If you thought the Sydney rental market couldn’t get any more surreal, think again. A two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment in Bondi Junction has just been listed as ‘affordable’ under a state government housing scheme, for a jaw-dropping $1,100 a week.
Yes, you read that right. Affordable. $1,100. In the same sentence.
Let’s break this down. To be eligible for this so-called affordable housing, a couple must earn more than $121,000 combined.
If you’re doing the maths at home, a couple earning the maximum allowed would be forking out 47 per cent of their entire income to keep a roof over their heads. That’s before you’ve thought about groceries, bills, or the odd flat white.
The apartment is managed by HomeGround Real Estate Sydney, a not-for-profit agency, as part of the New South Wales (NSW) government’s affordable housing scheme.
After some public outcry (and a scathing report in The Guardian), the weekly rent was quickly dropped to $1,040 and then again to $1,000. The reason? Apparently, it’s the winter market.
According to a HomeGround spokesperson, ‘Market conditions fluctuate weekly, especially in the Bondi area, so we have adjusted the asking price as we transition into the winter market.’
But even at $1,000 a week, renters’ advocate Jordan van den Lamb said the numbers don’t add up.
‘Anyone who could pay $1,000 a week rent—and still earn less than the income threshold—could not afford food, bills and medicine as well. It’s nuts,’ he said.
‘The guidelines make affordable housing by definition unaffordable, pretty Orwellian if you think about it.’
And he’s not wrong. The idea that taxpayer money is being used to subsidise private landlords, only to offer ‘affordable’ housing that’s still out of reach for most, is a bitter pill to swallow.
‘It’s just not going to work, and this is what all the experts have been saying,’ Van den Lamb added.
To be fair, HomeGround itself has a relatively good reputation in the sector.
‘These are the good ones… I’ve got nothing wrong with them,’ Van den Lamb said.
‘It’s the private landlord that’s being subsidised by the government and incentivised to do this. That is the problem.’
So, what’s going on here? In NSW, ‘affordable’ properties must be rented out at 20 per cent below the market rent.
But there’s a catch: the state government rules allow ‘flexibility in pricing’ for moderate-income households. That means the definition of ‘affordable’ can be stretched to absurdity, especially in high-demand areas like Bondi.
The bigger picture: Australia’s housing crunch
This story is just the latest in a string of headlines highlighting the dire state of Australia’s rental market.
Rents are soaring, vacancy rates are at record lows, and more and more Australians are being squeezed out of the places they’ve long called home.
The situation is even more precarious for older Australians who have fixed incomes or rely on superannuation.
Affordable housing schemes were designed to help those who fall through the cracks—people who earn too much to qualify for social housing, but not enough to afford market rents comfortably.
But when ‘affordable’ means nearly half your income goes on rent, it’s clear the system isn’t working as intended.
Experts and advocates have been calling for a significant rethink of how we define and deliver affordable housing. Some of the suggestions include:
- Tighter definitions: Pegging affordable rents to a lower percentage of household income, rather than a discount off market rates.
- More public and community housing: Building more genuinely affordable homes, not just ‘less expensive than the most expensive’.
- Better regulation: Ensuring that government subsidies benefit tenants, not just landlords.
- Support for older Australians: Tailoring housing solutions to the needs of retirees and those on fixed incomes, who are particularly vulnerable to rent stress.
Have you or someone you know struggled to find affordable housing in your area? Are the current schemes working, or is it time for a complete overhaul? We’d love to hear your stories and suggestions—share your thoughts in the comments below.
Also read: The truth about renting your car space: Is it legal and worth the money?
The entire housing market in Australia has been stuffed for decades because houses are treated as investments and not as homes.
Governments through all sorts of tax concessions for landlords and rent assistance for tenants have made housing a tax effective and lucrative investment opportunity for those who can afford to purchase property.
In some localities this has pushed up prices enabling big capital gains for property owners who then claim the capital gains tax concession. Plus the rising prices make it almost impossible for most young people to be able to buy a home.
Negative gearing is not providing more houses and is nothing but a tax dodge.
Government rent assistance while intended to assist low income renters really just helps them pay higher rents and is actually a subsidy for landlords who are free to charge whatever they think tenants can pay.
To fix all this housing policies in Australia need radical reform and as neither the LNP nor the ALP have the stomach for that things will only continue to worsen.
It’s just too bad if you are on a fixed, low income or Pension, you’re out of that Rental Market, and Hoping to get into some sort of Government Subsidized Housing, Good Luck).
Or you basically have to go Bush, outside the normal Metro Areas,, away from everyone who matters, Family, Friends etc.
No Private Establishment is ever going to supply “Low Cost Housing”, it’s not economic for them to to so !!
How does a government say ‘affordable’ in light of the paltry 80 cents per fortnight increase in our rent assistance in the March 25 round of pension increases?
I received in total, a $5.40 increase in my payment, and now it’s been ‘eaten up’ by increases in my phone (I’m on the cheapest post-paid plan, and the reason it’s gone up, is that the phone company doubled the data, which I rarely use as the reason for the increase), internet (I’m on an NBN 12 plan, which is the minimum plan available anywhere), and to come CTP & Contents insurances next month!
It’s time for all sides of politics to have a good look at how much we’re receiving in our pensions & allowances to bring us up to above the ‘poverty line’. When you look at the current payments, we’re struggling with being able to afford our rent, food, fuel, electricity, gas, and other ‘necessities’ like phone & internet, and like me, our home care packages where we ‘have to’ pay a co-payment just to get help with cleaning, and other domestic care which we can’t do for ourselves any more, due our aging.
I don’t have any ‘back-up’ funds available like super, as I’ve not worked full time since 1 July 1992 (due to my disability), when the compulsory employer superannuation contribution scheme commenced.
Affordable???😡 I guess it is for all the polies & people earning a huge wage. These people have absolutely no idea what is happening in the “pleb” department of Australia…. and don’t care…. they have the ” I’m right Jack” mentality.
I’m a pensioner and this is my whole Pension… for a fortnight… not a week. Where do I and the many in my situation find a roof over our heads? Or worse… the many on Jobseeker. There are SO many sleeping rough…. and I mean rough in the wet & freezing cold, and they just don’t give a damn. If it wasn’t such a sad and disgusting situation… 😕