Tenant forced into extreme living conditions as report exposes growing distress in rental market

For Sydneysider Peter Temby, keeping a roof over his head has sometimes meant going without meals.

The Glenhaven resident claims he pays $400 per week for an alleged mould-ridden rental with little sunlight – up from $270 when he moved into the home in 2011.

“It’s an old house probably 1960s or so, the original owner converted under the verandah and under the pre-existing house into a unit,” he said.

“When I moved in it was really filthy, I thought the stove was rusted out on top and then I realised later after doing a lot of cleaning that it was actually not rust but so solidly baked on.”

Mr Temby, 78, uses his asthma puffer two to three times a day, and said when you stand in the bedroom you can look through slots in the brickwork and see daylight outside.

“It’s impossible to heat in winter, also because it gets no sun through winter at all,” he said.

“It has (mould) over the lounge room area, kitchen, under the upstairs verandah which gets water on it.”

Peter Temby began renting his home in Glenhaven in 2011 for $270 per week, today he pays $400 per week. Picture: Supplied

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Mr Temby called the rate of rental increases this year “absurd” describing his own experience at times as “very challenging”.

“I moved here because it was the cheapest place I could find that gave me reasonable access to my kids,” he said.

“I’ve got a full-time job now so I can cope with a rent rise, but there were times when I was actually down to two meals and occasionally one meal a day to make sure that I could actually pay the rent – it was just very challenging.”

Mr Temby is just one example of the many Australians who are going without essentials to keep up with housing costs, despite many homes being poorly maintained.

Findings from the recently released Everybody’s Home No Room to Move report spotlight a stark reality for many Aussie renters and homeowners, with one in four respondents across the country fearing they could become homeless if housing costs continue to rise over the next year.

Mould in Mr Temby’s home. Picture: Supplied

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For those living in NSW, the country’s most expensive real estate market, the findings show a bleak reality.

In NSW, over 60 per cent of surveyed households experience housing stress by spending more than 30 per cent of their income on housing, with nearly 20 per cent (19.7 per cent) paying over half.

The results also show a modest $20 increase to rent or mortgage payments would push 37 per cent of NSW households into severe distress, forcing cutbacks on essentials like food and medicine or making housing entirely unaffordable.

Respondents in the state also reported making severe daily sacrifices from cutting energy use (48.39 per cent), avoiding the doctor or other essential appointments (34.41 per cent), fell behind on bills (25 per cent and skipping meals (23.92 per cent).

Among the top concerns for respondents for the next 12 months was worsening mental health (36.29 per cent) and physical health (27.96 per cent) along with not being able to retire or save (31.45 per cent).

Housing affordability further impacted the poor standard of living many are forced to endure, with nearly half of renters (47.38 per cent) refraining from requesting repairs from either a landlord or property manager, primarily fearing rent hikes (71.34 per cent) or their lease would not be renewed (58.54 per cent).

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Many NSW respondents also live in uncomfortably cold homes due to poor insulation or heating costs, with 49.72 per cent of respondents reported that their home was warm enough only some of the time, rarely, or never.

The main causes of cold homes were poor insulation (62.20 per cent), inability to afford heating costs (54.88 per cent), and draughty or broken doors and windows (37.80 per cent).

This also led to 40.18 per cent reporting that home conditions such as extreme cold, dampness, or mould have directly caused illness within their household.

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