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'Really difficult': Domestic violence victims struggle to find housing amid Sydney's rental crisis - 9News

Thousands of women escaping violent situations now face the added challenge of finding an affordable property.
Sydney's rental crisis is escalating as the cost of homes skyrockets and the number of vacant properties plummets, and now domestic violence victims are facing a shortage of housing options.

An analysis of vacancy rates shows the city's south-west – including Campbelltown, Liverpool and Bankstown – is facing an extremely low vacancy rate of 0.65 per cent.

New buy now pay later startup helping Sydneysiders get into the housing market.
Sydney's west is facing a major shortage of rentals, which is impacting domestic violence victims. (9News)

Not only have vacancy rates sunk but rental prices have increased by 19.1 per cent in Sydney in the last 12 months.

Everybody's Home spokesperson Kate Colvin told 9news.com.au the low vacancy rate makes it "really difficult" for victims of domestic violence to find housing.

"It is a very low vacancy rate and a competitive market with a lot more people looking for rentals than there are available," she said.

"Unfortunately, real estate agents choose the highest-income household that is seeking a property and the common issue for women fleeing violence is a loss of income so then they are going to struggle to compete on income grounds."

Everybody's Home commissioned a report in 2021 with Equity Economics which estimated 7690 women a year return to violent partners and 9120 women become homeless due to the lack of social and available housing in Australia.

Colvin said it has only gotten worse in 2022 for victims of domestic violence.

"One of the elements that have gotten worse is low vacancy rates but the other problem is the cost of renting is going up but the income isn't going up," she said.

Data shows Sydney's south-west has already recorded an 11 per cent annual increase in rent with the average asking rent pushing $500.

Out of almost 30,000 rental properties, only 196 are vacant.

Community

Number of rentals

Number of vacancies

Vacancy rate

Asking rent

Annual increase

South Western Sydney

29963

196

0.65%

$496.40 

11%

Western Sydney

259569

3307

1.27%

$486.50

16.2%

Canterbury-Bankstown

49079

654

1.33%

$484

14.4%

Liverpool

47338

646

1.36%

$430.20

7.2%

Parramatta

87110

1262

1.45%

$488.30

14.9%

Sydney CBD

12476

416

3.33%

$771

9.1%

*Data from SQM analysed by Everybody's Home

Domestic Violence Service Management works in Sydney's west to provide housing to people experiencing domestic and family violence.

General manager Sally Grimsley Ballard said staff and clients are facing an uphill battle to find and provide affordable housing due to the limited rental vacancies and surging prices across Greater Sydney.

"Many of our clients have struggled to find and be approved for properties due to the high cost of rentals when on a low income," she said.

"The time spent looking for a suitable property has increased.

"The recent mortgage interest rate rises are further exacerbating the challenges with increases being passed straight onto the renters meaning the majority of rental properties are now unaffordable."

Grimsley Ballard added the homes that are available are in disrepair and have major mould issues.

Both Colvin and Grimsley Ballard called for all levels of government to invest in social housing to help victims of domestic violence into rentals and to prevent homelessness.

Colvin said victims of domestic violence are often not accepted by rental properties however social housing can fill that gap.

"There isn't enough social housing to go around, you can be waiting months or years to get into a social housing program," she said.

"Australians expect if women and children are fleeing there should be somewhere for them to go."

Kate Colvin, from Everybody's Home, on incoming rental hikes.
Kate Colvin, from Everybody's Home, said more social housing is needed for domestic violence survivors. (9News)

She referenced the recent report by researcher Anne Summers, which found one in eight women who are fleeing family violence have spent time sleeping in their car, on the street, or in tents.

"Her research showed around 90,000 women who were experiencing family violence had never left but wanted to and nearly half, about 45,000, the reason they didn't leave is that they didn't have the money or there was nowhere to go," Colvin added.

To prevent victims of domestic violence from becoming homeless, Colvin said the government needs to invest in 25,000 social housing complexes across the country per year.

"There's a long way to go before there is enough social housing to meet the needs," she said.

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2022-07-16 21:18:10Z
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