Does private renting have to be precarious in later life?

As Australia grapples with a deepening housing crisis, much of the public conversation has centred on first-home buyers, skyrocketing rents, and the shrinking supply of affordable housing. But an equally urgent – and often overlooked – issue is the growing number of older Australians renting privately into later life. In this piece, Joelle Moore, a PhD candidate at the University of Queensland, explores the increasing precarity faced by older renters.

Image sourced from Cottonbro Studio.

The rise of lifetime renters

There is an underlying assumption that home ownership provides stability and financial freedom for older people in retirement – the ‘good years’ of our lives – but this does not account for a growing number of lower income and asset-poor older private renters who struggle to find safe, secure and affordable long-term housing that adequately meets their needs.

Ill-health, separation and widowhood are among the individual life events that lead to older people living in the private rental sector, but the most common reason is – perhaps unsurprisingly – financial hardship. Ultimately, private renting is not a choice for most older tenants but is usually due to a lack of alternative options. Indeed, lifelong renting is becoming more prevalent, as social housing delivery has stagnated and owning a home is increasingly unaffordable (and out of reach for many) – with over 1 in 4 Australians now renting privately.

At the same time Australia’s population is ageing, with those aged 55+ representing 29% of the total population in 2021 – a third more than the previous decade. Of this age group, almost 700,000 Australians are renting privately. This number has grown at more than double the 55+ population growth-rate over ten years: a sure sign that an increasing number of older Australians are falling into housing stress. In fact, older private renters are almost twice as likely as younger renters to be paying more than 50% of their gross household income on rent – and last year a meagre 89 rentals were affordable for a person on the Age Pension across the whole of Australia – that’s just 0.2%!

Renting in later life has been associated with stress and anxiety, health issues, poor housing conditions, eviction and homelessness. It is for these reasons that older lower-income renters have been considered by a Senate committee as ‘one of the most disadvantaged groups in Australian society’.

Housing options for healthy ageing

Unfortunately, the current structure of the private rental sector does not adequately reflect the diverse needs and aspirations of older individuals. Professor Wendy Stone and her colleagues had it right when they announced in a 2023 report that ‘the Australian housing system is not fit for purpose in accommodating ageing well’.

Older private renters are also in the dark about what the potential housing options are – they may be familiar with the quintessential ‘granny flat’ or shared housing (which is becoming increasingly common) – but they are less familiar with niche models like co-housing, where residents have their own self-contained dwelling and use of a shared kitchen and garden, say. These options are also few and far between.

The range of housing options in later life needs to be expanded to provide greater access to safe, secure and affordable housing that could facilitate healthy ageing – whilst shifting the narrative in Australia to normalise private renting (and other non-ownership tenures). We should be supporting older people to remain in their own homes, regardless of tenure.

Tackling housing precarity in later life

Looking beyond the individual causes of private renting in later life can bring attention to the systemic issues within the Australian housing system (such as a fixation on homeownership and the lack of social housing) that underpin housing insecurity and precarity as people age – resulting in rental stress, a constant fear of eviction, and accessibility issues, to name a few.

In theory, it should be completely possible for older private renters to feel secure and to age well in the private rental sector, given the right conditions – such as in-home care services, housing adaptations, and adequate Rent Assistance. While tenancy legislation is a key factor shaping older people’s experiences of renting, broader interventions – such as sensitive landlord practices and specialised housing support – could also enhance tenants’ sense of security.

My PhD research builds on the work of housing scholars by viewing private renting in later life as an assemblage of legislation, policies, market conditions, bricks and mortar, housing histories, ageing bodies, and many more facets. Understanding the structural barriers as well as the individual circumstances of older private tenants can bring about policy responses that, in turn, could improve the security, stability and wellbeing of those ageing in the private rental sector.

Finding long-term solutions to the challenges of ageing well in the private rental sector is increasingly critical as more and more Australians are on their way to becoming lifetime renters.

Moderator: Molly Saunders