3 months ago
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The number of Sydney suburbs classified as “affordability deserts” for renters has been laid bare as housing advocates call for an overhaul of the state’s planning laws in a bid to boost the supply of housing for key workers and low and middle-income households.
The 2025 national rental affordability index report has found not a single suburb in the city’s east, lower north shore or northern beaches is classified as affordable for renters – meaning the average Sydney renter now must travel up to 20 kilometres from the CBD in order to find an affordable place to live.
The report, released by National Shelter and SGS Economics and Planning on Monday, shows rental affordability has also worsened in regional NSW over the last quarter, driven by rental increases in coastal areas spanning Port Macquarie to the Tweed Coast.
The rental crisis gripping Sydney’s east is also now pushing further into parts of Sydney’s west and south-west. Large parts of the Camden, Liverpool and Parramatta areas are now classified as unaffordable for renters.
Jobseekers and part-time workers on parenting payments are among those hit hardest by the affordability crunch. Those receiving JobSeeker payments now need to allocate 131 per cent of their income towards rent in Sydney, making independent housing virtually impossible without additional support.
A full-time hospitality worker would need to spend 42 per cent of their income on rent, while a single full-time working parent would spend 33 per cent – both well above the affordability threshold.
In Sydney, areas identified as most unaffordable for renters include Belrose, Bondi, Matraville, Willoughby and Manly.
In regional NSW, Byron Bay maintains the unenviable ranking as the most unaffordable location, even after the introduction of new limits on short-term stay accommodation aimed at freeing up rental housing.
Information provided by NSW Planning Minister Paul Scully to parliament last month showed there has been a decrease of 191 dwellings used for non-hosted short-term rental accommodation in the Byron Shire since the limits were introduced last year.
Housing All Australians founder Robert Pradolin has called on state and federal governments to prioritise measures to incentivise the construction of rental housing.
Robert Pradolin and Dan McKenna from Housing All Australians.Credit: Alex Coppel.
He said increasing the supply of rental housing would not only benefit low and middle-income households, but that it could also boost overall rates of productivity in the state’s economy.
“Cafes, hotels, hospitals and childcare centres across Sydney are struggling to find staff because there’s nowhere affordable for them to live nearby and when they do find them, the commute is so long that workers have to wake up at the crack of dawn and end up starting work exhausted,” he said.
“Housing that people can afford is absolutely critical economic infrastructure. Without it, we’re severely crimping our economic growth.”
The report comes after a NSW parliamentary inquiry into key worker housing this year handed down 20 recommendations aimed at boosting the supply of affordable housing in NSW.
The recommendations, made to the NSW government, included fast-tracking planning approvals for developments that incorporate affordable housing for essential workers, as well as introducing mandates that would require developers of major housing projects to carry out detailed assessment of the needs of key workers.
The NSW government is due to hand down its response to the recommendations by mid-December.
The rental affordability report shows Sydney remains the second most expensive state capital for rental housing, behind Perth.
Despite rental affordability worsening in some parts of NSW, the report shows Sydney’s overall affordability score has improved slightly over the last four months, rising from a score of 99 to 100.
Byron Bay remains one of the state’s most unaffordable locations for renters.Credit: Danielle Smith
The scores identify locations where average households spend at least 30 per cent of income on rent, which is the critical threshold for measuring housing stress.
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