How Australians can save $366 a week on housing costs amid cost of living crisis

She said rents have risen more than 30 per cent since the pandemic began as demand for housing has outstripped the supply of available homes.

“This could include minor discomfort or a minor adjustment to the household budget, or it could lead to an absolutely critical situation where you cannot actually afford to rent a property.

“As a result, some tenants may have no choice but to seek out shared accommodation.”

She said rents were rising along with other necessities such as energy, fuel and groceries, so it was normal to see some response in housing demand.

CoreLogic found that tenants of five-bedroom homes nationwide were paying an average of $175 per bedroom per week in rent.

That’s cheaper per room than a two-bedroom house ($271 per week) or a one-bedroom unit ($541 per week).

She added that as homeownership rates fell, people were renting longer, meaning some tenants were stuck in the rental market but past the stage in their lives where they could share a home.

“Sharing is a good thing in terms of reducing costs, building community, reducing the risk of isolation and loneliness, but it also comes with a lot of risks, it reduces your autonomy over the space and it’s unregulated,” she said.

“We really should have a housing system where people can choose to live independently.”

Better Rentals campaigns and projects officer Sabrina Clarke said shared housing could be a positive experience that created community – but it could also be difficult.

She said four- and five-bedroom homes used to be popular mainly with families, but now she is seeing more multi-income households.

“You might have a share house with four people living in it who are all working full-time, so single-income or dual-income households have to compete with them,” she said.

“It’s really difficult for families. We’re seeing a trend of more and more families facing housing insecurity, fearing homelessness.”

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She said roommates in large families can also present challenges because they have less control over who they live with, especially if they have to move quickly.

“Co-housing was once something renters could do to save money if they wanted to,” she said.

“But now shared housing has become a necessity for many people – it’s the only way they can afford to live … which means if you can’t afford shared housing, you have no fallback option.”

AMP chief economist Shane Oliver said there were signs that the strong rental growth of recent years was beginning to cool, which could be explained by tenants adjusting their living situations to what they could afford.

“More and more young people are thinking, ‘I’m going to stay at home longer, it’s ridiculous to pay so much rent’, or if they move out they’re moving into shared accommodation,” he said.

“During the pandemic, the number of people per household went down, and sharing went down. Now you feel like it’s starting to go back to where it was.”

Some young people are moving back home with family, while open housing queues are shortening.