Came to Hobart to live the dream, left because rent became too expensive.

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Niall and Sarah came to Hobart to work and to enjoy the environment of Tasmania.

A short while after moving to Tassie they had found a house for $360pw which was perfect for the couple and their rescue greyhound, Chickpea.

In 2023 the owner of the property they were then renting retracted their lease renewal at short notice and they were forced to look for another place to rent.

“We went and inspected so many houses, each with about 50 people looking at each place”, says Niall. Even though they are both working professionals with great references, they were unsuccessful for the dozen or so places they applied for.

They kept looking.

“The options were so shit. Mouldy, noisy, freezing. The quality of the properties for rent is seriously bad. It’s scandalous”.

Finally, to avoid being homeless, they took a place that was a lot bigger than they needed or wanted as it was the only one that was available to them. This took their rent to $680 a week, which has pushed them to the brink.

“The house is very cold, and very noisy and when we looked at what we could get for a lot cheaper in Melbourne, we decided it was time to go”.

Niall says that he is seeing more and more properties around him disappearing into Short Term Accommodation (AirBnb). This is taking so many houses out of the market for renters, and making the market value of the few remaining places artificially high.

“Even with two of us working professionals, we can’t afford to go out with all of our income going to living expenses. It’s a deal breaker for us. We would love to stay in Hobart, but we’ve come to the conclusion that we just can’t afford to. And we are the lucky ones. We realise that we had the means to get a bigger house, even though we can’t afford it - so we just feel so worried for anyone who isn’t on what we are, and how they are managing to find a home.”