Everybody's Home Feed Items

Three in four Australians would have to cut back if their rent or mortgage rose by just $20 a week, with many having to go without food and medication, according to an Everybody’s Home survey.

The ‘No Room to Move’ report captures survey results between July and September of 1,150 people including renters, home owners, and those experiencing homelessness or living in temporary housing. 

The report found one in four respondents are worried they will become homeless if rents keep rising over the coming year. 

Meanwhile, more than one in three said the condition of their home has either made them or someone in their household sick because of cold or heat, mould, damp or poor ventilation.

The majority of renters have avoided asking for repairs, fearing it would result in a rent increase or being unable to find an affordable home if they were forced to move. 

Housing affordability 
Of those surveyed:

New polling shows four in five Australian voters want a limit on rent increases, with majority support among both renters and homeowners across party lines. 

Polling conducted for The Australia Institute in October found that out of 1,100 Australians:

• More than half (55%) said rents should only be allowed to rise in line with inflation or less
• One in four (23%) believe rents should be frozen temporarily
• Only one in seven (14%) did not support a limit on rent rises
• The majority of voters who own a home outright (71%), have a mortgage (73%) and rent (94%) want a rent freeze or cap
• Action to freeze or cap rent increases has majority support across party lines and generations
• The polling also shows the majority (75%) agree that governments should spend more money directly building public housing.

“Renter or homeowner, young or old, and whichever way you vote, the overwhelming majority of Australians want a limit on rent increases,” Everybody’s Home spokesperson Maiy Azize said.

“Renters right across the country are being pushed to breaking point. Rents are at record highs, and housing stress and homelessness are rising with them. 

National housing campaign Everybody’s Home has said that now is the best time to cap rent increases to prevent the next surge, as new data shows renters have hit an affordability ceiling.

REA quarterly rent data out today reveals rents across the country remain at record highs, with the national median rent reaching $675 a week, up 1.5 percent over the quarter and 5.5 percent over the year.

The data shows vacancy rates have risen slightly from 1.3 to 1.5 percent, which is the highest since February 2022 but still tight, meaning renters are still stuck in a competitive market.

Everybody’s Home spokesperson Maiy Azize said the data shouldn’t be mistaken for relief, with rents still far beyond what most can afford and no real solution to bring them down.

“Rents are at record highs, renters are struggling to keep a roof over their heads, and somehow we’re having a conversation about whether rents have finally stopped rising quite so quickly,” Ms Azize said.

“That tells you just how disconnected our housing debate has become from the reality facing renters.

A Senate inquiry report out today must be a turning point for renters, Everybody’s Home said, as the campaign urges the federal government to turbocharge social housing and limit rent increases.

The Select Committee on Intergenerational Housing Inequity has made 10 findings including that the housing crisis is affecting every generation and fuelling inequality. 

Across party lines, the committee agreed that many elements of the housing crisis arise from the decline in investment in public housing, and it must be addressed by more investment in these rentals. 

The committee also found that rent increases have outpaced wages growth by several multiples, and that too many Australians live in real anxiety about maintaining a safe roof over their heads and affording rent. 

Everybody’s Home spokesperson Maiy Azize said rents have been rising for years and there’s no end in sight. 

“Renters have been forced to pay higher and higher rents for years. The odds of being pushed into housing stress or turning to homelessness services for help have never been higher,” Ms Azize said.

“Renters can never catch a break. No matter whether interest rates rise or fall, renters still cop rent hikes year on year. 

Everybody’s Home said the federal government’s Intergenerational Report has failed to consider the challenges and opportunities to make renting a viable, affordable option for future generations. 

The government’s 2026 report puts home ownership at the centre of its housing focus, but Everybody’s Home said the report is missing real opportunities to improve rental affordability including further increases to social housing and nationally coordinated limits on rent increases. 

“This Intergenerational Report fails to address the need to improve the experience of renters and make renting a viable, affordable option for future generations,” Everybody’s Home spokesperson James Hall said.

“The purpose of the Intergenerational Report is to identify the major challenges and opportunities for future generations to inform better policy making. The housing challenge we face is not only to boost home ownership. The real test is whether every person can access a home that is affordable, secure and safe. That means the millions of Australians who are renting, on the lowest incomes, and experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

Allowing Australians to raid their retirement savings to help pay unaffordable rents and mortgages is not a solution to the housing and cost-of-living crisis, according to the national housing campaign Everybody’s Home. 

One Nation wants to allow Australians paying rent or a mortgage to divert a portion of their superannuation contributions to their take-home pay for up to three years.

The proposal comes off the back of the Coalition’s pre-election policy that would have allowed first home buyers to access their superannuation for a home deposit, an idea that was rejected by hundreds of Everybody’s Home supporters.

Everybody’s Home spokesperson Maiy Azize said: “Anyone proposing to raid people’s retirement savings instead of doing something to fix the housing crisis is admitting they don’t want to fix the problem.

“Super should be for retirement. It should not become a band-aid over a rigged housing system.

“People should not have to choose between a roof over their head now and financial security in retirement. 

“Using super to cover mortgages and rent today will only push up the cost of housing and leave people worse off in retirement.

Australian renters are giving up weeks of their working year to cover rising rents, with lower paid workers losing the equivalent of their entire annual leave entitlement. 

Everybody’s Home’s 2026 Priced Out report analysed rental affordability for Australians earning between $40,000 and $130,000 per year across capital cities and regional areas.

The report shows:

Everybody’s Home is calling on politicians to stop amplifying misleading claims that changes to investor tax breaks will push up rents, warning that the scare campaign risks becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The national housing campaign said changes to negative gearing arrangements, which will not change for existing landlords, should not be used to justify higher rents. Repeated claims that rents will inevitably rise are creating a permission structure for landlords to charge renters more.

The campaign was responding to cherry-picked figures and quotes from the National Australia Bank and Ray White property, which were both walked back.

Everybody’s Home spokesperson Maiy Azize said: “Politicians should not be misleading landlords and renters about these reforms.

“Existing landlords shouldn’t use investor tax break reform as an excuse to put up the rent. But every time politicians repeat the claim that rents will rise, or it gets reported as an inevitable consequence of reform, it creates an expectation that renters can be charged more.

“Rents were rising long before these reforms. They rose while negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount were fully in place. Renters have been told rents must rise when interest rates go up, and when they go down. Now they are being told rents must rise because tax breaks are being wound back.

Please attribute the following to Everybody’s Home spokesperson Maiy Azize regarding Opposition housing spokesperson Andrew Bragg’s proposal to strip back the NCC: 

“Everyone deserves a safe, decent and affordable home. It’s where people sleep, study, raise their families and build their lives.

“Let’s call this what it is. Stripping back the National Construction Code is about helping developers make even more money from the housing crisis by making it easier to build unliveable homes.

“Accessibility, energy efficiency and basic liveability are not luxuries. They are the minimum standards people should be able to expect from their homes.

“Renters already make up around a third of Australians, and too many are being asked to pay enormous rents for poor-quality homes. The answer is to lift standards, not tear them down so developers and landlords can cut more corners.

“Too many renters are already living in homes that are freezing in winter, stifling in summer, riddled with mould and damp, and expensive to heat and cool. Older people and people with disability already struggle to find homes they can safely and comfortably live in.

National housing campaign Everybody’s Home has hailed the passing of investor tax break reform as a huge win for housing fairness, and said the focus must now turn to building our way out of the crisis with social housing.

The Senate has passed reforms that limit negative gearing and end the CGT Discount for investment properties.  

Everybody’s Home spokesperson Maiy Azzie said tax reform will not end the housing crisis on its own but is a crucial part of the solution.

“Winding back tax perks that pad investors’ pockets is a major win for housing fairness for our country,” Ms Azize said.

“This reform puts people before profits, and prioritises making homes an essential need for everyone instead of a cash grab for some. These changes dilute the fuel that’s been feeding our housing crisis for decades. 

“Investor tax break reform marks a decisive shift in the national interest, and we commend the Parliament for having the courage to see it through.

“Now that the federal government has moved to make the housing system fairer, it must now work to make it affordable for everybody.

“One Nation continues to remain silent on the real causes of the housing crisis,” Everybody’s Home spokesperson Maiy Azize said.

“Our housing crisis has been decades in the making as successive governments have walked away from building homes that are affordable and as more investors have milked homes for money.  

“Pauline Hanson is right to be angry about the homelessness and housing crisis, but she fails to point the blame at the real, structural causes of it.

“Senator Hanson claims to be for the battlers of Australia but we have failed to see her campaign for more social housing that’s actually affordable for the people who are doing it the toughest, and that we are severely lacking in this country.

“It’s disappointing that we did not hear a word about the need to massively expand public and community housing but instead heard her support tax breaks that line the pockets of investors and push housing out of reach for everyday Australians.

“The solutions that will make the biggest difference to housing affordability and fairness in Australia include building social housing at scale, strengthening renters’ rights, and seeing the Parliament – including Senator Hanson – pass investor tax break reform.”

sofie@hortonadvisory.com.au // lauren@hortonadvisory.com.au

Dozens of organisations working across housing, homelessness, and social services are urging Parliament to pass investor tax break reform without delay, as a two-day inquiry into the proposed changes kicks off.

Fifty-seven national and state-based organisations have signed an open letter to politicians. They include Everybody’s Home, ACOSS, National Shelter, Homelessness Australia, Anglicare Australia, Better Renting, and Tenants’ Union of NSW.

The organisations said the reforms will help build a fairer housing system designed around people instead of profits, and expressed concern about the property industry’s fearmongering.

The renewed call comes as members of the crossbench and opposition want to delay parts of the reform from passing.

“The quicker we pass reform to investor tax breaks, the sooner Australia has a fairer housing system,” Everybody’s Home spokesperson Maiy Azize said.

“Time and again, inquiries and research tell us that investor tax breaks have made housing more expensive, made it harder for renters to buy a home, and made inequality worse.

“Right across the country, we’re hearing from peak bodies, frontline services, renters, concerned parents, and even landlords who support the government’s proposed changes to negative gearing and the CGT Discount.

Everybody’s Home has urged politicians and the public to see through the property lobby’s spin on investor tax breaks, accusing the sector of running a scare campaign that hands landlords an excuse to hike rents.

Media reports today feature property industry groups claiming that negative gearing and capital gains tax changes will increase rents by hundreds of dollars a year and result in thousands fewer new homes being built. 

Everybody’s Home spokesperson Maiy Azize said their claims don’t stack up.

“The property lobby is showing that it can’t be trusted. They will use any opportunity to scuttle reform and look for reasons to justify higher rents,” Ms Azize said

“Claims that the changes will dampen new supply are designed to mislead the public. The changes are designed to encourage investors to buy new builds. 

“The property lobby is using these changes as cover for opportunistic profiteering. By crying wolf, this sector is handing existing landlords – who actually get to keep their tax perks – an excuse to hike rents. These changes protect existing investors so these reforms shouldn’t be used as an excuse. 

ACOSS, Everybody’s Home, Better Renting and National Shelter are calling on the Federal Parliament to swiftly pass the vital housing tax reforms announced in the Budget. 

These long overdue changes to negative gearing and the capital gains discount will make a real difference to improve fairness and level the playing field in our housing and tax systems. 

Right now investors are buying twice as many properties as first-time buyers. These reforms will remove the unfair tax breaks that give investors a huge advantage over people who just want a home to live in. They will help reverse the stark decline in home ownership over the past 10 years. 

The changes will also improve housing stability for renters by encouraging long term investment over short term gains.

The current housing investor tax concessions mainly benefit the wealthiest 10 per cent who own two thirds of the value of investment property. At a time when the community is under increasing pressure, we need to make sure reforms raise revenue fairly to end the social housing shortfall and invest in the essential supports we all rely on. 

ACOSS Executive Director of Policy and Research Jacqueline Phillips said:

The federal government’s historic step forward on winding back investor tax breaks marks a turning point for housing fairness and affordability but it must be the start of deeper reform, according to Everybody’s Home.

The national housing campaign said the government’s changes to the capital gains tax discount and negative gearing represent significant progress but don’t go far enough to improve housing outcomes for all Australians.

Everybody’s Home spokesperson Maiy Azize said the campaign assessed the government’s changes on three tests: improving affordability, changing investor behaviour, and reducing inequality.

“After years of campaigning, we’re finally seeing a government that is willing to start tackling investor tax breaks and work towards a fairer and more affordable housing system. This is a victory for every Australian priced out of housing,” Ms Azize said.

“This significant step forward on investor tax breaks signals that the federal government is starting to listen to everyday Australians and resisting the noise from the profiteering property lobby. This progress proves that policy choices like investor tax breaks have fuelled the housing crisis, and that they can be changed to end it.

Everybody’s Home said the federal government must make social housing central to its push to boost supply in this year’s budget, after it announced critical infrastructure funding to support building homes.

The federal government will allocate $2 billion for councils and utility providers to deliver infrastructure like water and sewerage, which is meant to unlock 65,000 new homes.

Everybody’s Home spokesperson Maiy Azize said public and community housing must not be overlooked in this year’s budget. 

“Funding for pipes and wires is all well and good but it means little if it doesn’t deliver homes people can actually afford,” Ms Azize said.

“This infrastructure funding is meant to unlock 65,000 homes but there’s no guarantee they will be affordable. More homes won’t end the housing crisis if people can’t afford them.

“Australia has a public and community housing shortfall of 640,000 homes. A funding boost that delivers 65,000 of those in this federal budget would be transformative.

“If the government is serious about housing supply in this budget, it cannot overlook social housing. These are affordable rentals that house those who are priced out of the private market.

New analysis shows revenue from reforming investor tax breaks could build tens of thousands of affordable rentals and cut rents for everyone by hundreds of dollars a year.

The report from Everybody’s Home models what happens when you stop pouring billions into investor tax breaks and start directing the revenue to build homes instead.

The $19 billion saving over five years is based on replacing the CGT discount with indexation and ending negative gearing including phasing it out for existing investors.

The findings show this reform could:

• Build approximately 29,000 to 42,000 public and community homes
• House around 12,000 to 17,000 households experiencing homelessness
• Reduce the national median rent by 0.7% to 1%
• In dollar terms, that means renters could save between $230 and $330 a year.

“The Federal Budget is the government’s chance to finally make housing work for all Australians, not just those who profit from it,” Everybody’s Home spokesperson Maiy Azize said.

National housing campaign Everybody’s Home said the federal government must prioritise building social housing and ending investor tax breaks in this year’s Budget, as new analysis reveals virtually no affordable rentals exist for people on the lowest incomes.

This year’s Rental Affordability Snapshot, released by Anglicare Australia, found that nationally, 0% of private rentals were affordable for people on JobSeeker and Youth Allowance, just 0.2% for someone on the Age Pension, and only 0.5% for a full-time minimum wage worker.

Everybody’s Home spokesperson Chantal Caruso said the Federal Budget must deliver tax reform and redirect those savings into homes people can afford.

“It’s staggering that there are virtually no affordable rentals in the private market for people on the lowest incomes. Even full-time workers on the minimum wage are being completely priced out,” Ms Caruso said.

“The system is failing, but it can be fixed if the federal government steps up now with meaningful reform and investment.