The Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute has published its Final Report No. 303, ‘Inquiry into the future of the private rental sector’, which highlights the policy settings, including taxation, affecting the private rental market in Australia.

The study investigated the Australian private rental sector focusing on institutional change, including formal rules (policies and regulation); organisations and structures; and informal rules (social norms and practices). It also reviewed the private rental sector in ten countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Key points

  • The Australian private rental sector (PRS) grew by 38 per cent over the period 2006–2016, more than twice the rate of all household growth; this growth is expected to continue in the future.
  • The PRS has changed in a number of important ways since the mid-1990s: increased debt-financing (often involving intermediaries), fragmentation of PRS provision and transformation of PRS access.
  • While the PRS houses a wide variety of households on a broad range of household incomes, low-income and vulnerable households face particular difficulties.

To find out more, including how Australia compares with other countries, visit the AHURI website.

(Source: AHURI)

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