Luyện nói tiếng Anh bằng Shadowing qua video: What to do if you are hit with a rent increase

Ricardo, it's impossible to talk about the cost of living without talking about renting.

⏸ Tạm dừng

Tốc độ:

327 câu

Nếu các câu quá ngắn hoặc quá dài, hãy bấm Edit để chỉnh sửa.

Ricardo, it's impossible to talk about the cost of living without talking about renting.

And it's a fact that for an increasing number of people,

renting is no longer a lifestyle choice.

It's often the only option for housing.

Yeah, and the crisis has been driven by a demand and supply imbalance,

along with a number of landlords passing on higher interest rates to renters, Peggy.

To tell us more about renting and how that relates to cost of living,

we're joined by Dr Emma Power.

Emma is an Associate Professor of Human Geography and Urban Studies at Western Sydney University.

Emma let's start with the reality as we mentioned in the intro

that it's no longer a lifestyle choice for a lot of people renting it's a way of life.

Yeah that's right Peggy you know in Australia we've always thought of ourselves as being a homeowner nation

but what we're seeing over time is that more

and more people are renting and and they're renting for longer periods of the life course.

So, you know, we used to think that maybe someone would move out of the family home,

they'd rent for a short time,

and then they might, you know,

take out a mortgage and buy a house to live in.

But increasingly, houses are just so expensive,

the cost of housing has gone up so much quicker than incomes in Australia,

that more and more people are locked out and they find themselves renting for their whole lives.

And it can be really tough out there,

particularly for, you know, low income households.

I think we know that a third of the population rents,

a third of the population owns a mortgage,

and a third of the population owns their home.

So a third of the population renting is a huge number.

We know there are structural issues in the sector which are complex,

but we've done a lot of stories on that on SBS News Online,

so our listeners can go there for that.

But if we go to the basics about how we can save money while we're renting,

about how you need to find somewhere to rent,

when you look for a property to rent,

how do you do it?

Yeah, the main way that people will be finding rental properties today is using some of the big commercial property search websites.

So things like realestate.com.au, domain.com.au.

So those websites let people put in the area that they want to rent in,

the number of bedrooms, maybe even the type of place.

Are they looking to live in an apartment or are they looking for a detached house?

Do they need a bit more land?

And what's the maximum rent that they're willing to pay?

And so that's the first starting point for most people.

And you can also go to your local real estate agent as well and see what their listings are.

Is there any way of figuring out what a fair market rate is by postcode in Australia?

This probably varies by state to state.

It's a really good question and that can be a super tricky one depending where people are.

So there are some tools that people can use in different parts of the country.

Now the Tenants Union of New South Wales has got a really excellent rent checker website.

So if you go to their website and look for the postcode rent checker,

you can put in the postcode that you're looking to rent in.

You can tell them how many bedrooms you're interested in and it will tell you what the median rent is.

And so, you know, it's the median,

it's the in the middle point of rents that people are paying.

So you know that there'll be properties that are more expensive and properties that are cheaper.

But it gives you a bit of an indication of which areas might be more affordable.

And it will also tell you what sort of rent increases those areas have seen.

Would it be fair to say that most people would say right now that rents are very expensive?

So in saying that, do landlords have the balance of power at the moment?

And if they do, to what extent?

And is there anything that can be done to cap rents?

That's a really tricky one.

Landlords absolutely have the power in the Australian rental system at this point in time.

So we've got record low vacancy rates.

And what that means is that there's more and more people looking for fewer and fewer properties.

And so it's very difficult for tenants to be competitive and to challenge landlords on property prices in that context.

So if someone does get a property,

you know, rent increase from their landlord, what can they do?

Well, the first thing they can do is actually make sure that the landlord,

the real estate agent, has followed the correct policy in the state that they're in.

So if every state's got a Residential Tenancies Act and

that act actually sets out the laws around how many rent increases are possible.

So maybe it's like one rent increase in 12 months,

depending on the type of lease that you're on.

And it also sets out how much notice the landlord

or real estate agent needs to give to the tenants before they can expect the rent to go up.

So if the landlord or real estate agent haven't followed those rules,

then the tenant's got grounds to say,

well, look, you need to reissue that notice.

And that can give them a little bit more time to work out what they're going to do.

You can also approach your landlord or your real estate agent to appeal against the rent increase.

So if you think that the rent increase is unreasonable,

you can get some evidence.

So some of the forms of evidence,

you could use the Tenant Union of New South Wales Postcode Rent Checker if you're in New South Wales.

You can also visit similar properties in the area where you live.

So say you're in a two bedroom apartment that's of reasonable quality,

find some other two bedroom apartments that are of similar standard,

find out the rental history for those.

So how much are the tenants at the moment paying?

How much did the previous tenants pay?

And you can use that to get a sense of whether the rent that you've been asked to pay is appropriate.

And if you think that the rent is over the odds that the landlord's asking,

then you can use that evidence to appeal to them.

And so there's formal and informal ways of doing that.

So the informal way would be to contact your real estate agent

or landlord and ask to have a chat about the rent and say to them,

look, you know, we think that this is a bit of a high increase compared to other properties in the area.

And you can have that conversation and show them the evidence.

Or you can appeal to the consumer tribunal.

100

There's different tribunals and different systems in different states.

101

And they can actually sometimes determine if it's sort of an over the odds increase.

102

You made a good point.

103

So it's a state by state basis.

104

There are different rules per state there's not a sort of national standardisation, is there?

105

No, that's right.

106

So that's one of the limits in Australia at the moment is

107

that every single state and territory has its own systems and they're really, really variable.

108

So some states have got better protections than other states.

109

And so one of the things

110

that we really would be great for us to work towards in Australia are some national benchmarks

111

and standards that sit across each of the states.

112

And for people

113

that are in a property who might want to make some changes to the property to make it more comfortable,

114

what kind of things can they do without too much expense and without having to risk their tenancy?

115

So that's one of the things that really varies state by state.

116

So in some states you can make minor changes without asking your landlord.

117

So you might be able to put a nail in the wall and put a photograph or a picture up.

118

In other states you'll be required to get written permission from your landlord or real estate agent to do that.

119

So again, it's really important that people check what the legislation says.

120

And if they've got a contract,

121

a lease with their landlord,

122

which most people will do,

123

that will usually set out all of those conditions so they can read that as a starting point.

124

I guess if we're talking about what you can do when you're renting to save costs,

125

what about when it comes to energy?

126

Electricity is one of the big costs for anyone in a home.

127

For renters, is there anything they can do or ask their landlord to do for them?

128

Yeah, look, housing in Australia is amongst the poorest quality in the world for thermal efficiency.

129

And I've heard people describe Australian housing as being like a tent,

130

because if it's hot outside, it's hot inside.

131

If it's cold outside, it's cold inside.

132

You know, they're not very well insulated.

133

Our houses are very leaky.

134

They let air in and out.

135

So, you know, this is something that we want landlords to really step up and take responsibility for.

136

And so the first thing I would say is that,

137

you know, if people are living in properties that are poor condition,

138

if they've got a concern about what's going on in this sector,

139

there are some campaigns that are active at the moment

140

that are trying to get decision makers across Australia to actually bring in better policies in this sector.

141

So organisations like sweltering cities,

142

like better renting work in this space.

143

You know,

144

we can look to places like New Zealand where landlords are actually required to insulate the property to a certain standard.

145

So, you know, we can aspire towards that.

146

And it does take people who are renting

147

and landlords to think about this and to talk to politicians and other decision makers.

148

There's also some decisions and practices that people can do in the meantime while they're waiting for,

149

you know, hoping for these sorts of changes.

150

So, you know, we know that heat comes in and out of houses through cracks around doors.

151

So you can get a door snake or even just roll a towel up

152

and put it at the bottom of the door

153

if there's a big gap and try and block off some of that air.

154

You could go to your local hardware store and get some low cost seals to put around the door,

155

around the window.

156

In some places you might need to check with your real estate agent or landlord to get permission for that.

157

You could look for somewhere cool to go.

158

So if it's a really hot day,

159

you know, heat is a massive risk to health and our cities are only getting hotter and hotter into the future.

160

So people can look for cool places to go to.

161

That might be a shopping centre where there's free air conditioning,

162

where you can just sit,

163

you know, take up a bench seat and relax and have a chat with your friends.

164

It might be a local community centre or neighbourhood centre that's air conditioned.

165

And some councils have actually got programs where they open council

166

buildings on really hot days to help people out in that way.

167

There's also some little things that people can do if they're moving from property to property.

168

So they might think about getting some thick curtains that they can hang over the windows.

169

That helps in summer.

170

You can block the hot sun that's coming in.

171

And in winter, it helps the heat to stay in the house

172

so that you're not just constantly heating and heating and heating and that hot air is getting sucked outside.

173

Sharehousing.

174

Now, sharehousing was once considered the domain of students or possibly people that have recently immigrated to the country,

175

but it is a growing reality for a huge demographic of Australia now.

176

Older people especially, say people over 40,

177

people over 50, are in sharehouse situations.

178

How can people in those situations better protect themselves?

179

Look, it's worthwhile people thinking about developing sort of written down agreement between the housemates.

180

So what that would look like potentially is,

181

you know, a document that has all your names on it and that specifies what room you've got access to yourself,

182

what's your own private room,

183

what are the rooms in the house that you'll be sharing,

184

what rent you'll be paying.

185

So what's the agreed amount of rent?

186

How long do you agree that you'll be living in this house for?

187

And a really important one is the bond.

188

So often bond is four weeks rent.

189

And so if you're moving into a share house where someone else is the head tenant,

190

where they have the lease,

191

and if you're paying them the bond,

192

you want to know that there's a written and signed record

193

that they've received it and that you'll be able to get that back at the end.

194

And so a written agreement is a really good way of having some kind of evidence

195

that you've handed over that money and that you'll be able to get it back at the end.

196

And are there drawn up agreements in different states for sub tenants?

197

Yeah, look, you can get examples of these from various different websites.

198

The Tenants Union of New South Wales,

199

again, I would say they've got a really good one of these

200

that you can just simply download and put your main details into.

201

Some of the consumer affairs

202

or fair trading departments in the states across Australia might also have examples of these that you can use.

203

If you're looking for a flatmate,

204

how do you do it?

205

And are there sites, for example,

206

that cater to specific groups?

207

are a range of commercial websites that people can find.

208

So if they Google find a flatmate or something like that,

209

they'll be able to use one of these sites.

210

And typically what happens in these is that people who have a lease and are looking for new flatmates,

211

they might put some photos of their house up,

212

they might write a description of their house and the sort of flatmate that they're looking for.

213

And if you're looking for a house,

214

you might put up a photo of yourself and a bit of a description about,

215

you know, the sorts of sort of house that you might be looking for,

216

or any lifestyle factors or specific things that you might need in a property.

217

There's also Facebook sites that people use as well.

218

And so there's different Facebook pages that are for different regions or different cities across the country.

219

And there's also Facebook pages for specific groups.

220

So there's Facebook pages for single mums,

221

for instance, who are trying to find other single mums that they want to rent with,

222

or for single older women who are looking for other women in a similar circumstance.

223

And so

224

that can be a really great way of finding other people who share the same kind of needs

225

and interests that you do.

226

What kind of checks can you do on potential flatmates,

227

though, especially if they're just random people off Facebook pages or off websites?

228

Is asking for a police check probably going too far?

229

Of course, people need to be really vigilant when they're following up these advertisements,

230

and particularly if they're going to a house to check it out.

231

And so thinking carefully about how to vet someone is a really, really important thing.

232

And different people will have different ways of doing that.

233

One of the things some people might want to do is even get a reference from,

234

you know, a previous flatmate that that person has lived with.

235

They might want to look at their social media.

236

They might want to spend a bit of time talking to them on the phone before they agree to meet them.

237

They might even want to meet them in a public place before they go to the home.

238

I think a lot of these websites have got advice about safety.

239

And so it's well worth looking up that information so that you stay safe yourself.

240

What about getting further assistance?

241

Are there charities, for example,

242

that can help out in certain ways?

243

Yeah, look, the way that rents are increasing at the moment,

244

there's more and more people who are finding themselves in financial stress because of their rents.

245

So, you know, it's a terrible situation and it's something

246

that we need to tackle at the level of the housing system but if someone finds themselves in crisis,

247

there are support services out there that they can go to for a bit of extra help.

248

And I'd point people towards a fantastic website called Ask Izzy, it's A-A-S-K-I-Z-Z-Y.

249

And that's a website that can connect you with organisations all the way across Australia

250

that can support with things like accessing food or vouchers or no interest loans with financial counselling.

251

So what you do is you log onto the website,

252

you tell them what suburb or what region you're in

253

and you click and you tell them what sort of help you're looking for

254

and they'll bring up a page that's got a list of the services

255

that are available and there's a whole range of things

256

so people might need food support for instance

257

so there are food banks all over the country where there's dried supermarket goods

258

and also some fresh food that's available it's possible to access for some people

259

and no interest loans so there are eligibility criteria for some of these

260

but a no interest loan might be something

261

that someone's needing to look at if their car breaks down

262

or they need to pay for their rego

263

or some sorts of unexpected medical costs pop up or they need to buy a new fridge suddenly.

264

And you can go on this website,

265

it can connect you with providers of no interest loans across the country and you can go and apply.

266

And if you can show that you can repay the loan,

267

that can be a more sustainable way of meeting some of these costs than having to go to a bank, for instance.

268

can you give us a checklist

269

if you are up for a rent increase what can you do about it

270

and who do you speak to is your only option to speak to your agent or can you go to the landlord?

271

Yeah look it you can go to either your real estate agent

272

or your landlord in some cases your land your real estate agent might feel a little bit put out

273

if they feel like they've been bypassed

274

but I think what's important to remember is that the real estate agent represents the landlord in these conversations.

275

So, you know, when you're talking to them,

276

you're talking, they'll hopefully be translating your interests to the landlord.

277

But if you talk to the landlord,

278

that's the most direct contact.

279

And, you know, maybe they'll understand the situation that you're in.

280

And as I said, you know,

281

you can have a conversation with them about whether the costs are reasonable based on the cost of other properties

282

that are similar in the area

283

but you could also talk to them about you know your own costs

284

and expenses and the struggles that you're in

285

so you know somebody might feel

286

that this rent increase is going to be unsustainable for them

287

but they know that they've been a good tenant

288

and they can see

289

that what they can offer the landlord by being you know looking after the property

290

and by staying in the property for a long time that

291

that might also help the landlord's interest because it costs them when they have to change properties.

292

Now we mentioned at the beginning that we're in this crisis situation when it comes to the rental market.

293

In terms of longer term,

294

different initiatives, for example, social housing and so on,

295

what are we looking at?

296

Is there a positive future when it comes to,

297

say, social housing for workers,

298

essential workers especially, closer to the city, closer to work?

299

Look, it's hard to say at this point,

300

but there's certainly lots of conversations about the need to build more affordable housing.

301

And so what I would say to people is, you know, get involved.

302

Talk to your local council,

303

talk to your member of parliament at a state and federal level.

304

Tell them about your experiences in the rental sector

305

and how difficult it is to get by when rents are going up and,

306

you know, when properties are so,

307

leases are so short and properties are so insecure.

308

Tell them about that and give them a story that they can use to drive change.

309

What we need is more investment in affordable housing

310

and we need to have tenancy legislation that protects the rights of renters better.

311

And so talking to your elected members is one way that you can support some of that policy change that we need.

312

And maybe in wrapping up,

313

what would your message be to landlords who are wanting to a protect their investment,

314

but also balance, I guess,

315

their social responsibility to put a roof over people's homes?

316

Yeah, look, I think that landlords need to remember that this isn't just an investment,

317

and it isn't just a rental property, this is someone's home.

318

And so keeping that in mind when they're interacting with their tenants,

319

when they're making decisions about property repairs,

320

when they're making decisions about whether they should insulate a property or not,

321

you know, this is someone's home.

322

And I think if our whole housing system put that idea right at the centre,

323

I think we'd be in a lot better place than we are right now.

324

Dr. Emma Power, Associate Professor of Human Geography and Urban Studies at Western Sydney University.

325

Thank you so much for joining us here for the podcast.

326

Thanks for the chance to chat.

327

And don't forget to subscribe to Cost of Living Secrets for more tips on how to save money every day.

TRENDING

Phổ biến

Phương Pháp Shadowing Là Gì?

Shadowing là kỹ thuật học ngôn ngữ có cơ sở khoa học, ban đầu được phát triển cho chương trình đào tạo phiên dịch viên chuyên nghiệp và được phổ biến rộng rãi bởi nhà đa ngôn ngữ học Dr. Alexander Arguelles. Nguyên lý cốt lõi đơn giản nhưng cực kỳ hiệu quả: bạn nghe tiếng Anh của người bản xứ và lặp lại to ngay lập tức — như một "cái bóng" (shadow) đuổi theo người nói với độ trễ chỉ 1–2 giây. Khác với luyện ngữ pháp hay học từ vựng bị động, Shadowing buộc não bộ và cơ miệng phải đồng thời xử lý và tái tạo ngôn ngữ thực tế. Các nghiên cứu khoa học xác nhận phương pháp này cải thiện đáng kể phát âm, ngữ điệu, nhịp điệu, nối âm, kỹ năng nghe và độ lưu loát khi nói — đặc biệt hiệu quả cho người luyện IELTS Speaking và muốn giao tiếp tiếng Anh tự nhiên như người bản ngữ.

ShadowingEnglish.com – Luyện Nói Tiếng Anh Bằng Shadowing

Nói tiếng Anh lưu loát với phương pháp Shadowing — nghe người bản xứ, đọc theo từng câu, rèn phản xạ ngôn ngữ thật sự. Được hàng ngàn người học IELTS tin dùng.

Luyện nói tiếng Anh bằng Shadowing qua video: What to do if you are hit with a rent increase

Phổ biến

Thông Tin Về Bài Học

Từ Vựng & Cụm Từ Quan Trọng

Mẹo Thực Hành

Phương Pháp Shadowing Là Gì?

Luyện nói tiếng Anh bằng Shadowing qua video: What to do if you are hit with a rent increase

Tải Ứng Dụng

Thông Tin Về Bài Học

Từ Vựng & Cụm Từ Quan Trọng

Mẹo Thực Hành

Phương Pháp Shadowing Là Gì?