Single working women are being locked out of Whittlesea’s rental market, with only one suburb left that’s affordable.
New data from the Council to Homeless Persons (CHP) reveals Bundoora is the only suburb in Whittlesea where a single woman on an average wage of $882 a week can afford to rent a one-bedroom flat without being in rental stress.
A person is considered to be in rental stress if they pay more than 30 per cent of their income on rent.
CHP chief executive Jenny Smith said there are fewer affordable rental properties in Whittlesea than there were in 2007. CHP data from 2007 reveals that affordable one-bedroom flats were still available in Whittlesea, Mill Park, Epping and Bundoora.
Ms Smith said that across Melbourne, just one in four suburbs were affordable for single working women, compared to one in two in 2007.
In Hume, affordable rentals can be found in Broadmeadows, Roxburgh Park, Gladstone Park and Tullamarine, while Craigieburn is no longer affordable.
Ms Smith said single women are at risk of homelessness as a result.
“If it’s this hard for a woman on the average working wage to find somewhere affordable to live, imagine how hard it is if you’ve fallen on hard times,” she said.
“Single people on low incomes are forced to spend more than they can afford on rent – that’s why we’ve seen a boom in rooming houses, people living in caravan parks, women … couch surfing.”
CHP has urged the state government to invest in more affordable one-bedroom properties.
