When and how are young people going to be able to leave home in any major city and outskirts in Australia?
Anglicare Australia's, Kasy Chambers said rent more than 30 per cent of a person's limited income was generally regarded as not economical.
Students who have to leave home to study because they live in country towns, are severly disadvantaged.In Canberra, Room rental STARTS at $150pw ...thats a ROOM, not a bedsit or unit. A ROOM. It's usually room only, so they are at the mercy of the other sharers who may use more electricity or internet than them but have to pay an equal share.
Affordability =30% of income? On YA for students living away ,the over 18's get $480 a fortnight..that includes rent assisitance!!! 30% is approx $80 per week affordability for rent.... repeating my self here.....in Canberra a ROOM starts at $150 pw, room only, and they still have to pay utilities.
Because we live in a SMALL country village, rents are a bit cheaper, so my duaghter studies by distance.... so after her rent,phone, elect, and car payment...she has $60p/w left to buy food and petrol and anything she needs to replace like if her shoes wear out or, she needs a coat for winter etc.
The rent in the larger regional towns is still over $220 per week for a 2 brm house, this sounds so cheap compared to Sydney doesn't it? But, jobs are scarce and families susually have only one working so its stretching the affordability level. A student has no hope of renting a house in a largish town like Wagga or Orange that have smaller univeristies and larger tafes.
I don't know what the solution is. There is a commonwealth grant available to help with accomodation for uni students, but not for TAFE students. Perhaps any full time study should be eligable ofr an accomadation grant.
I blame negative gearing brought out in the '80s to minimise tax and encourage mum and dad investors, apparantly so everyone could have and afford an investment house. Well a few mum and dads have more than 40 houses, each collectiing rents to pay the increasing morgages from all the borrowing,while the rest of mum and dads struggle to pay the rising rents along with the students who starve so they can pay the rent and study the courses of their choice or talents.
Throw the disabled, mentally ill, disfigured , GLTG and single parents into the mix looking for affordable accomadation and that adds up to a lot of young people trying to get ahead by studying,that are living in poverty.
Just in Canberra alone the afffordability for students in non existant.
The rent for a tiny 1br unit starts at $290 per week. This is a city that has a large University and a large percentage of university students ,many from overseas,all looking for an affordable place to live............AND EAT!!!
Anglicare Australia's state and territory offices looked at advertisements for rental properties in newspapers this month.
The organisation's executive director Kasy Chambers said rent more than 30 per cent of a person's limited income was generally regarded as not economical.
The results of their in-house survey, released Friday, revealed there were virtually no homes listed that welfare recipients and single parents could reasonably afford.
On that basis, Anglicare found there was no affordable housing for Youth Allowance or Austudy beneficiaries in Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra and Tasmania.
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/1044135/homes-too-costly-for-welfare-recipients
