Reports

Here you can find the many reports that Better Renting has released over time.

Cost of Renting Report 2024

The cover image from the Cost of Renting Report

The Cost of Renting Report 2024 is based on a survey of 1400+ renters from across Australia, conducted in May-June 2024.

We asked renters about their renting experiences, with a particular focus on rent increases, energy costs, and landlord and real estate agents’ compliance with rental laws. Our first report based on the survey’s responses—Joule Thieves—focused on energy efficiency standards in rentals, energy costs, and their drain on renters’ financial and emotional resources. This report focuses on rent increases, affordability, and the weakness of rental laws in practice.

Renters from our survey told us they had steadily whittled down other expenses in their lives to afford rent. They were cutting back on savings, food, healthcare, and their social lives to hand over more money to landlords. What renters got in return for making cuts was a fear that their landlord or real estate agent could issue a big rent increase, drag their feet on repairs, or evict renters in retaliation for bringing up issues. Combined with low vacancy rates and possibly nowhere to go, many renters felt it was safer not to bring up issues. It’s incredibly unfair that renters make significant cuts to their expenses and nonetheless end up in such an unequal position.

The overall picture is that a tight rental market has forced renters to make sacrifices that are diminishing their health, mental health, and social lives. This market has also concentrated power in the hands of
landlords, resulting in unbridled rent increases and neglect of repairs and maintenance. Figures from our report illuminate this:

  • Nine in ten renters were paying more than they were 12 months before.
  • Half of rent increases that took effect in full were over 10%.
  • One in six notices of rent increase was above 25%.
  • One in two respondents said repairs didn’t get fixed within four weeks.
  • In the past 12 months, 59% of renters said they didn’t bring up issues because they feared retaliation from their landlord or real estate agent.

While rental laws vary across states and territories, these systemic issues affect renters across Australia. These issues are the result of weak regulation, a cultural disregard for rental laws on the part of land-lords and agents, and a tight rental market that strips power from renters and emboldens non-compliant lessors. We recommend addressing this by strengthening rental laws, reforming tax settings, and increasing housing supply to drive a higher rate of available rental properties.

The report is available for download here.


Joule Thieves: Renters’ energy challenges in a cost of living crisis

Three in four renters in Australia are cutting back on heating and cooling to reduce energy costs, according to results from a survey conducted by tenant advocacy organisation Better Renting and published today in our report Joule Thieves: Renters' energy challenges in a cost of living crisis

  • Better Renting conducted an online survey of over 1400 renters about experiences of rent and energy costs.
  • Only 25% of renters say their home has adequate ceiling insulation. 
  • One in three renters describes being too cold "almost all the time" in winter.
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Cruel Summers: Renter Researchers Summer 2024

From December 2023 through February 2024, Better Renting worked with over 100 renters across Australia to track temperature and humidity in their rental homes. We also learnt about the experiences of these renters through surveys and interviews. 

These experiences are documented in our report Cruel Summers, available for download here.


Hot Summer Nights - Queensland Summer 2024

This report, Hot Summer Nights, examines the experiences of Renter Researchers in Queensland from December 2023 to January 2024. Drawing on quantitative and qualitative data from 19 research participants in Queensland, we find: 

  • All rental homes were above 25°C degrees for 86% of the study period.
  • Renters’ homes were above 30°C degrees over five hours a day.
  • The average indoor temperature was 27.6°C.

Renters described how inadequate housing, which lacked features like ceiling insulation, fly screens, or fans, would regularly be hotter than the outdoors. This led to damaging effects on sleep, with concurrent harms to physical and mental health. Queensland's rental laws, which are weaker than those in other states, made it very difficult for renters to advocate for decent conditions in their own homes.

You can view and download the report below here.


No reprieve: Notes on Perth’s November Heatwave

In November 2023, Perth sweltered through an unprecedented heatwave. We obtained quantitative data from six renters who are participating in our Summer Renter Researchers project and integrated this with qualitative data from a heatwave survey of Renter Researchers. We found:

  • All rental homes were above 25°C degrees for 98% of the heatwave.
  • Renters’ homes were above 30°C degrees 37% of the time.
  • The average indoor temperature was 29°C

Renters also described how the heat made normal life impossible, harming sleep, social connection, and physical and mental health. You can view and download the report below.

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Solar Flair: Renters' views on rooftop solar

A new survey of renters by tenant advocacy organisation Better Renting finds that renters are keen to share in the benefits of rooftop solar, although worries about rent increases are a sticking point. 

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Power Struggles: Winter Renter Researchers 2023

Through the winter of 2023, Better Renting worked with 59 renters to track temperatures in their homes and what it meant for them. We found unhealthy low temperatures in a large number of homes in the sample. Renters' experiences were characterised by a sense of powerlessness, forcing them to put up with substandard homes and negligent landlords, due to a fear of eviction, a rent increase, and potential homelessness. 

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SA snapshot for Winter Renter Researchers 2023

What are renters in South Australia experiencing this winter?

This winter we are working with around 60 renters across Australia to track winter temperatures in their homes and understand their experiences of winter cold. This includes 11 particiants in South Australia. 

We will publish the full findings from this citizen science study in September. In the meanwhile, this is an interim snapshot focusing on experiences document so far in SA.

You can download the brief report here, or read it below.

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Better Renting Impact Report 2021-2022

In 2023 we celebrate five years since Better Renting started. As part of this, we're proud to share an Impact Report on 2021-2022, covering the last two years of operation. Through this time we've seen continued progress on rental reform and a national conversation around housing growing in ambition and urgency. 

You can download a PDF copy of the report here. Our 2018-2020 report is available here.


What does the data tell us about landlord wealth?

The latest ATO taxation statistics for 2020-21 provide an objective view on the position of those taxpayers with an interest in a rental property, with data going back to 1999-2000. We analysed the data to better understand the position of landlords and how this has changed over time. A brief paper on our findings is available here.

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The cost of inefficient rental housing in South Australia

This week Better Renting is presenting at the Essential Services conference being put on by SACOSS. We will be speaking about who pays the cost of inefficient housing. As part of this, we have updated our Cost of Complacency analysis. This report looked at the cost of inefficient rental housing in New South Wales; we have updated it to look at the South Australian context using up-to-date figures.

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Renter Researchers Report Summer 22-23

Through the summer of 22/23, Better Renting observed renters' experiences of heat in their homes. We recruited eighty ‘Renter Researchers’ from across Australia to install temperature tracking devices in their bedrooms. Unlike a mere thermometer, these devices record temperature at intervals, creating a detailed record of the temperature changes and patterns observed in rental homes. In addition, we obtained qualitative data from Researchers, through surveys and interviews, helping us to understand observed temperature patterns and gain an insight into the human impact of high indoor temperatures.

You can download the report here in PDF format and here in DOCX format.

You can find our work from summer 21/22 here.

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The Cost of Complacency

When a home is more energy-efficient, the occupants benefit from free energy: instead of occupants having to pay to heat their home, the structure of the dwelling itself provides greater thermal comfort. Conversely, people in inefficient homes are being denied this benefit. In this paper we attempt to quantify the dollar value of this benefit to highlight what renters in inefficient homes in NSW are missing out on. We estimate that NSW has over 700,000 rental homes with poor energy efficiency, and that improving the efficiency of these properties would achieve benefits worth $1.199 billion, or $1683 per affected household. As energy prices continue to rise, the value of this benefit becomes greater. This represents a huge untapped opportunity to address cost of living impacts on vulnerable households.


You can download the report here in pdf format.


Cold and costly: Renter Researchers' experiences of Winter 22

From June 13 to July 31 2022, Better Renting tracked temperature and humidity in 70+ rental homes around Australia. Our findings are summarised in our report Cold and costly: Renter Researchers' experiences of Winter 22.

You can download the report in pdf or docx format. The PDF is also embedded below.

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Hot homes: Renter Researchers' experiences of summer 21-22

Through the summer of 21/22, Better Renting observed renters' experiences of heat in their homes. We recruited fifty ‘Renter Researchers’ from across Australia to install temperature tracking devices in their bedrooms. Unlike a mere thermometer, these devices record temperature at intervals, creating a detailed record of the temperature changes and patterns observed in rental homes. In addition, we obtained qualitative data from Researchers, through surveys and interviews, helping us to understand observed temperature patterns and gain an insight into the human impact of high indoor temperatures.

You can download the report here in PDF format and here in DOCX format.


The sick season: cold weather and mortality in South Australia

Does South Australia have a pattern of increased monthly mortality during colder weather? We analysed monthly death statistics and average monthly temperature data and observed that the months July to October show an above average number of monthly deaths. This pattern is typical of countries with low-quality housing stock that offers inadequate protection during cooler months. Improving household energy efficiency would likely reduce excess winter deaths.

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