Living in subsidised affordable rental housing: Tenant experiences

A shortage of affordable rental properties in Australia has been a major policy issue for years. There has been many attempts to stimulate the supply of affordable rental properties for low-income wage earners and researchers have focused on examining the impact and value of these policy responses. Consequently, there is a curious and conspicuous gap in the literature – little is known about tenants’ experiences of affordable rental housing, particularly housing managed by Community Housing Providers (CHPs). Understanding what tenants find attractive about living in subsidised affordable rental housing managed by CHPs and what they don’t, is important as subsidised affordable rental tenancies form a small but increasing part of the housing portfolios of CHPs and their contribution to the financial stability of CHPs is growing. This report examines the experiences of 19 tenants living in subsidised affordable rental managed by Unison Housing. Through in-depth interviews our aim was to find out what affordable rental housing tenant’s value, what they don’t, and what CHPs can do to increase the attractiveness of subsidised affordable rental for prospective tenants and to maximise residential satisfaction among existing tenants of their affordable housing stock. Key findings Although our sample was small and only included existing tenants, several clear patterns emerged from the data we collected. These patterns spoke to the experiences and attributes of subsidised affordable housing that people valued, as well as experiences and attributes that contributed to a desire to move on. More specifically, people valued the flexibility offered by setting rent as a percentage of income, and the quality and location of housing offered by Unison. People also found the application process less stressful than the private rental market. Most notably, though, participants reported that having an ongoing rather than a fixed term lease was of great benefit to them. Ongoing leases provide much more tenure security than they could expect in the private rental market, and this in turn enhanced the attractiveness of subsidised affordable rental properties. However, some aspects of living in affordable rental housing were clearly contributing to people’s decision to leave. Uneven communication and the disruptive behaviour of other tenants in apartment blocks were the two most frequently cited issues. Recommendations With respect to increasing the attractiveness of subsidised affordable rental for prospective tenants, we recommend that Unison consider a different strategy to listings affordable properties on the internet. More specifically, listing should differentiate Unison’s stock by emphasising the full range of unique benefits such as ongoing leases, the flexibility provided by setting rent as a percentage of income and the quality of dwelling, which are features highly valued by existing tenants. With respect to maximising residential satisfaction among existing tenants, Unison needs to address the issues of disruptive behaviour and uneven communication practices with tenants. We recognise the former issues are challenging and extends beyond affordable tenancies. As such, we recommend that Unison consider integrative support models that have demonstrated positive outcomes in addressing such issues and look promising for sustaining tenancies. Addressing uneven communication is a direct practice issue. There are examples detailed in the report of where communication has been done well that can be drawn on to both ensure consistency throughout the organisation and emphasise the importance of responsiveness and accessibility.