Young couple told by agent that landlords would not rent to 'people like you'

Amber Barry and Saxon O'Neill should not be struggling to find a rental.

The nurse and electrician, both 21, have secure, full-time employment and earn more than enough to afford a local rental property.

On paper, the couple are dream tenants.

But more than six months of searching for a rental on Queensland's Sunshine Coast has given them a harsh reality check.

"We just kept getting knocked back, over and over and over," Ms Barry said.

"We kept putting our budget up higher, but still rejection all the time."

Then at one inspection, the couple asked the property agent for advice on how to improve their application and their chances.

"She pretty much said that the owners can put in requests for who they want in the place and most of the time it's young families or older couples," Ms Barry said.

"She actually said, 'We don't want people like you two.'"

Mr O'Neill described the words as a "stab in the heart".

"It was our age and not so much our occupation, because we are making more than enough money to be able to qualify for these homes," he said.

"We're working 40 hours a week. Amber has rental experience. I can only imagine that people our age that, say, are working part-time and doing uni, they have no chance."

Tough competition

Sunshine Coast real estate agent Matt Diesel said in a tight rental market, even strong applicants missed out.

"There could be one or two outstanding applications that are knocking out really strong, good applications that typically in a normal rental market have no problem getting a property," he said.

The rental vacancy rate on the Sunshine Coast is less than 1 per cent, a figure Mr Diesel called "critically low".

Mr Diesel said he did not believe age was the reason young people were missing out on rental properties, but a lack of rental history could be a factor.

"The people that may not have the best rental history. They're the ones that are struggling the most at present," he said.

Mr Diesel said property managers were looking for applicants with stability, consistency and continuity.

Young people pushed out

Fiona Caniglia said it was unfortunate those qualities were no longer enough to secure a rental.

Ms Caniglia heads Q Shelter, a not-for-profit group that advocates on housing and homelessness.

She said more young people from different backgrounds were struggling to find a place to rent.

"We have key workers and other really important people to our economy unable to afford the private rental market as it currently stands," Ms Caniglia said.

"If we are relying on them so much for our communities to work, then they need to be able to rely on all of us to pull together the housing response that they need."

Ms Caniglia said the current housing crisis was putting pressure on many types of households, but young people were particularly vulnerable.

"We are seeing a growing concern about young people and homelessness, which is not acceptable when you consider that they are our future," she said.

"Young people are also vulnerable because they don't have that rental history, their incomes are generally lower as they scale up into their jobs and gain experience."

Ms Caniglia said every tier of government needed to be working to ensure there was enough housing supply for all types of households.

That means social housing for vulnerable groups, and affordable homes for what she calls "the missing middle" — people like Ms Barry and Mr O'Neill, who earn enough to rent but still cannot secure a home.

Creating a new model

Ms Barry and Mr O'Neill have paused their rental search for now and moved in with family but they have not given up, instead deciding to tackle the issue differently.

The pair wrote to local council members, Queensland's housing minister, and even the prime minister.

Ms Barry said most of them brushed her off, but one councillor put the pair in touch with another concerned local.

The trio have formed Young People Housing Association, with an eye to implement creative solutions to get young people into homes.

The group advocates for young people to lead the charge in changing housing policy, with a focus on finding paths to home ownership.

Their dream is to create a housing community for young people, with the group exploring modular homes and rent-to-buy models.

Ms Barry said shelter was a fundamental need.

"Without shelter, you can't aspire to do better things, you can't innovate and you can't be creative without your basic needs being met first,"

she said.

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