A “tent city” has emerged in Brisbane’s south as struggling tenants increasingly find themselves without a roof over their heads amid a severe shortage of affordable housing.
At Musgrave Park, adjacent to the idyllic Southbank resort area, more than 60 tents cover the lawns filled with people seeking permanent accommodation.
When the city’s Paniyiri Greek Festival, traditionally held in the park, begins next month, the “residents” will have to pack up and move, but they have nowhere to go.
Jimmy and his bulldog became homeless for the first time last week due to the rental crisis and employment gap. He said the lack of a suitable place to stay has made it more difficult for him to find a new job.
“I found out that the rent they (the new tenants) pay is like double what we pay,” he said. A current issue.
“You need the house to be able to work and then the job to be able to pay for the house… without both it is difficult to get out of the situation and move forward,” he said.
More than 60 tents have appeared in a Brisbane park as tenants find themselves without accommodation because landlords are raising prices amid a severe housing shortage.
The rental vacancy rate across Australia is a staggering 1 per cent, meaning demand for housing is through the roof, but supply simply isn’t there.
Paul Slater, who runs Northwest Community Group, has been establishing support services in Musgrave that dozens of residents say are improving their lives.
“I’m really passionate that everyone deserves a place to sleep at night,” Paul said.
‘I think we’re in a bit of a perfect storm right now with the cost of living crisis and the housing crisis.
“That sparked a fire in me and made me want to, instead of talking about it, just do it.”
Twice a week, Mr Slater sets up stalls offering free food, toiletries and second-hand clothing which he has painstakingly managed to collect through donations.
He provides tents to new residents who appear in the park, cleans them and recycles them for the next person in need when the occupant recovers.
Joel was one of those Mr Slater helped and credits him with helping them find permanent accommodation.
‘I can’t believe where I am now, I spent most of my life in the cold, sleeping in the cold. “I don’t have to do that anymore,” Joel said.
Paul Slater (left) sets up stalls offering free food, clothing, toiletries and tents to those without a roof over their heads, like Joel (right).
Brisbane City Council and the state government are aware of the situation and said they are working to find a solution.
The Housing Department periodically sends a team to check on the well-being of those in the park and notify them when public housing is available, which is not often.
The Council suggested that the unused Pinkenba quarantine facility could be repurposed as temporary accommodation.
The latest PropTrack report from December found that rents are expected to continue on an upward trajectory.
But PropTrack director of economic research Cameron Kusher says the intensity of the increases is expected to decline.
“While we expect rents to continue rising next year, the rate of growth is likely to slow,” he said.
“The already higher cost of rent and the general increase in the cost of living will limit rental price growth in the future.”
In Australia’s capital cities, annual rental growth slowed from 17.8 per cent in 2022 to 13.2 per cent in 2023, while in the regions it slowed from 11.6 per cent to 4.2 per cent .
Kusher maintains there will be no significant changes to the market without additional housing, particularly in capital cities where there is a “critical need” for more housing.
Across the country, real estate investors have abandoned the market and while there has been a rebound, it is not enough to replenish depleted housing levels.
As a result, rental vacancies have remained near record lows of 1.1 percent, up from 1.3 percent in December 2022, forcing prices up.
Even those hoping to make the transition to homeownership will find the pivot even more difficult as rents and interest rates continue to rise.
In the year to February, 162,751 new homes were approved, covering the total number of homes and units, well below what is needed (pictured are homes in Oran Park, south-west Sydney).
“The rental conditions are likely to continue to be questioned,” Mr Kusher said.
“There is a need to seriously consider the financing of these projects and the ability to build the volume of housing we need.”
Single Australians, in particular, are hardest hit by the rental crisis, according to a report from Victoria’s peak community housing body.
Victoria’s Community Housing Industry Association (CHIA) has revealed that 85 per cent of new applications to the state’s social housing waiting list are from single-person households, but less than a third of public housing is of a bedroom.
CHIA Victoria chief executive Sarah Toohey says raising the JobSeeker rate to $78 a day would help fund much-needed housing.
“Social housing is a lifeline for singles – it offers affordable rent, no more than 30 per cent of income,” Ms Toohey said.
‘However, because JobSeeker is so low, 30 per cent of a single person’s income makes it difficult to cover the cost of building and maintaining homes.
“That is preventing the community housing sector from delivering more homes to those who most desperately need them.”
Australia would struggle to house more than 74,000 new foreign migrants as building approvals fail to keep pace with rapid population growth (pictured, a Bondi rental queue)