Rental cost in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane becoming more expensive trends now Australians are being hit with unsustainable rent increases, with every capital city nationwide experiencing a decline in rental affordability, according to new data insight. The annual Rental Affordability Index released this week revealed the low-income renters such as single parents, pensioners, and job seekers are most vulnerable and require more active and immediate support. But it seems the rental crisis is impacting almost everyone applying for home. Brisbane woman Laura said when she and her partner decided to move in together they never expected the stress of finding a rental to consume their every waking moment. Despite the couple both earning a decent wage, Laura, who works in the travel industry, said she struggled since August to find somewhere to live. A long line of would-be renters snakes down the side-path of a Sydney street waiting to see a $700 per week two-bedroom rental property in the eastern suburb of Clovelly The rental crisis is impacting almost everyone applying for home (pictured, prospective renters tour a house) 'We looked at about 15 places and when we would go to apply for them, someone had already gotten it,' she said. '(Agents) were telling us to apply for it before we even put a foot through the door. 'We were willing to go up tot $600 a week which hurts my soul to pay that on rent.' The RAI found 30 per cent or more of a person´s income was generally spent on rent. The report´s lead author Ellen Witte said this was extremely taxing for people on single income budgets, including single parents and pensioners. 'The situation is particularly bleak because in the past low income households if needed to could still move to the regions, but often far away from jobs so it´s not really a solution,' Ms Witte said. The national rental vacancy rate is at a record low 0.9 per cent, according to recent Domain research. The housing shortage is being felt in every capital city and regional areas 'Vacancy rates for rental housing have dropped so sharply everywhere and is a key indicator for where prices go if they can see rates are low, they´re generally below 1 per cent.' Ms Witte said rental stress effects many people´s day to day lives because they find themselves having insufficient funds to pay for other primary needs such as food, medicine, transport and heating. YWCA Australia CEO Michelle Phillips said women are more likely dealing with rental stress. 'When you look at the research it´s exactly what it looks like, rents are rising faster than incomes around the country. 'More women are entering rental stress and can´t cover essentials like food and electricity. In October a distressing photograph (above) appeared of a six-year-old boy who had been forced to sleep in a ute for months with his toys piled on his lap. Charlie's mother Mackay, from Perth, had previously couch-surfed with family for two years after leaving a bad relationship 'When you look at the research, it doesn´t have a gendered lens but they´re certainly over represented and also the most impacted because they´re mostly low income single household.' The report found Brisbane is considered moderately unaffordable for the first time, with an 11 per cent decrease in RAI score over the past year - the largest decline of any capital city. Ms Witte said Brisbane´s decline in affordability stems from a 'few compounding reasons'. 'Before the pandemic Brisbane was already getting more and more affordable,' Ms Witte said. 'We found in regional Queensland affordability dropped so rapidly because people were moving out to the regions especially due to the lockdowns. The queue to inspect an upstairs studio for 68 Gould Street, Bondi Beach, with each person waiting up to 20 minutes to get inside, was 'like lining up to get into a nightclub' in October 'Now the economy is open again we´re seeing this issue getting worse and worse.' The report found people living in both capital cities and regional areas were struggling to find affordable rentals, as rents are escalating faster than incomes across the country. Low vacancy rates, interstate migration and global supply chain issues were also contributing to increased rents. 'More and more regional households are struggling to pay their rent and key workers are unable to access housing, especially in the regional areas of Queensland, Tasmania, New South Wales and Western Australia,' Ms Witte said. 'This year´s severe floods also significantly impacted affordability in the Northern Rivers of NSW. 'Lismore is one of the worst affected towns, where affordability declined by 10 per cent between 2021 and 2022. Eight members of the Scott family from Queensland's Sunshine Coast were evicted from their home after being given 30 days' notice. The youngest Scott daughter has cerebral palsy and several other children have special needs 'Bellingen was similarly affected, with affordability declining by 14 per cent.' The report also analysed rents in the major capital cities and found rental stress was not exempt for those looking for home in the metro areas. Greater Hobart continues to be the least affordable capital city in Australia for the average rental households of each city, and has been since 2019, with high rents relative to household incomes. Greater Perth is at its lowest rental affordability since 2016, declining considerably by 15 per cent over the past two years. Greater Sydney, Greater Melbourne, Greater Adelaide and the ACT also saw declines in affordability this year despite a reprieve during the pandemic. Laura said while she feels lucky to have found somewhere to live in Brisbane, the stress she´s endured in the past four months while searching was immense. 'It´s been really difficult because a lot of these inspections were during the day, I either had to take time off work using my personal leave or taking time unpaid and then I´m leaving my co-workers to pick up the slack and I feel guilty,' she said. YWCA Australia CEO Michelle Phillips says women the ones hit hardest by rental stress. Ms Phillips said there´s 'not a one size fits all solution' to the housing crisis but having women adequately represented in the decision making process will go a long way to helping find better outcomes for those facing rental stress. 'There´s been failure to invest in social and affordable housing, that´s directly impacted the housing market,' she said. 'We need to get investment into social and affordable housing but it´s going to take time. 'We´re really looking at gendered housing solutions, we need to make sure we have specialists around housing for women so it fits their needs. 'We need to make sure women are represented on those housing solutions.' All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility