Jane’s Speech To Parliamentary Forum On Renting

The following speech was given by Jane* to a Parliamentary Forum on Renting in Adelaide, on October 15, 2022.

“I have been on Centrelink benefits for eight years after losing my full-time job, experiencing a bad fall and then an assault that meant two years in hospital appointments unable to use my left arm or leg.

My rent is now $460 a week. This is after a $35 a week rise last year and a $60 a week rise just recently. That is $95 a week increase in 13 months which is just over a 26% increase. This means that after I pay my share of the rent and my essential bills, which I calculate by adding up all my bills for the year and dividing that by 26 to ensure I have enough, I have $18 a fortnight left over to pay for food, petrol, public transport, medical appointments and everything else. This has forced my flatmate and I to look for a third person to share the rent.

While we were given plenty of notice of the increase, we were only allowed seven days in which to agree. We looked at other options but could find nothing suitable in our price range, even if we went further out from the city.

And if we did go further out, the increase in travel costs would completely negate any rental savings. We knew we couldn’t negotiate after one set of neighbours asked and they received a one line email saying their lease renewal had been withdrawn so they had to move and a second set of neighbours were forced to move due to the rent increase they received.

I enquired about the legalities of this and was informed that in South Australia, owners can put the price up as much as they want, which is completely different to other states where it illegal to raise it more than 10%. The only avenue was to go to the tribunal and fight against an extreme rent increase, but you had to accept it first. You might win, but I was told it would be guaranteed that I would be kicked out on the next renewal, if not before, for being a problematic tenant. If you lost, you would have to pay the increased rent. There was nothing that my flatmate and I could do.

Meanwhile, the owner is a multi-millionaire architect and developer who I have been told has more than paid off the building costs of the complex I live in.

We also hardly ever see repairs other than the ones that are legally required, so the place has never been fumigated, slippery and dangerous pavers have not been cleaned, no security has been put in despite three thefts in less than six months and our electrical cross wiring with our neighbours is still there after being informed over a year ago.

I only buy food at the Food Bank which the vast majority of is highly processed food that is beyond its best before date. There are usually limits on the number or weight we can purchase and you never know what will be there so you cannot plan meals until you are there. It is rare to have more that carrots, onions and potatoes for vegetables and usually only one or two fruits if any.

You are only allowed to spend $25 per visit which has just increased to $40 due to people hoarding and supply chains being affected which means the Food Bank now has to purchase food, the cost of which they pass onto us.

You are lucky to see toilet paper once every six to eight weeks. You can only visit a maximum of once a week, but most people can only afford to go once a fortnight.

Meanwhile, Centrelink benefits certainly have not increased $95 for rent and $15 for food a fortnight.

For the first time in my life I have high cholesterol and this is due purely to eating a highly processed food diet. I am also highly anaemic due to not being able to afford meat or iron tablets, much to my doctor’s frustration.

The manager of the JobSearch provider I attend once told me that research has shown that 65% of those who utilise a disability provider will develop depression and anxiety in addition to the original illness that they had while on Centrelink benefits. This means we have a system that is actually making people mentally ill.

I am certainly in that category and my greatest fear now is becoming homeless. I will be turning 50 soon and the fastest growing cohort of homeless people in Australia is single women over the age of 50. It is not hard to imagine being on the streets when you have no safety net and rental vacancy is at 0.2-0.3% in Adelaide. Owners do not want to lease to Centrelink recipients despite the fact I have perfect payment history and keep properties immaculate.

I have been on the waiting list for public housing in South Australia for four years and in Queensland for three years before that. I have been able to apply for one co-operative housing place in that time and was unsuccessful.

When looking for alternative accommodation, I have not found a single property that I could afford to rent on my own in Adelaide or even rural South Australia. Even sharing with a flatmate, this latest increase means I am spending well over half my income on rent.

The government says that people should only be spending a maximum of 25% of their income on rent. Real Estate Agents have increased this over my last 25 years of renting from 25% to 33% to now 50% being common. This is unsustainable meaning people cannot save for emergencies or house deposits or anything else.

Rent freezes would greatly help those that have not experienced a hike yet and should absolutely be implemented, but for me it is too little too late. I am so far under the poverty line; I can’t envisage a way out.

I do not socialise or go out because I can’t afford it. I rarely use my car for anything beyond the groceries because I can’t afford the petrol. I walk just about everywhere because I can’t afford public transport beyond the absolutely necessary. I do not use any heating or cooling because I cannot afford the increase to the electricity bills.

Poverty is a political act of will in this wealthy country of ours. You have the power and the means to ensure that no one lives in poverty and that all people are safely housed. Yet current laws benefit the wealthy and powerful, allowing people to grow wealth from housing which is a basic human right. This is unethical and immoral and needs to change.” – Jane*

*Not their real name.