Rental Affordability Index
An indicator of rental affordability relative to household incomes.
RAI November 2022 Report
Tuesday, 29 November 2022
National Shelter, the Brotherhood of St. Laurence, and SGS Economics and Planning have released the Rental Affordability Index (RAI) on a biannual basis since 2015. Since 2019, the RAI has been released annually. In 2021, Beyond Bank joined as a supporter of the RAI. The RAI is a price index for housing rental markets. It is a clear and concise indicator of rental affordability relative to household incomes, applied to geographic areas across Australia.
This report has been prepared as part of the eleventh RAI release. It highlights changes to affordability in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, including both the period during which city-dwellers relocated to the regions in a short space of time (while the normal relocation of people from regions to cities ceased) and the period of eased public health and border restrictions in 2022.
This report presents the findings of the November 2022 release of the RAI. It provides an update of the November 2021 RAI report by analysing data from the four most recent available quarters (September and December 2021, March and June 2022).
RAI Full 2022 Report
Interactive Map
Important note for Western Australia: Select ‘all dwellings’ and select ‘the income’
The profiles do not activate due to a lack of data in relation to number of bedrooms.
Interactive Dashboard
RAI November 2022 Trends (Perth)
- The average rental household in greater Perth has a gross income of $98,470 per annum. With a RAI score of 124, rental affordability in greater Perth has declined considerably over the past two years (15 per cent), bringing affordability to its lowest point since 2016. This reflects a sharp increase in rents since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which incomes, while high, have not offset.
- Average rental household in greater Perth pays 24 per cent of its income in rent.
- The rental situation is less affordable for lower income households, such as pensioners, those receiving JobSeeker payments, and hospitality workers.
- Parts of the greater Fremantle area have become Severely Unaffordable while south-eastern suburbs, such as Canning Vale, Willetton, Bull Creek and Leeming, have fallen from Moderately Unaffordable to Unaffordable.
RAI November 2022 Trends (WA)
- The average rental household in regional Western Australia has a gross income of $104,765 per annum.
- Regional WA has a RAI score of 134 and the average rental household faces rent of around 22 per cent of its total income, however there is large variation in incomes due to the dominance of the resources industry in some regions and many areas have been experiencing severe shortages of rental accommodation.
- In regional WA, rental affordability fell eight per cent in past 12 months.
- Worst affected regional areas are: Busselton, Broome, Karratha, Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Collie.
The RAI
The RAI uses the 30 per cent of income rule. Rental affordability is calculated using the following equation:
RAI = (Income/qualifying income )*100
Households paying 30 per cent of income on rent have a RAI score of 100, indicating these households are at the critical threshold level for housing stress.
Previous years media releases
- Shelter WA 2022 RAI Media Release
- Shelter WA 2021 RAI Media Release
- Shelter WA 2020 RAI Media Release
- Shelter WA 2019 RAI Media Release
Historic Rental Affordability Index Reports
