Australian landlord faces backlash over $100 rent increase for single mother just before Christmas: ‘You can’t mix emotions with business’

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A landlord has sparked debate after increasing her tenant’s rent by $100 a week just before Christmas.

West Australian woman Kristie Hannah owns four rental properties, one of which is rented to a single mother with two children.

“I decided to increase the rent by $100 per week for my tenant, a single mother with two children, on the basis that a reasonable rent increase would have been an additional $140 per week,” Ms Hannah said.

‘I realize she probably couldn’t afford that. So I came to the conclusion that $100 would be a really good deal considering the suburb and it would be one of the cheaper rental properties on the market.”

Her tenant told Ms. Hannah’s property manager that if she passed on the $100 per week increase, she would be unable to feed her children and would be in serious financial trouble.

‘So now I’m in a position. Do I subsidize the tenant’s rent and pay it out of pocket… or do I tell this tenant that she can’t afford this particular suburb and she should look for a more reasonable place,” Ms Hannah said.

“It’s a very difficult decision and one I don’t take lightly, and it just goes to show that this housing crisis is really affecting people financially,” she explained.

Ultimately, she decided to increase the tenant’s rent.

“After further investigation, I have increased the tenant’s rent by $100 per week. Rent is still $30-$40 per below market value. Now I learn that you can’t mix emotions with business.’

Many Aussies criticized the landlord for being “greedy” and exacerbating the country’s housing problem.

“Jesus, I can’t imagine raising the rent by a hundred dollars a week. That would ruin anyone, let alone a single mother. What are you thinking of? Get some ethics,” someone said.

‘You and the real estate industry are the problem! Raising the rent based on your real estate greed. If you recognize the social problems, why are you exacerbating the problem?’ one more person added.

A third person shouted: ‘Is this satire? Surely you’re not such a terrible person.’

“I completely understand it’s your property, but raising the rent right before Christmas is a bit heartless and a $100 per week increase is high during a cost of living crisis,” a fourth person said.

However, Ms Hannah said she ‘cannot continue to bear the costs’ as she has to look after her own family.

Others defended Ms Hannah, claiming that owning rental properties is a business and not a charity.

“You have been more than generous. Push the full raise, if she’s that close to the line she’s going to have to leave that suburb shorty anyway,” someone said.

“If they aren’t glad they can move to a cheaper suburb, it’s as simple as that. You are still below market price,” said a second.

‘Take the emotion out of it! It’s an investment property, not a charity! As harsh as that sounds, it is the cost of success,” a third stated.

‘You’re not running a charity at the end of the day. Maybe you can leave it after Christmas as a gesture of goodwill,” another suggested.

Australia’s rental market has gone from bad to worse as unaffordable urban housing shortages have spread to the regions and rental price increases are outpacing wage growth.

National Shelter and SGS Economics’ Rental Affordability Index shows affordability has fallen in every city except Canberra and Hobart over the past 12 months.

Regional Queensland is now the least affordable place in Australia when comparing income to rental prices.

The average rent there costs $553 per week, reaching the rental stress threshold of 30 percent of an average household’s pre-tax income going toward housing.

Sydney saw the sharpest decline in affordability among urban areas, with a jump to 29 per cent of household income, which is in line with Hobart.

Melbourne and Perth also saw a 10 percent drop in affordability.

There are now far fewer more affordable areas for Australian renters to move to, said Ellen Witte of SGS Economics & Planning.

“It’s really starting to hurt the economy, people are having to live further away from jobs and companies are struggling to find workers,” Ms Witte said.

Rockhampton retiree Deb Lindley said she recently had to move after the rent on her old home rose by $120 to $480 a week.

She managed to stay there for several months until support from the state government program RentConnect ran out. Ms Lindley now lives in a cheaper small unit, which has no balcony or fence to protect her dog.

“I’m just really angry,” Ms. Lindley said.

The 69-year-old cancer survivor had to give away most of her furniture to move into her new home and believes the private rental market needs to change.

Data collected for the index showed that people on lower incomes suffered the most.

A single person on JobSeeker must spend at least 75 percent of their income on a one-bedroom apartment in urban areas and 53 percent in the cheapest regional areas.

Single retirees in every capital city except Adelaide and Hobart must spend at least half their income on rent, and at least 32 percent of their money on regional housing.

Emma Greenhalgh, chief executive of National Shelter, said tenants have been devastated by rent increases that far exceed income growth.

“Rental affordability in Australia is going from bad to worse,” Ms Greenhalgh said.

She said the problem needs to be approached from several angles, including building more social and affordable housing, immediate rent relief and a national standard for price increases.

She said the nation needs to have a serious discussion on tax reforms, especially negative leverage policies and capital gains cuts.

“We are currently marketing housing as a tool for wealth and not as a home,” Ms Greenhalgh said.

“These tax measures disproportionately benefit high-income households.”

The cost of living crisis is leaving more and more people in financial stress as we head into the festive season.

According to research from the Salvation Army, more than 12.8 million adults (62 percent) are ending the year worried about their finances, compared to about 50 percent last year.

The survey found that 31 percent of adults want to use a credit card to pay for Christmas expenses, up from 18 percent last year.

The number of Australians planning to spend money they don’t already have through buy-now, pay-later services has also doubled to 15 percent.

The charity is expecting a rise in the number of people seeking support this year and The Salvation Army’s Andrew Hill is asking the public to make a donation to its annual Christmas appeal.

“People are really struggling this year, which means Christmas is going to make things even harder,” he said.

“People are at a breaking point – and it hurts.”

One in four Australian adults will struggle to put food on the table this Christmas, while around one in three will find it difficult to pay utilities or rent.

Of those who will ask for help this Christmas, Mr Hill expects almost half will be doing so for the first time.

The charity aims to raise $25 million this holiday season to support those in need.

Last year it provided more than 66,000 bed nights for families needing accommodation and more than 132,000 meals.