This study was designed to explore the viability of an alternative method of measuring housing affordability stress (using the residual income method) to that of the ubiquitous 30 per cent benchmark method. The project will help devise rent-setting formulas for social housing that better correspond to need; improve the efficiency and equity of housing subsidy...

The residual income approach to housing affordability is one that looks at what different household types can afford to spend on housing after taking into account the other necessary expenditures of living. It is an alternative to benchmark measures of affordability as used in social housing rent setting in Australia (the 25% rule) or assessing...