Landlords have revealed their secret and strange rules in choosing a tenant for their properties, including one who won’t rent to single women.
It comes as the nation deals with an ongoing housing crisis which has resulted in scores of renters struggling to find a home as prices soar.
A Facebook group set up for Australian property investors recently delved into what landlords look for in a prospective tenant.
A-soon-to-be-landlord from New South Wales created the post to try and figure out what they should be looking for.
Multiple property owners said the first thing they consider is whether a tenant has a stable job and savings so they can cover the rent.
Aussie landlords have revealed how they really choose who they rent their homes to in a Facebook post (stock image)
‘Jobs, money in the bank, good history, etc, but I went with my gut too, and it has served me well every time,’ wrote one.
Another added a good rental history was also important in selecting a tenant.
‘Clear rental ledger, clear rental history. A family (long term) is a good choice less chance of them breaking up and not being able to cover rent. Good income,’ they said.
‘Don’t let the rent exceed 30 per cent of their wage.’
Others felt that going by the 30 per cent rule was difficult to follow through with in light of the cost-of-living crisis and high rental prices.
They preferred a clear rental history and long-term tenancy.
Other landlords gave some more unusual responses to the question.
One advised landlords not to ‘have single women as tenants’.
‘You run a risk with DV problems, boyfriends moving in etc., especially with the new DV laws,’ they said.
The laws in NSW protect those experiencing domestic violence by permitting them or their dependent child to end their tenancy immediately without being penalised.
Others recommended requesting pictures of a renter’s car and pets to see if they look after them, which they said would give good insight into whether they would look after the property.
‘If they have dogs I like to see pictures of them so that I can tell they’re well cared for,’ said one.
‘I’ve found people that take care of their dogs tend to take care of everything in their life… bit anecdotal but it has rung true so far,’ said one.
Another landlord advised investors ‘check out’ a prospective tenant’s car because ‘if they don’t look after that, they won’t look after your house’.
Multiple property owners said the first thing they consider is whether a tenant has a stable job and savings so they can cover the rent (pictured, rental sign outside a Brisbane home)
Renters have been doing it tough for years with very high rents and few properties available (pictured, people queueing to view a rental property)
Sydney is Australia’s most expensive rental market with median weekly unit rent in the year to July surging by 24.1 per cent to $666.39 as equivalent house rent rose by 15.9 per cent to $963.92, SQM Research data showed.
The city’s rental vacancy rate is still low at 1.6 per cent, with Sydney’s population growing by an average, annual pace of two per cent during the past decade ‘driven mainly by international migration’.
Last month, it was revealed as little as one in 100 rentals are affordable for essential workers.
Kasy Chambers, executive director of Anglicare Australia which conducted the snapshot, says the numbers help explain why essential industries are facing labour shortages, as workers cannot afford to live in areas where the shortfall is the worst.
‘Virtually no part of Australia is affordable for aged care workers, early childhood educators, cleaners, nurses and many other essential workers we rely on,’ she said.
‘They cannot afford to live in their own communities.’
The survey, taken on March 17, looked at 45,895 rental listings across the country and calculated how many were available for less than 30 per cent of the award rate for 16 categories of essential workers.
It found early childhood educators, hospitality workers and meat packers could only afford 0.9 per cent of listings available across Australia that weekend.
Aged care workers could afford 1.1 per cent of rentals, nurses 1.5 per cent and ambulance drivers 2.4 per cent.
Even in regional Australia, where prices have historically been lower than in urban centres, homes were unaffordable on the whole unless they were so remote that jobs were not widely available there.
Kasy Chambers, executive director of Anglicare Australia, said the private housing market had failed those on low incomes, with rental vacancies at a record low 0.8 per cent (pictured, an auction in Melbourne)
Treasurer Jim Chalmers acknowledged Australia had a huge housing challenge and people needed to be able to live close to their workplaces.
But he said the main issue was supply, which could be solved with the $10billion Housing Australia Future Fund.
The proposal stalled in the Senate but the Greens have promised to help pass the legislation if the government offered the states and territories money to cap rents and offer greater rights for tenants.
Ms Chambers said the private housing market had failed those on low incomes, with rental vacancies at a record low 0.8 per cent despite a record high number of homes built over the last 10 years.
‘The best way to make rentals more affordable is to build social and affordable homes,’ she said.
‘And we need tax reform to put people in need of homes, not investors, at the centre of our system.’
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk