Homeless Australia CEO Kate Colvin said as climate disasters become more regular, there was a risk of a “two-tiered society” in which housing security determined disaster survival. “There is a gap between people who are best able to protect themselves and people who are least able to,” she said.
Renters are often limited to cheaper properties in more flood-prone areas and were less resilient to climate-related disasters, compared with higher-income earners. Renters also often had less access to government support and faced a “superheated” rental market.
“They can’t compete because all those people who had insurance often also get a special payments system to afford rent during the time when their home is not available,” Colvin said.
Factors included the prevalence of construction workers who flood disaster zones in the wake of climate events, inadvertently are driving up rents for already struggling locals. Experts recommend that the federal government should make renters or people facing homelessness a priority in future disaster responses, and include disaster resilience in its 10-year housing plan.
