Suburbs in Perth’s central area and south-east have the highest concentration of international students, with the percentage of rentals taken up by this group far exceeding the national average.
The City of Perth had the highest concentration of international students with 14.4 per cent of rental properties taken up by those on a temporary student visa, research from the Property Council of Australia has found.
International students have been unfairly blamed for the rental crisis in WA, according to the Property Council Australia. Credit: Fiona Bianchinotti
It was followed by City of Canning and Town of Victoria Park which contains Curtin University – with 11.9 per cent and 8.7 per cent respectively.
Nationally, just 13 local governments had a percentage of international students in rentals higher than 10 while almost three-quarters had less than 1 per cent.
Student Accommodation Council executive director Torie Brown said international students had been unfairly blamed for the rental crisis.
The rise of smaller and solo-person households, intrastate migration and a trend of repurposing second bedrooms into home offices also impacted the supply and affordability of rental homes.
Top 10 suburbs for Perth international students
Perth: 14.4%
Canning: 11.9%
Victoria Park: 8.7%
Stirling: 6.6%
Belmont: 6.1%
Mosmon Park: 5.7%
Vincent: 5.4%
South Perth: 5.3$
Bayswater: 4.3%
Cambridge: 4.3%
“There are more domestic students in rental homes than international – yet no one is suggesting we ban share houses for local university students,” she said.
“We need to look at the broad spectrum of issues driving up rent and reducing the supply of homes, rather than blaming a single cohort.”
However, Brown pointed out that Perth had a significant undersupply of student accommodation, exacerbating the difficulties in the private rental market.
“There is only one bed for every 27 students studying in WA, one of the worst rations in the country,” she said.
“There are only 4200 purpose-built student accommodation beds in WA, with a rental vacancy rate below one per cent.
“We are finally seeing new student accommodation projects gain traction in and around Perth, which will add critical stock to the city.
“We need to grow the pipeline of new projects to provide more housing choices for both domestic and international students studying in WA.”
Student Accommodation Council chairwoman Anouk Darling said it was a “drawn out and expensive process” to finish these projects.
“The difficulties faced by the sector include slow planning systems, high property taxes and clunky state-based legislation,” she said.
“We need governments to work with us to grow the supply of professionally managed, custom-built and safe student accommodation which alleviates pressure on the private rental market.”
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