Rents strain region's poor

Rental prices continue to soar in the Great Southern and South West and those living on low incomes are struggling to keep up.

In the recently released Anglicare WA annual Rental Affordability Snapshot, 702 properties in the regions were surveyed and only 3 per cent were considered affordable for people on benefits, compared with 3.5 per cent last year.

Anglicare WA manager of Great Southern services Tim Christie said most of the WA population living on low or below-average income was congested in the Great Southern and South West areas.

Last week, the Australian Taxation Office released statistics of the income tax returns for the 2013- 2014 financial year, which showed many people in the Great Southern were among WA’s poorest.

Residents in the Shire of Cranbrook were the second-lowest income earners in the State with a mean taxable income of $33,322, not far behind residents in the Stirling Range, Borden and Amelup on $39,604, and Kukerin, Merilup, North and South Kukerin on $40,025.

The figures back up Mr Christie’s concern that many in the region were in dire straits and struggling to afford rent.

In 2014, only 517 properties were available for rent in the Great Southern and South West regions.

“We were surprised, we thought the property market was easing off, rent has not increased dramatically but across the board there is a growing problem,” Mr Christie said.

“If you are spending half your income on housing costs, any increase is going to dramatically affect you.”

Ray White real-estate Katanning and Districts manager Steve Davis said in Kojonup owner-occupants had dropped by about 2 per cent, but increases in rent were directly proportionate to the amount of work done on the house.

“You would rent a house for about $200 to $250 now but they are better quality rentals, the landlords are putting more work into their rentals and now most have good kitchens, carpets, reverse airconditioning,” he said.

“A big factor is price of the Shire rates that have gone up, insurance, there is a lot more overhead.

“Overall there is a little increase but nothing major, it is still much, much cheaper than in the metropolitan area.”