Australia’s rental crisis forcing parents to raise children in caravans and sharehouses, inquiry hears

Senate inquiry told tax concessions for property investors making housing crisis worse and locking young people out of home ownership

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Australia's rental crisis is forcing young mothers to raise newborns in sharehouses while other parents are choosing to move into caravans because of steep rental increases, a Senate inquiry has heard.

The inquiry on Wednesday heard that almost 650,000 households across Australia were in severe housing stress, with stories of renters struggling amid soaring prices and low vacancy rates.

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