The Rental Affordability Index (RAI) released by National Shelter, Community Sector Banking, Brotherhood St Laurence and SGS Economics & Planning is a price index for rental markets indicating rental affordability relative to household incomes.

The Index uses the average weekly household earnings of each geographic region, and the median rental price of dwellings for which bonds were lodged in that region for a given quarter. RAI scores and relative unaffordability categories correspond to the share of income spent on rent. RAI scores of 100 and less indicate that households spend 30 per cent or more of their income on rent and are at risk of experiencing housing stress.

While the RAI is applied across different regions, inter-state comparisons should be interpreted with caution as rental data differs across geographic areas.

Rental Affordability Index data are also used in the following dashboard menu option: Rental Affordability Index.

See the SGS Economics & Planning - Rental Affordability Index for further information, including analysis methods, in-depth commentary and an assessment of rental affordability for ten low to moderate income Australian households types, illustrating the rental situation for some specific cohorts.