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A new report has found that Australians over the age of 50 feel “powerless” to the harsh realities of renting.
Ageing in Place: Home and Housing for Australia’s Older Renters is the latest report by the body that illuminates the plethora of challenges faced by elderly renters during Australia’s rental crisis. The report surveyed 500 Australians over the age of 50 to establish its conclusions.
The report details that 87 per cent of people want to remain in their homes as they get older, with the primary motivator being a desire to remain linked to the community and services they’re accustomed to. However, this rate of preference dipped to 74.4 per cent among those who were renters, with a larger proportion (18.6 per cent) outlining their lack of preference on the matter as opposed to 0.9 per cent of those with a mortgaged dwelling.
Owning a permanent residency is crucial for Australia’s elderly as they look to “age in place” — meaning to give older people “the support they need to live safely, independently, and comfortably”, with a prerequisite for this lifestyle being a “safe and secure home”, according to the report.
“Everyone should be able to live life to the fullest as they get older. For most people, that means ageing in their own home,” said Anglicare Australia executive director Kasy Chambers.
However, increasing costs of living, including those induced by the rental and housing affordability crisis, has meant that this reality is far from possible for Australia’s older population. More than seven in 10 renters — 72 per cent — explained that cost was the biggest barrier to ageing at home compared with just 15 per cent of owners, highlighting the disparity in reality between the two groups.
A reason behind such differing responses is the fact that the typical home owner over 65 years of age tends to spend 5 per cent of their income on housing, with that figure ballooning out to 30 per cent among renters.
Crucially, Australia’s rental crisis — which has seen vacancy rates reduce to record lows this year — means that the hunt for suitable and affordable homes is often unfruitful, especially as, according to the report, many elderly tenants found that agents were reluctant to rent to individuals on a pension.
Even with the availability of Commonwealth Rent Assistance (CRA), which is acknowledged as offering some reprieve, the cost of housing has climbed so much so that the CRA is inadequate, as is the fixed income offered by pension.
Crunching the numbers, and based on the fact the age pension payment is $486.75 per week, while the average rent for a one-bedroom property is $401 — though this decreases to $328.10 with the CRA, Anglicare Australia found that renters on a pension would be left with a weekly income of $158.65 to cover their food, transport, electricity, internet and phone bills, medical expenses and insurance amongst other costs.
Even without affordability constraints, the search for housing becomes increasingly difficult with age as many tenants seek dwellings that accommodate their declining physical health with inclusions such as ramps and railings or adequate insulation against the harsh winter cold and the deadly summer heatwaves.
This is ratified by the survey results, where 46 per cent of renters believed their home was suitable for an older person as opposed to 70 per cent of owners, while it also outlined that just 5 per cent of new housing stock built in the past few years is appropriately accessible for older Australians.
Anglicare Australia believes these issues can be circumvented by the implementation of universal design principles.
Steps are already being taken by Australia’s building ministers, who have instructed the Australian Building Codes Board to include accessibility as a mandatory requirement in the National Construction Code, although this change has yet to be included across all states.
Moreover, modifications to a home are harder to come by for older Australian renters, due to both financial constraints as well as rental legislations providing the biggest barriers to this.
Hence, it’s why Anglicare Australia has pushed for “reforms to aged care and home care so that renters can make changes to their homes, get the support they need, and stay independent for longer”, Ms Chambers said.
“We’re calling for a new model of leasing that offers longer-term security for older people and protects them from unfair rent increases. And we need a big boost to social housing.
“Older people have told us what they need to age well. Our hope is that the governments will listen, and help more Australians to age at home,” she concluded.
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