A new paper by the Centre for Social Research & Methods at the Australian National University (ANU) has shown the impact of COVID-19 on renters' ability to pay their rent. The paper analysis survey data taken in May 2020 from a representative sample of the Australian population.
Some key findings from the paper are:
- Just over one in four renters (26.9%) had rent payment problems (had not been able to pay their rent in time).
- Only about 27% of renters who had rent payment problems tried to negotiate a lower rent. Most renters with rent payment problems did not attempt to negotiate any reduction.
- And only about 10% of all renters said that they were successful in reducing their rent payments.
- About 3% of all renters had requested early termination of their lease.
Read the full report (External link).