Hobart renters already struggling to make ends meet are facing more financial pain, as rents across Tasmania’s capital continue to rise.
The latest CoreLogic shows rents in Hobart rose by 1.8 per cent over the March quarter – with a 4.7 per cent rise over the past 12 months.
That equates to another $1,300 renters have to find each year.
While Darwin and Canberra saw rents fall and Brisbane experienced an easing in rental growth, Hobart joined the other capitals in seeing an increase in the pace of growth over the quarter.
Hobart renters are now paying a median rent of $563 a week, and although vacancy rates have improved slightly, they remain low at 1.7 per cent.
These latest figures are further confirmation that renters are facing prohibitive costs while also forking out more for other basics like food, power and petrol.
And it speaks volumes for the inaction of the Liberal government that over the past 10 years, rents in Hobart have risen by a whopping 63.1 per cent – or more than $11,000 for a year’s rent.
Tens of thousands of Tasmanians are in financial pain, in danger of homelessness or are seeing their dream of home ownership slip away because rents are increasingly out of reach.
That’s why Labor will prioritise housing, starting with an immediate pause on any new short-stay permits to take pressure off the rental market.
Labor will also urgently repair the 215 social and government houses sitting empty because they are “untenantable” to give 215 families a safe place to call home.
Ella Haddad MP
Shadow Housing Minister
