Sarah's young mother is desperate to find a new home in Melbourne's outer suburbs, but she keeps getting turned down

Sarah Keating is in a race to find a rental property before her two-year-old son grows out of bed.

Key points:

• Rental prices in several of Melbourne’s outer southeast suburbs have seen strong growth in the past year
• A real estate agent says landlords are raising rents because of concerns about rising interest rates
• Proponents fear vulnerable people will be increasingly locked out of the rental market

The 21-year-old single mother currently lives with relatives in the southeast outside Melbourne.

He shared a room with Ryder’s son, but soon the two of them wouldn’t fit.

“I’m trying to find a bigger place to start our life and our family’s life so he has his own room, I have his own room,” he said.

“I just can’t find it anywhere.

“My son can’t sleep in my bed every night with me. He needs his own bed.”

Ms Keating said she had been looking for a two-bedroom place in Melbourne’s outer southeast – suburbs such as Dandenong, Pakenham, Officer, Beaconsfield, Noble Park and Clyde – for about six months now and had applied for up to 30 places a month.

Sarah Keating says there is a lot of competition for rent in Melbourne’s southeast.(ABC News: Crystalyn Brown)

She has some family and community support, a casual job where she works three days a week, plus Centrelink.

“I keep getting emails saying I didn’t make it,” he said.

“There are so many other people out there who are struggling to get homes and are in a worse position than I am, and I’m not going anywhere.

“We have children who need a home.”

Rent increases outside Melbourne suburbs

Rental prices in some of the outer south-eastern suburbs have experienced strong growth in the last 12 months.

The average rental unit price in Officer, 48 kilometers southeast of the CBD, is now $380 per week.

That’s an increase of nearly 9.5 percent in the past 12 months, according to data from realestate.com.au.

Read more about the Australian property market:

At the same time, rents have dropped for similar properties closer to town.

At Carlton, the average unit rental price has dropped 10 percent – ​​now it’s $360 per week.

That’s less than in Berwick, Officer and Beaconsfield, all areas more than 30 kilometers from the city center.

Peter McNamara is CEO at South East Community Links, a community organization that provides housing and financial assistance in Dandenong and surrounding areas.

Peter McNamara said more and more people were struggling to find rental properties in Melbourne’s southeast.(ABC News: Crystalyn Brown)

“Many people believe that the crisis is…only in the city, or they think that [it’s] the mortgage crisis we’re talking about,” he said.

“But more people are renting or struggling to find a home than those with mortgages.

“We are 30 to 40 kilometers from the CBD and you want to rent a two bedroom apartment, you will be charged $400. [a week].”

Landlords raise rents amid interest rate hike fears

Ashleigh Salt is rental director for Harcourts ASAP, which manages properties in southeast Melbourne, including Dandenong, Hallam and Noble Park.

He said many landlords, especially new investors, were increasing rents because of concerns about future rate hikes.

“They want more,” he said.

“So tell me the rent [for a house] is, around $400 – because they’re not sure about what’s going to happen with interest rates, they might want to start their lease at around $460, just to cover themselves,” he said.

Ashleigh Salt says landlords are becoming more picky about tenants after being unable to evict anyone during the pandemic.(ABC News: Crystalyn Brown)

Ms Salt said another change would be for landlords not being able to pursue rents, or evicting tenants during tough COVID rules being choosy about who they vote for their properties.

“Now they’re a little more nervous about who they put in and what income they have, so if that happens again, they’re not in the same situation,” he said.

Changing housing market is pushing rentals further and further out of reach

Mr McNamara said with rising rents, vulnerable people were struggling to find a place to apply in the private rental market.

“We are also worried that there will be discrimination. Young mothers or people who pay for Centrelink are immediately removed,” he said.

He said his organization also heard stories of people offering extra rent, or renting months in advance.

“How can you compete with that?”

Mr McNamara said the federal government should consider tying rental assistance to local rents, or immediately converting government buildings into cheap accommodation.

Sarah Keating said she had no other choice but to keep proposing.

“Keep trying,” he said.

“That’s all you can do.”

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