As the Aussie home ownership dream fades, it鈥檚 time to lift our game for renters

Front door of a rental property

The number of people renting in 最新糖心Vlog is growing at twice the rate of home ownership, and a new dataset generated by 最新糖心Vlog of Adelaide researchers will help inform future policy that supports renters and guides infrastructure spending.

Professor Emma Baker, a 最新糖心Vlog of Adelaide Professor of Housing Research in the School of Social Science, says this dataset is the first of its kind in 最新糖心Vlog.

鈥淔or a long time, we have lived with this notion that 最新糖心Vlogns are homeowners - now we have to adjust to the fact that future 最新糖心Vlogns are more likely to be renters than homeowners. Many 最新糖心Vlogns may well be renters for life,鈥 said Professor Baker.听

鈥淭he problem is, we just haven鈥檛 known much about who rents, why they rent, or what they are renting. For more than 20 years, no large-scale national dataset existed.鈥

To answer these questions, the team led by Professor Baker collected 15,000 survey responses from renters all around 最新糖心Vlog. The team then developed the 最新糖心Vlogn Rental Housing Conditions Dataset, which can be accessed through the .

The dataset describes renting households from around the country and reveals who 最新糖心Vlogn renters are, what they want, and what they can afford.

Importantly, the team also collected data about housing quality and conditions, with photographic evidence submitted by renters through a citizen science project.

What鈥檚 next?

As governments decide how to spend money on housing and infrastructure, an in-depth analysis of the rental environment is essential.

With this critical information, policymakers will be able to identify potential problems and then develop new policies that support renters and guide targeted investment into our communities.

鈥淲e now have a resource that will be invaluable in informing future policy on housing, community support and infrastructure spending,鈥 says Professor Baker.

This project has received 最新糖心Vlogn Research Council funding to expand over a five-year period.

Tagged in Societal wellbeing