More AHURI & City Futures Research Focuses on Rental Housing
Why rental apartments are so important to the whole strata title sector ...
Why is research about Australian rental housing relevant to the strata title sector? Well, that’s because half of all Australian strata title apartments are tenanted, and since the residential apartment rental market has been a bit like the Loch Ness monster in a strata lake.
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Introduction
A bit like Nessie in Scottish folklore that is said to inhabit Loch Ness in the Highlands, the strata title residential apartment rental market pops its head up from time to time but then quickly vanishes from view: leaving many to wonder about its existence, relevance, and importance.
But, renters and investors are and have always been a significant part of the strata title sector.
As the research shows and as I’ve highlighted in the article ‘7 + 3 Insights into 2020 Australian Strata Data’, strata renters occupy half of all strata apartments in Australia and their rent covers a significant part of the strata title sector’s operating costs. Plus, as I’ve highlighted in my comments about the issues that need addressing in the latest New South Wales strata law reforms in ‘Strata Reforms [NSW] Update 2: Lessons & Challenges from past reforms’, both the strata investors who own those apartments and the renters who occupy them are disenfranchised, often ignored, and their interests are almost always de-prioritised.
We should all be paying a lot more attention to these strata demographic groups and not pretending they don’t exist.
New research about the Australian rental housing
That means new research into rental housing is important for all strata stakeholders.
So, we should keep an eye on the latest research by UNSW City Futures Research Centre and the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute into the Regulation of residential tenancies and impacts on investment.
The research will focus on:
1. Reviewing the current state of residential tenancy laws across Australia.
2. Refreshing the evidence base regarding the policy and market factors that shape rental investment.
3. Presenting options for a new national tenancy reform agenda.
The research team is led by Dr. Chris Martin and comprises Prof. Kath Hulse, Prof. Eileen Webb, Dr. Laura Crommelin, Dr. Sharon Parkinson, Dr. Milad Ghasri, Ms. Liss Ralston, and Ms. Zoe Goodall.
The research will study legislation, case law, and policy documents and involve interviews with key stakeholders, including regulators, tenant organisations, and real estate institutes, as well as less-heard stakeholders, such as the new Build-to-Rent (BTR) managers and property technology intermediaries.
More information about the research is available at the UNSW City Futures Research Centre blog site.
Whilst the research will not be limited to or specifically focus on strata rentals, it will provide excellent base data and findings for the strata title sector and will give strata stakeholders useful insights into the needs, challenges, and opportunities that are available in relation to
Plus, the research will help credential all those strata investors and renters.
So, thanks to @AHURI_Research and @UNSWCityFutures for continuing to research interesting and important issues for strata stakeholders.
I’ll keep you updated as more becomes known and available.
May 12, 2021
Francesco …