Rental Affordability Snapshot 2025
Low-income earners and recipients of income support disproportionately disadvantaged, new research reveals
New data, released today, reveals a deeply concerning picture for South Australians with a low income. In the private rental market, demand continues to outstrip supply, leaving individuals and families struggling in the search for stable housing.
Believe Housing Australia is today calling for accelerated delivery of social and affordable housing projects to ensure more South Australians have access to the safe, secure, and affordable homes they deserve.
Anglicare Australia’s 2025 Rental Affordability Snapshot was taken on 15 March 2025 and reveals large groups of individuals and families competed for only 1,836 private rentals advertised in South Australia (a marginal 12 per cent increase compared to the previous year).
Of the 1,836 listed properties just 19 homes, or one per cent of listings, were affordable for households on income support payments, while for a single person with one or two children on parenting payments there were no affordable properties.
Meanwhile, 234 properties, or 13 per cent of listings, were affordable for households on a minimum wage representing a 2 per cent decrease compared to the previous year.
Believe Housing Australia Executive General Manager, Housing Services, Stacey Northover said the Snapshot confirmed what most South Australians already knew: the shortage of housing, soaring rents, stagnant wages, and inadequate government supports are pushing ordinary people toward homelessness.
“When families are forced to choose between shelter and basic essentials like food, medicine, warmth, and hygiene, and the housing market is not just unaffordable – it is unsustainable,” Ms Northover said.
“When families are forced to live in cars, tents, and motels, these are not just individual tragedies – they are social, welfare, cultural, and economic risks that bring long-term consequences for the state.”
She said South Australia was feeling the housing affordability crunch more acutely than many parts of the country and while every level of government had placed renewed focus on the housing issue in the state, this crisis demanded more than attention — it demanded action.
Incremental increases in Commonwealth Rent Assistance and one-off supplements were not keeping pace with real-world pressures, she said, and without systemic reform, thousands would remain locked out of safe, secure housing.
“The South Australian Government’s Housing Roadmap represents an important and welcome step forward,” she said. “That, alongside the Housing Australia Future Fund Facility (HAFFF) at a federal level, offers a critical opportunity — one in which to accelerate delivery of social and affordable housing projects that will serve South Australians for generations to come.
“Believe Housing Australia acknowledges and welcomes the work already underway, but the scale of today’s crisis sets a generational challenge that requires a consistent, coordinated, and broad response.”
As the first HAFF funded homes become available, their positive impact is already being made clear. During the recent snapshot weekend, HAFF funded homes made up eight of the 19 homes (42 per cent) deemed affordable and appropriate for households on income support payments.
Ms Northover said this was a remarkable and welcomed outcome that demonstrates the importance of this investment.
“Believe Housing Australia is proud to have recently delivered the $13.7million Panorama development, comprising 18 affordable two-bedroom new homes through HAFF funding, bringing high quality affordable homes to South Australians,” she said.
“We have a strong pipeline of future projects ready to be delivered and are actively pursuing additional HAFF opportunities.
“We urge the Federal Government to expand and quadruple HAFF funding and continue to support initiatives like this, which are delivering life changing benefits for communities.
“By strengthening partnerships with CHPs and scaling up programs like HAFF, we can create lasting change, ensuring more South Australians have access to the safe, secure, and affordable homes they deserve.”
You can view the full snapshot here: 2025 Believe Housing Rental Affordability Snapshot
