More Children Living in Rental Homes as Home Ownership Falls

Housing Policy

Children whose parents owned home moved rarely compared to children who lived in rented houses, according to ABC News reporter Curtis Rodda.

In short:

A new study from Adelaide University shows children in rental homes move about every 2.3 years on average.

One in eight renters’ children have moved ten or more times by age fourteen.

The share of Australian kids in private rentals rose 20 percent from 2001 to 2023.

More kids are growing up in private rentals and face housing insecurity, a report warns could affect their development, health and wellbeing.

Four Adelaide University researchers – Amy Clair, Emma Baker, Lynne Giles and Claire Morey – released the study through the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute today.

The authors used long‑term data sets like the HILDA survey and the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children to examine how Australia’s housing‑price crisis impacts children.

The report found that as house prices rose between 2001 and 2023, the share of families who owned their home outright fell by 52 percent.

Social‑rental families fell 46 percent, mortgage‑owners rose 27 percent and private‑rental families rose 20 percent.

How the census over‑inflates the home ownership rate

Research lead Amy Clair said the private‑rental figure is worrying because those children move about every 2.3 years on average.

By age fourteen, a child in a private rental moved six times on average; owners moved just over twice and social‑housing children moved just over four times, she said.

Children in families with a mortgage moved about three times by age fourteen, half as often as those in renting families.

However, these averages hide many cases of severe housing instability.

One in eight children in private rentals lived in ten or more homes by age fourteen, versus about one in forty in mortgage‑owned homes.

Few families rent by choice – only 7 percent said they liked it and 8 percent liked the flexibility – while over half lacked a deposit and many could not afford to buy.

AHURI found the main reasons for renting were not having a deposit and other affordability problems.

Housing is a key factor for physical and mental health

The study also showed rental children are more likely to live in financially stressed or poor‑condition households.

About 18 percent of private‑rental families were late on rent, compared with 7 percent of mortgage families; around 10 percent of rental children faced overcrowding, more than double the rate in owned homes.

Dr Clair said children’s experiences are often missed in housing debates because data on their housing status is scarce, and better data could help create conditions for children to thrive.

Australia’s data is split, creating blind spots that stop early help, targeted response and accountable policy.

The authors reviewed many studies that link stable housing with better development outcomes.

The report suggests health services, early‑learning centres, schools and primary care should record signs of affordability stress, crowding and home problems, and surveys should add questions about temperature, damp, mould, safety and amenities.

"Children’s lives are shaped by housing, but we need data to see how, and policymakers must use the insights to design policies that improve housing for children," Dr Clair said.

She said the insights could help early‑warning systems, local service planning and targeted help.

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