Like so much of Australia, my recently adopted home of Launceston and its surrounding areas are in the midst of a rental crisis, and have been for some time now.

It has become increasingly concerning as rented properties become more scarce and tenants are forced to pay higher rates for rentals.

The Rental Affordability Index Report launched by SGC Economics and Planning in 2021 highlighted the difficulty of rental affordability in Launceston. The report found that of all working Tasmanians, close to half could not afford a cheap three-bedroom rental property in the city. Similarly, the study reported that more than 30 per cent of Launceston's low-income households spent more than 30 per cent of their incomes on rental payments.

This struggle has particularly affected essential workers such as aged care and childcare employees, and hospitality staff, who find it almost impossible to find properties in the current market.

According to the most recent Rental Affordability Index report, single part-time worker parents living in regional Tasmania are paying 41 per cent of their income on rent, single pensioners are forking out 35 per cent of their income, couple pensioners are paying 31 per cent, while individuals on job-seeker are paying 59 per cent of their income to keep a roof over their heads.

This crisis has been attributed to various reasons, including a lack of social housing, the high cost of rentals and landlords frequently applying hefty rent rises. Unfortunately, the latest CoreLogic rental review does not paint a pretty picture.

Therefore, decision-makers from the three levels of government must realise they could work together to remedy this rental crisis if they wanted to put aside partisan politics. They could risk upsetting a few people to help the many.

The council could apply a range of measures to increase housing availability. These could include a push for owners of vacant properties or short-term rental properties to rent them out to long-term tenants by offering a 10 per cent discount or something similar on rates. Yes, that would be unfair to those who pay full rates and don't have a property to rent, but the greater good would win out.

The state government could extend its excellent rental incentive scheme beyond its June 2024 deadline. The scheme asks property owners to supply properties for affordable rentals to low-income households and in return, they receive a payment per property of up to $9900 per annum. In the Redlands in Queensland, the state government has boldly moved to help with the housing crisis. They have leased a former retirement village close to public transport to accommodate vulnerable community members temporarily. Thinking outside the box can work. In addition, the state and federal governments could incentivise the development of social housing now. The May federal budget is close. There would never be a better time than now.

Unfortunately, this situation is unlikely to change anytime soon.

So it is up to our political decision-makers at all levels of government to organise initiatives that help make rental properties more affordable to those who can't afford them in the current market.

Labor, Liberal, Greens and Independents must work together to find solutions to ensure that people in Launceston and Tasmania and, indeed, broader Australia have a chance to find an affordable rental property.

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