Getting a job: the role of rental housing assistance

Policies and programs to assist low income renters in Australia, as in many other countries, have developed in relative isolation from fundamental changes in labour markets and significant changes to income support programs. The federal government’s ‘welfare reform’ agenda recognises the potential importance of housing in the overall structure of welfare and tax reform but has not addressed this issue in any depth. This lack of focus on the role of housing, and housing assistance, in getting a job is also reflected in the research literature. While there is a growing literature in social policy and labour market studies generally on work disincentives, there has been limited empirical research into the role of rental housing assistance in contributing to incentives or disincentives for unemployed people to enter paid work. In particular, there has been little research on the behavioural aspects of work disincentives. The paper attempts to fill a part of this research gap. It reports on the findings of research into the financial and non-financial disincentives faced by renters who are unemployed and looking for paid work. This involved both theoretical modelling of disincentives and detailed interviews with 400 unemployed renters in Sydney and Melbourne. The findings identify how living in rental housing and being in receipt of different forms of rental housing assistance can contribute to incentives or disincentives to getting a job. This involves an examination of issues such as access to housing, rent setting, conditions of tenancy and location. There is a particular focus on how unemployed renters respond in the face of what appear to be quite considerable housing related disincentives to entering paid work.