Rental affordability and availability continues to cause issues for Daylesford residents, says housing worker Rae Hough.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The median rental price in Daylesford is $340 per week for a house and $320 per week for a unit, according to realestate.com
Only one rental property under $300 per week was listed on realestate.com in Daylesford on Tuesday and nine other properties were listed between $300 and $500 per week.
The Advocate asked Daylesford-based Child and Family Services (CAFS) housing worker Rae Hough if rental affordability and availability remained an issue in Daylesford.
“That’s why we’re here,” Ms Hough said. “Availability is an issue for affordable rentals. Availability is lacking, especially for single people.”
In her role with CAFS Ballarat, Ms Hough experiences first-hand the struggles of residents to find and keep suitable housing. She said housing difficulty affected a range of people.
“We deal with vulnerable families, domestic violence victims and people who are working in the hospitality industry on casual wages which are not always reliable,” Ms Hough said.
“We’ve noticed that people on casual incomes, not set part-time incomes, is increasing.”
CAFS workers in Daylesford offer crisis response as well as support for those in short-term accommodation. But Ms Hough said the solution to the housing problem did not lie in Daylesford.
“It’s right across the state and across Australia that we need more affordable housing,” she said.
Stockdale and Leggo Daylesford managing director David Wynack said the rental market in Daylesford has always been “tight and steady”.
“It goes back to the last 20 years when holiday rental accommodation became popular and a lot of housing stock went to the short-term market. There is always demand for the long-term rental market,” Mr Wynack said.
“It has been like that for a long time and I think it will continue that way. There is not a lot of accommodation being built for the investment market, not enough to meet the demand.”
Many community groups in the region generously donate to help people in need.
Ms Hough said CAFS receives a continuous flow of donated items.
“The Daylesford knitting group donate gloves, scarfs and socks, we have had boxes of food coming in from the Newbury Buddhist Monastery, we get bags of very practical things like toothpaste, toothbrushes and razors. We have just had a big donation from the Daylesford Primary School who have given gifts for Christmas,” Ms Hough said.
“As a worker being in a small community the advantage is we get such wonderful community support.”