Access to secure and affordable rental properties is getting tougher, especially for people on low incomes in our capital cities. Productivity Commission analysis shows that more than half of all Australia’s low-income tenants are now paying so much for their housing that they can’t afford basic essentials like food and clothing. And this proportion is growing.i In all, some 1.3 million Australians are pushed into poverty in this way.ii Increasing pressures on the housing market are resulting in fewer private rental properties within the means of Australians who need them most. Over the past 10-15 years this problem has become substantially worse.