Forgot to add to previous comment:

My unit had no heating or cooling when I moved in, and none of of the windows were able to close.

I bought a fan and had it installed in the lounge area after the second summer in my rental unit, but it doesn’t help much during heatwaves. All the other units in the block have split systems. Meanwhile, I’ve still got no heating, mouldy bedroom ceiling continues to grow more mould due to leaks between roofing tiles, the floor is uneven beneath the carpet, and the carpet is rotting in a few places.

All of this the rental agency has been made aware of – on several occasions. I am afraid to bring issues up too often in case they result in extra work being done on the place = a rental increase.

Having said that, I’d rather stay than not.

I’m middle aged, have been living in rentals for the majority of my life, I have no savings or assets. All but one of the jobs I have held previously have been low-paying with casual (ie. uncertain) hours, forcing me to live with housemates to make (attempted) independent living afforable. Just over 10 years ago I finally found a FT, salaried job that was enough to allow me to live by myself. I was good at the job, I mostly enjoyed it and, despite my debts, I was able to handle forking over a third of my income to pay rent. Why was living independently, then alone, so important to me? I’m autistic, with co-occurring ADHD, anxiety disorder, chronic depression, and an eating disorder. It makes living with other people very difficult – for them, and for me. Around 18-20 months ago, my immediate manager, as well as the senior management team, began to use my disabilities as reasons to undermine me and my ability to do my job, creating an enormous amount of emotional and mental distress, the end result of which was predictable – I quit my job, and have been unable to work since. As I don’t have a job income now, just DSP, half of the DSP I get every month goes to rent. The rest is paid to utilities, doctors, medications, and debts. The rental agency had previously encouraged the landlord to keep my rental increases per year fairly low, pointing out it’s better to have good tenants who all get along, and pay on time. However, over the last two years rental prices everywhere have shot up to average around $200 per week more than I pay now. It’s beyond belief! New year: same rental agency, new property manager… and it looks like a large rent increase will be forthcoming. Sadly, that will mean one of two things: either I sell/ put in storage all of my possessions to go live in a share house with lots people (nightmare material for me), or I have to leave my beloved city because there is no rental property now, of any kind, within my budget; in my opinion most of them are priced well above their worth. And, as I said before, I am now paying half of my pension into the rent. It feels hopeless.

Everyone deserves a healthy home to live in, regardless of whether they are renters or homeowners. We urgently need minimum standards for energy efficiency in rental homes.

Every human being has the inalienable right to live in safety and with dignity.

I am 38 years old, signed my first lease at 17 and currently live in my 10th rental home. In 21 years I have only had one landlord that took the maintenance and safety of my home seriously. As a renter, my house might be a landlords investment, but it is mine, my partner’s and my three children’s home. Home is a place that should be safe and support the thriving of its occupants. Our current rental is an approximately 50 year old house that got a good lick of paint and some cosmetic attention to be put on the rental market. The first day we moved in, we realised that every single window had been painted shut, after our range hood failed to extract smoke from cooking due to it not working and us trying to get air into the house. Our first energy bill stunned us. Double our last property in the same suburb. With gas cooking and water, and only one air conditioner in a 4 bedroom home (with 2 of the rooms vacant during the school week), how was our electricity bill $700 a quarter? We were told by our energy provider that ‘it’s not our fault, probably just old dodgy wiring in the house’. 6 months in we experienced mould that saw us throw out infested belongings, holes in our roofing that led to swelling and peeling of paint (birds made a home in there!), gaps in our flooring that show through to the outside, leaking plumbing, broken lighting, windows that can’t stay open, and steps with no safety railings.

All of which i was not able to assess in the 5 minute walk through inspection we were afforded prior to application.

I have often asked myself as a renter: ‘would my landlord live here with their family?’ And while I cannot answer that, I suspect that the answer would be ‘no’.

As good tenants, we pay our rent, are subject to frequent rent increases ($100 for us in 18 months), go through rigorous checks and inspections to prove we are worthy to live in substandard, unsafe, energy in efficient homes.

We live in these conditions out of fear that we may not have a next rental home to go to. With limited options, an over saturated and competitive tenant market, a fear of being ‘black listed’ by our agents for being troublesome and the reality that as a renter, you feel you need to live with the fact that substandard housing is part of the deal; ‘if you’re desperate you’ll live with it, right?’.

Renters deserve better.

Renters deserve healthy homes to live and thrive in.

Renters deserve for their commitment to paying their rent to be met with a commitment to supplying and maintaining homes that are safe and energy efficient.

We work bloody hard to pay our rent. For my family, it’s 40% of our income.

We are paying the equivalent of a mortgage but being treated like bottom feeders with no voice and no respect.

Not. Good. Enough.