A leading Australian property agency has apologised after one of its franchises introduced a “Tenant of the Month” award, sparking a backlash from tenants who called it “demeaning”.
To be eligible for the award, Ray White Agency tenants had to pay rent on time, keep the property in good condition and be “pleasant” in their interactions.
However, the award has been widely criticised, with tenants’ rights activist Jordan van den Lamb calling it “patronising”.
“Tenants don’t need to compete with each other to survive, which is what this award seems to encourage people to do,” he said.
“Housing is a human right and does not require you to be nice.”
Mr van den Lamb believes the estate agency’s emphasis on being “nice” could prevent tenants from complaining when repairs are needed.
“Officers often find it unpleasant to ask for basic repairs,” he said.
‘They are implying that you should keep quiet.’
The post (pictured) sparked outrage among many Australians who called it “humiliating” and “degrading”
A spokesman for Ray White apologised for any offence caused by the award.
“We value all of our tenants and always strive to create a respectful and inclusive community,” they told Daily Mail Australia.
Ray White is a franchise network with 1,000 offices and 13,000 members.
A spokesman for the tenants’ union said the housing sector needed to treat tenants with more respect.
“We pay tens of thousands of dollars a year in rent, we should expect a level of service and respect that reflects this, not an arbitrary determination that we are a pleasure to deal with.”
Mr van den Lamb said the current situation for tenants was extremely difficult and more needed to be done to protect them.
“People can’t pay their rent,” he said.
His comments come as national rents remained unchanged for the June 2024 quarter at $600 per week, but this marks an increase of 9.1 per cent, or $50 more, from the same period last year, according to REA Group’s PropTrack Rental Report for June.
New rental listings on Realestate.com.au were 4.7 per cent lower in June compared to a year earlier, which was the lowest level since 2010.
While total listings rose more than 10 percent in the June quarter, conditions remained tight with total inventories down 4.4 percent year-over-year.
Sydney fared worse during the June quarter as renters faced the lowest supply of available properties for the month in more than a decade, with new rental listings down 2.8 per cent and total rents falling 4.8 per cent.
Despite recording an increase in vacancy rates to 1.7 per cent, average advertised rents in Sydney rose $60 to outperform the country at $740 per week.
The situation was not much better for regional renters in New South Wales, where housing offers shrank by 19 per cent over the year, resulting in tougher competition among prospective tenants.
Rental supply in Melbourne remained tight in June, with 16.8 per cent fewer new properties coming to market over the year, but total listings remaining relatively stagnant.
The rental vacancy rate rose 0.34 percent during the quarter to hit a 12-month high of 1.5 percent, but that also signaled a rise in median rents to $575 a week, up $55 from a year ago.
While rents in regional Victoria adjusted and new and total listings declined, prices remained unchanged at $450 per week.
New rental listings on Realestate.com.au were 4.7 per cent lower in June compared to a year earlier, the lowest June level since 2010
Brisbane renters faced a more optimistic outlook as market conditions improved during the June quarter, bringing with them increasing supply and rental listings while competition eased.
Vacancy rates rose to 1.2 per cent during the quarter and median rents for both Brisbane and regional Queensland stood at $620 per week.
Adelaide and Perth saw an increase in rental supply and also increases in their asking rents as conditions eased in both markets.
The median rent in Adelaide in the June quarter rose to $570, while Perth had a median advertised rent of $650.
Asking rental prices in Canberra remained stagnant at $600 over the year to June, despite tighter supply and rising demand.