Highlights
- Renters say the lack of rights to install rooftop solar panels is “frustrating”
- Tenants' advocates say governments need to take responsibility for ensuring that every rental property is of a decent energy standard
- Tenants are resorting to practical measures to cut emissions amid rising energy costs
Owning a home is still one of the ultimate dreams of many Australians. But with the dream now dead for most young Australians, more people are forced to rent instead.
Homeowners have the flexibility to adjust their home to suit long-term needs, but the energy crisis presents a double-edged sword for renters as they have limited access to renewable energy.
According to the 2021 Census, three million Australians are renting – a rise of almost 280,000 since 2016.
The country’s soaring inflation rate had forced many people to strategically budget and reduce everyday expenses.
Adding to this dilemma is the unexpected cold snap this winter, which is exerting even more pressure on expenses.
Renter shares frustration over energy decisions
Shasha Gong, 39, a mental health advocate from Sydney’s inner-west said she had been renting her whole life and that the lack of rights to install rooftop solar panels was “frustrating”.
“We don’t have any say. It’s all based on what someone else says … We have rights too,” she said.
Ms Gong is a research participant documenting her home’s health and energy efficiency for , an Australian organisation campaigning for greater renters’ rights.
She said she had had to adjust her living expenses in order to keep warm.
“I have been living in this property for more than a year. It’s a unit complex and everything runs on electricity, including the hot water,” she said.
Shasha Gong wishes her rental home had solar panels. Source: Supplied
Last month, the reported that from July 1, energy prices for households in New South Wales, south-east Queensland and South Australia will increase between 1.7 and 8.2 per cent above inflation.
Ms Gong said using more energy-efficient appliances could be an option to tackle energy price hikes, but that she didn’t believe they offered the best solution.
“I have a small balcony, which faces westward. If I charge a solar battery, I can only get a few hours’ usage. For me, having a rooftop solar panel would be a better option because I can get more heat that way,” Ms Gong said.
She said she ran an oil column heater last winter, but the bill went “through the roof”.
“We have an inverter air conditioner, but I turn it to the lowest level. I rug up but the house is still cold,” Ms Gong said.
Better Renting’s Joel Dignam said access to energy was a big challenge for people who rented.
He added that tenants were often on lower incomes and spent more of their incomes on energy.
Recent research suggests that the low standard of rental properties means it actually takes renters even more energy to stay warm in winter. Incentives haven't worked to solve this.
“Instead, governments need to take responsibility for ensuring that every rental property is of a decent standard. This includes basic measures like ceiling insulation and efficient heaters that can enable people to stay healthy in winter with lower power bills," Mr Dignam said.
Landlord rebates for installing renewable energy across the country
Renters can make a request to have solar panels put in, but ultimately it’s the landlords who make the final call.
In Victoria, rebates of up to $1400 are available for eligible rental providers under the program and in Queensland, landlords can get up to $3500 in subsidies.
In NSW, the new $128 million helps those living in social housing properties, managed by the Land and Housing Corporation, to upgrade their homes with energy-efficient appliances.
However, there are no such incentives available in the other states and territories.
Last year, public policy think tank The Australian Institute compiled to recommend the South Australian government offer remunerations to landlords.
Advocate groups like the Tenants’ Union have been lobbying the government for renters to have equal rights to accessing rooftop solar.
Better Renting believes that it is more practical for governments to implement minimum energy-efficient standards for rental properties.
“Unfortunately, we see a consistent pattern of landlords not taking up incentives to install rooftop solar,” Mr Dignam said.
“This means tenants don't have the same access to cheaper, cleaner energy. A better way to support people who rent is through requiring landlords to bring inefficient rental properties up to standard. And supplying more renewable energy in general will help people who rent, even if the solar panels aren't on their rooves.”
Renters share ways to cut energy costs
Like Ms Gong, Miranda Siu, a sustainability consultant, said she had also rented her whole life. She said giving more rights to renters not only helped cut costs but that they could reduce their carbon footprints.
Ms Siu, 42, called for a policy change to give renters the right to install solar panels.
“This means I would be able to have some choice in putting solar on a rental property. But then that varies case by case because some people might be renting a house and, depending on their relationship with the landlord, maybe they can,” she said.
“Whereas, in an apartment building at the moment, I don’t have any rights or choices as to whether I can install a rooftop solar system, I don’t have access to Body Corporate Australia.”
Ms Siu said Australia should look to countries like Germany for solutions.
Former Chancellor Angela Merkel, dubbed “Chancellor Climate”, was committed to taking action against climate change in Germany and internationally. With nearly half of the country’s population not living in their own homes, Ms Merkel extended renters’ rights to have rooftop solar power installed on their homes.
Miranda Siu stays warm in winter by layering up rather than turning on the heater in her rental home. Source: SBS/Ranky Law
Legislation called “Tenant Power” was passed in 2017 to encourage owners of tenant blocks to install solar panels.
This meant landlords would get a generated from rooftops or from combined heat and power units in basements.
Mr Dignam said he was doubtful such incentives would be successful in Australia.
“We're sceptical that programs to try to incentivise landlords to install solar are going to have much impact,” he said.
“They can often end up quite complicated, which is a further barrier to landlords. It may be that the best way to give people who rent access to cheap, clean energy, is to make sure that the electricity grid is as clean and affordable as possible, through supporting community and grid-scale renewable energy projects,” Mr Dignam said.
The Australian government has invested heavily in renewable energy, with an ambitious target of net-zero emissions by 2050.
However, this also means that all Australians would need to take part in this goal and for now, renters have fallen through the cracks.
So for the time being, energy-conscious renters such as Ms Siu are resorting to other measures to cut emissions and costs such as turning off power points and light bulbs when they’re not in use.
She’s also used energy meters to estimate the greenhouse gas emissions produced by different appliances. Her old fridge was given the flick shortly after being tested, she said.
Ms Siu said combatting the cold was all in one’s head.
“We just put more layers on. I recently purchased flannel sheets and they’re pretty amazing in terms of just feeling nice and warm, but I am never tempted to put the heater on,” she said.
“It’s a mindset thing, (so) I don’t think that works for everybody. I’m extreme in my approach.”
