Boomers have been urged to retire overseas and rent their homes to the younger generation to provide desperate Australians with more places to live.
The bold solution, dubbed “rental” by Suburbtrends researchers, would introduce up to 130,000 new rentals to the market amid record vacancy rates.
The plan would encourage people aged 67 to 77 to rent their homes to younger Australians and then travel or retire abroad.
The proposal would offer a five-year moratorium on the loss of the main residence benefit, meaning retirees could keep their pension benefits abroad.
Suburbtrends founder Ken Lardner said ‘retirement’ was beneficial for retirees, renters and the government and would give renters more housing options.
Boomers have been urged to retire overseas and rent their homes to younger Australians to give desperate tenants more places to live (pictured, inspection queues in Sydney).
The plan would encourage people aged 67 to 77 to rent their homes to younger Australians and then travel or retire abroad (file image)
“Our data shows that more than 137,000 homes could be released into the rental market if only 10 percent of the Rentistas cohort participated,” he said.
‘This represents a significant untapped resource that could dramatically ease rental pressures. While increasing housing supply is essential, it simply will not come quickly enough to meet tenants’ immediate needs.’
In March, Domain data revealed that the national unemployment rate hit a record low of 0.7 percent.
The figure is much lower in cities such as Adelaide and Perth, where the rate is 0.3 per cent.
Lardner said retirees could take advantage of the reduced cost of living in Southeast Asia while sparking an “immediate” influx of rentals.
“Renters can enjoy a better quality of life at a fraction of the cost, renters gain access to more housing and the government can relieve pressure on the housing market without significant expense,” he said.
He said it was time to “think outside the box” when it came to the housing crisis.
‘We believe rentierism offers a practical and timely solution to Australia’s rental crisis. “It’s time to think outside the box and explore all avenues to ensure a stable and affordable housing market for all Australians,” he said.
New data from PropTrack has revealed that the number of rental properties costing less than $400 a week has fallen from 43.2 per cent at the start of Covid to 10.4 per cent now.
The proportion of rentals under $400 per week is 5.9 per cent in regional areas.
In March, Domain data revealed that the national unemployment rate hit a record low of 0.7 percent.
Meanwhile, new research has revealed that young people in Australia are being forced to live at home longer due to cost of living pressures.
A survey by Household, Income and Labor Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) at the University of Melbourne found that 54 per cent of young men and 47 per cent of young women aged 18 to 29 still They lived under the same roof as their parents.
According to researchers, there were a number of factors preventing young Australians from getting their first foothold on the property ladder.
Roger Wilkins, a professor at the University of Melbourne, said many young Australians were taking longer to adapt to the workforce, incomes were falling and the cost of living was rising.
“We have seen an increase in participation in higher education, a decrease in full-time employment opportunities for young people, an increase in the cost of housing and a trend towards later marriage and family formation,” he said Professor Wilkins.
“Traditional markers of adulthood now occur later in life.”