Housing adaptations to social, economic and demographic changes: renter-owner households in Australia

The scholarly literature conventionally depicts owner occupation and renting as distinct and mutually exclusive housing tenure types whilst acknowledging variations in tenure forms within each type. However, there is growing... [ view full abstract ]

The scholarly literature conventionally depicts owner occupation and renting as distinct and mutually exclusive housing tenure types whilst acknowledging variations in tenure forms within each type. However, there is growing evidence that some households are adapting their housing arrangements in ways that are inadequately captured by the conceptual underpinnings and analytical approaches forming most housing-based research.

This presentation details one arrangement that has not been the subject of detailed investigation, namely renter-ownership, whereby a household lives in private rental while owning other property. It contends renter-ownership is one housing adaption to demographic, social and economic changes occurring in late modernity; a time when individuals are required to develop individualised responses rather than relying on established social norms and social practices.

The research findings show that one in nine renter households in Australia own property they do not live in, or around three per cent of all households, based on available secondary data. Taking into account property ownership identifies household income and wealth polarisation between ‘property haves’ and ‘property have-nots’, irrespective of housing tenure status. This issue was explored more qualitatively through in depth interviews with 26 renter-owners. In a context of flexible labour markets and a lack of housing affordability, it appears that renter-ownership is used to facilitate mobility while building a ‘safety net’ of asset accumulation and security. Renter-owners also convey the view that they can access ‘home-owner’ benefits, decoupling an assumed entanglement of owner-occupation and a concept of home.

The findings build on existing literature by demonstrating the need to consider property ownership, rather than housing tenure status, as one contributing factor to household divisions. The conclusion drawn is that housing adaptations are a signal of the need to reconceptualise links between housing occupancy and property ownership in order to understand the role of housing in contemporary life.