The Domain Rent Report for the June 2020 quarter has found that, despite Canberra rental prices sliding during that quarter, the nation’s capital is still the most expensive city to rent a house with a median asking rent of $575 per week.

These sorts of prices play a significant role in the rental stress experienced by many Canberrans, and make it especially tough to find anywhere to rent if you’re on a low income.

The current pandemic will only intensify an already precarious situation with an increasing number of people predicted to face acute housing stress, some for the first time, as the Federal Government looks to ease its welfare supports come September, and as unemployment rates remain at fairly high levels.

There’s a perfect storm brewing on the horizon. The forecasted increase in demand for social housing can’t be met with the current stock. As a community housing provider, we know that we need to build more community housing, but we cannot expand without government help. We need all levels of government to listen to the sector about how they can support community housing providers to make more homes available.