The shortage of rental properties is driving up demand and rental prices throughout all capital cities according to new analysis by Finder.
The biggest increase has been recorded in Darwin where the median asking rent for houses is up by 22%.
In Perth rents are up 15%, Brisbane, 13%, and in Sydney and Adelaide 9%.
According to Finder, 48% of women and 41% of men are struggling with paying their rent, with those in Generation Z (aged between 18 and 25) feeling the most rental affordability stress.
Lower earners are unsurprisingly feeling the pinch the most, according to Finder’s Sarah Megginson, with some tenants with little left over for necessities after they have paid their rent.
“Some tenants simply can’t afford the rapid increase in their rent in such a short amount of time and there are even stories of families being forced out to live in their cars, or in makeshift tents in the street,” she says.
The increased demand means some applicants are offering hundreds of dollars more per week than the asking price just to secure a property.
Megginson says a Gold Coast tenant was advised their rent would increase by $300 a week.
