The number of Australians experiencing housing insecurity in their later years is on the rise, with more than 227,000 over-55s on low incomes paying unaffordable rent, new research shows.
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The Housing for the Aged Action Group (HAAG) this week visited Parliament House to demand governments take action on better housing outcomes for people like Kanahooka resident Pauline West.
Ms West was working in aged care when serious health conditions meant she had to stop at the age of 64.
Too young at that point for the age pension and unable to work, she began selling off her belongings - clothing, CDs, even Tupperware containers - to try and afford her rent.
But before too long she had to leave and was forced to couch-surf, then into crisis accommodation and transitional accommodation.
The experience left her with serious anxiety and eventually she was found a unit in a retirement village in Kanahooka.
But she hopes to move into public housing in the Shellharbour area, closer to the place she grew up and where her social networks, her church and her doctor are located.
Being close to the humid sea air, Ms West said, also alleviated her asthma, although she stressed she was grateful to have a roof over her head at all.
Ms West knows she is not the only older person struggling with housing.
"I wish I was, but I am not alone," she said, later adding: "I am speaking for at least 20 people I know who are in my situation".
A new report from university researchers, commissioned by HAAG, says 81 per cent of people aged over 55 who are living in private rentals and in the lowest income quintile are paying unaffordable rent, as are 55 per cent of those in the second-lowest income bracket.
In the 10 years to 2021, the number of older people living in private rentals grew by 73 per cent, while fewer live in a home they own outright.
More people aged over 55 are also homeless.
"The scale of housing insecurity amongst older people in Australia is significant and growing," report co-author, Professor Wendy Stone from Swinburne University's Centre for Urban Transitions said.
"More older people are renting in the private rental sector, Australia's least secure tenure, and more are ageing with mortgages."
HAAG wants the federal government to work with states and territories to:
- Build public and community housing for at least 260,000 older people on low incomes, in marginal housing or experiencing homelessness
- Fund other housing options, such as affordable housing, low-cost retirement housing or co-operative housing
- Strengthen rental protections for tenants
- Provide additional tailored specialist services for older people who struggle to get help
Federal Housing Minister Julie Collins said the government was committed to "making sure older Australians have a safe, affordable place to call home" with a housing agenda to achieve it.
"This includes building more social and affordable housing, the biggest increase to Commonwealth Rent Assistance in more than thirty years and improving renters' rights through National Cabinet," Ms Collins said.
The proposed Housing Australia Future Fund, she said, would deliver homes for older women at risk of homelessness, and the government was developing a National Housing and Homelessness Plan.
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Natalie Croxon
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
