at no profit or at a loss, and this will take a lot of taxpayer money. The other way is to copy
what we did in the past, because in the past there were more affordable
rentals, since it was easier for small investors to have a property for rent,
without losing money. Anyhow, what I am saying here is that we may have to go
back and see what has changed, and if it is necessary, change it back the way
it was before, since there were more affordable properties in the past.
Now we know that the private sector, can find ways how to supply
all the rental properties required, but that must be done at a profit, so, the
large companies are not interested to build affordable rentals, because there
is not enough profit in them, then it is the small investors that can make the
difference, and because there can be a lot of small investors that can be
interested, if the laws permits them to have a rental property at a small
profit, or as long as they do not lose other government entitlements, like the
pension, then they could be interested to own a property for rent.
Now let me explain how it is possible to lose money. Small
investor X lives in his own house and has a unit for rent, soon he is going to
retire and hopes to receive the government pension, if he did not have the unit
for rent, he would be intituled to receive the full pension, because the other
assets he has, will take him past the limit he can have, before the pension is
cut. But the unit is a real problem, because the net money he can make, is a
lot less than the pension he loses, and that is the real problem, so, he
believes that it was better if he did not have the unit. Then the last problem
are the smoke alarms. Here the government makes laws that the landlords must
employ a registered company to install the smoke alarms, but it does not say
how much they are allowed to charge, so, they charge a lot, this can only make
the rents dear.
This is what the government should take into consideration. So,
I dare to suggest that, if the government makes laws that the small investors
can make at least from their rental properties, as much money as the government
pension cut, then the small investors may be willing to invest in residential
units, and the problem is half solved.
Anyhow, this is one of the reasons I can see, why this rental shortage is happening. I can write other examples that can explain better the rental situation. But I hope people understand what I am saying here. The only thing I can add here is this; it looks like that the assets test is the reason why there are not enough rental propeties anymore.
This article is becoming too long. See you in our next article,
To see more click on this link, Australia Rental Affordability Issues.
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