4 October 2024
South Australian renters could have been spared over $544 million in rent increases over the last 12 months if a rent freeze was implemented according to new Greens analysis.
Key points:
- New data from PropTrack reveals that Adelaide saw the second-largest annual increase in rent prices of all capital cities.
- The median price of a rental rose by 12.1 per cent in Adelaide while in regional SA the increase was 8.1 per cent.
- The increase across SA equates to an average of $55 per week, or $2,860 over the course of the year, for each renter.
- This equates to South Australian renters collectively paying an extra $544,721,320 (approx.) over the last 12 months.
- There are 190,462 renters in SA according to the most recent ABS data.
Quotes attributable to Robert Simms MLC
“We are in the midst of the worst housing crisis in generations. It’s clear that leaving tenants at the mercy of the market is simply not working. It’s morally wrong that we have more and more South Australians being plunged into poverty and homelessness, while some landlords rake in record profits.”
“In May, I introduced a private member’s bill to freeze rents for 2 years and place a cap on future increases in line with CPI. If this bill had been in place this year, an average SA renter would have saved almost $3,000 in the middle of this cost of living crisis.
“I urge the State Government to back this reform and put more money into the pockets of struggling South Australians.”