In the heart of Perth, Glen Pendlebury spends his days painting mansions — the sprawling, glittering symbols of a booming city. Billionaires’ homes with $400,000 fishponds aren’t unusual for the house painter, who hauls his equipment across town in a daily commute that can stretch up to 90 minutes. Parking fines are a regular inconvenience. Public transport isn’t an option.
But Glen doesn’t live anywhere near the homes he renovates. In fact, he doesn’t really live anywhere at all — at least not in a place of his own. Recently separated, Glen and his children have been relying on the goodwill of a friend to keep a roof over their heads.
“All I want is a fair suck of the sauce bottle,” he says.
In a city where median rents have jumped by 80 per cent in just four years — from $351 to $629 a week — Glen’s plea is not unique. But it is emblematic of the deepening divide that is reshaping Australian cities: the working class, pushed to the margins; the wealthy, entrenched in suburbs increasingly out of reach for even average earners.
A Crisis in Motion
Australia is now facing what economists call a “generational rental crisis”. Recent data compiled by SGS Economics and Planning and National Shelter reveals that median rents have surpassed the affordability threshold — defined as 30 per cent of a household’s pre-tax income — in over two-thirds of postcodes in Perth and Adelaide, and in more than half of Sydney’s.
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“It’s the worst on record,” says Ellen Witte, principal at SGS and lead author of the Rental Affordability Index.
From inner-city apartment towers to regional hubs once seen as safe havens for lower-income earners, rent is now unaffordable for average income households in at least five capital cities. For low-income households and single parents, the situation is even more dire.
“People used to ask, ‘Why don’t they just move further out?’” says Witte. “Now the answer is: ‘Where to?’”
The ‘Oil Stain’ Effect
The index paints a stark picture of how affordability has spread like an “oil stain”, gradually consuming areas once considered viable for renters.
In Perth, now officially the least affordable city to rent in Australia, the median rent consumes 30.6 per cent of average household income, surpassing Sydney (30.3 per cent). Meanwhile, vacancy rates are at historic lows, driven by a cocktail of inflation, interest rate hikes, a resurging mining sector, and population growth.
Those who remain in the city — close to hospitals, schools, jobs — are being squeezed out. Those who move further away face hours-long commutes or lack access to essential services.
A Choice Between Rent and Survival
For families like Shai and Harley Elward, the trade-offs are brutal. The couple pay $600 a week for a cramped home in southeast Perth so they can remain close to Perth Children’s Hospital, where their eight-year-old son Zavier, who has a rare and severe neurological condition, requires ongoing care.
“His bed only fits in the living room,” says Shai. “We can’t get his hoist inside. I’m lifting him even though I’ve been told I shouldn’t.”
The family used to pay $360 a week. But after being forced to relocate when their landlord sold the home, they’ve had no choice but to pay significantly more for far less. Their landlord recently attempted to raise the rent by another $50 — a jump they narrowly avoided, for now.
“We’re starting to worry we won’t be able to afford food or pay the bills,” says Harley, who works in IT support.
Cities That No Longer Belong to Everyone
Economists warn of the rise of “two-faced cities” — urban areas split along economic lines, where affluent professionals enjoy proximity to work and services, while everyone else is pushed to the edges.
“We used to have baristas, nurses, business owners all living in the same neighbourhoods,” says Witte. “Now cities are split — those who can live near opportunities, and those who can’t.”
Glen Pendlebury says he’s applied for “dozens of rentals” and is willing to spend up to 60 per cent of his income — double the rental stress threshold — just to live near his children and his work.
“I build houses. I paint homes for the wealthy,” he says. “And yet I can’t get one for myself. It’s absolutely un-Australian.”
A New Category: ‘Critically Unaffordable’
The data is so alarming that SGS has introduced a new label: “critically unaffordable” — postcodes where rent consumes at least 75 per cent of household income. For some Australians, particularly pensioners, students, and low-income single parents, this is now a reality.
“We’re not just talking about affordability,” says Grattan Institute economist Brendan Coates. “We’re talking about whether people can literally keep a roof over their heads.”
The impacts are cascading: economic mobility stalls, mental health deteriorates, and intergenerational inequality deepens. Without intervention, experts warn, Australia risks creating a permanent rental underclass.
Can Policy Catch Up?
Housing experts are united in one message: build more homes — and fast.
“The only way out is to increase supply,” says Coates. “The rental crisis hurts not only individuals but the entire economy. If people can’t afford to live near where they work, productivity drops.”
Alice Pennycott, principal lawyer with Circle Green Community Legal, says that WA renters have the least protections in the country, and calls for urgent legislative reform.
“We’ve seen tents being rented in backyards,” she says. “That’s where we are now.”
She adds that more and more renters are living in insecure housing that falls outside tenancy laws, leaving them especially vulnerable to exploitation.
Solutions on the Table
Among the proposed policy changes:
- Stronger tenancy laws, to give renters stability and prevent no-fault evictions.
- A land tax to replace stamp duty, a reform supported by many economists including Rachel Ong ViforJ, which could help bring down housing prices.
- Targeted support for low-income households, including rental subsidies and social housing expansion.
- Vacancy rate caps and rent control, as seen in the ACT, which remains the only capital city where rental affordability has not worsened since the pandemic.
The Cost of Inaction
While politicians debate solutions, the human cost grows.
“It’s heartbreaking. You feel unvalued by society,” says Glen. “In Australia, you’re supposed to have a fair go.”
As he sits in his car outside a luxury mansion he’s been hired to paint, Glen thinks about the future he wants: a home for his kids, a short commute, a decent night’s sleep.
“Someone who works hard should be able to provide for their family,” he says. “That’s not a big ask. But right now, it feels impossible.”
