With housing affordability in Australia at its worst level on record and potential relief from new housing supplies years away, a QUT economist is proposing older homeowners be given incentives to rent out spare bedrooms.
Dr. Lyndall Bryant, from the QUT Centre for Justice and School of Economics and Finance, has published a briefing paper—"The role of older Australians in addressing the housing crisis: spare bedrooms, taxation and the pension."
With appropriate tenant matching and management, along with assurances that pensions will not be impacted or onerous tax generated, she suggests a solution that could be a win-win for both parties.
"Housing affordability is not forecast to improve until at least 2029 and we are seeing homelessness services experiencing a 'tsunami of homelessness' as tenants are priced out of the rental market," Dr. Bryant said.
"As one possible solution, I propose we shift the housing debate from new supply to better utilization of existing housing, by assisting older homeowners to increase rental stock through renting out their spare bedrooms. As at the 2021 census, there were 13 million unused bedrooms within the existing Australian housing stock.
