Landlords

Fewer than one in 10 tenants who lost income amid the coronavirus pandemic have received a satisfactory rent reduction, a new survey shows.

With the ACT election creeping up in October, the ACT Labor Party has promised Canberra households interest-free loans to fund rooftop solar panels, household battery storage and hot water heat pumps.

The number of rental homes left sitting empty across Australia is holding steady, despite a continued increase of vacant properties in Melbourne over July.

While some have returned to their family home, many tenants are moving to bigger homes seeking get bang for their bucks. Here's where prices have taken the biggest turn.

The hit to Melbourne’s rental market has been unequally distributed, with asking rents in some neighbourhoods down by more than 10 per cent, while others rose.

For years the balance between renters and landlords has become increasingly unstable, and until recently many could afford to be complacent. Not any more.

While wage subsidies are helping tenants pay the bills, experts warn some are too fearful to ask for rent reductions, with bigger problems looming in a few months.

Asking rents have been slashed amid the pandemic, with up to 40 per cent of advertised rentals dropping their prices in some suburbs in a bid to lure tenants.

Despite the economic uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, the percentage of Perth rentals being discounted has been on a much smaller scale than some other capital cities.

It's a measure to stimulate an economy battered by the effects of coronavirus, but many are now asking if it's the best use of money - particularly at the expense of a group left worried.