Tenants

With no end in sight for remote working, and beaches still off-limits for those who live more than five kilometres away, coastal abodes in these neighbourhoods are in strong demand.  

Hotel accommodation and short-term rentals, including Airbnbs that once fetched hundreds of dollars per night, have been forced to return to the long-term rental market during Canberra’s extended lockdown.

They’re the workers that have kept the city going during the coronavirus crisis, but for many, they are unable to afford rents across the city and even across the state.

They are the essential workers keeping Sydney going during lockdown, but many of the city’s key workers are struggling to find a rental they can afford.

The Victorian Government says new rental laws are enough to protect tenants from pandemic-related evictions, but tenancy groups say it’s not enough and an eviction moratorium is needed.

The police also now have new powers to patrol buildings, quiz everyone living in – and visiting – apartments for their names and phone numbers, and order them all to take COVID tests.

The latest figures show sharply diverging fortunes, with 3.8 per cent of homes for rent in Melbourne empty of tenants in August, up from 3.7 per cent from the previous month, compared to a steady 2.6 per cent in Sydney.

The $5.25 million commitment is aimed to help both commercial and residential landlords and tenants.

Nationally, rental vacancy rates held steady at 1.6 per cent in August for the third consecutive month. Tenants are still operating in a landlords’ market across all capitals, apart from Sydney and Melbourne.

Back in 2001, real estate transactions took place with copious amounts of paper and a lot of literal leg-work, with just the first hint of the digital revolution on its way.