The Impacts of Eviction on Private Renters in Two Australian States

Around one in four Australian households are reliant on the lightly regulated private rental sector for their accommodation. The light regulation means that landlords are able to increase the rent to whatever the market can tolerate and can evict tenants for little or no reason. Although precise data is not available, organisations assisting tenants have reported that evictions in the current tight rental market are a common phenomenon. Despite its prevalence, there has been scant research on evictions in Australia in the private rental sector. To better understand the impacts of eviction I draw on 53 interviews with tenants in two states, New South Wales and Queensland. The article examines the impacts of both the threat of eviction and actual eviction on private renters. Judith Butler’s and Isabell Lorey’s precarity framework is used to examine the consequences. Several interrelated impacts are discussed – the effects on the mental health of tenants, the financial implications, the reluctance to complain or ask for maintenance, the loss of support networks and sense of home and decline in accommodation quality.