By Dylan J. Stone.
The residents of Shorty O’Neil Village are the latest tenants to be served with a rent increase, which will commence on 29 July 2022. Residents of Shorty O’Neil have confirmed a rent increase of one hundred dollars a fortnight has been confirmed in a letter from Eureka Villages, who manage the Shorty O’Neil Village complex.
One resident, who preferred not to be named, said this rent increase would significantly strain their budget.
“Fifty dollars a week is a lot of money, especially when the cost of other things such as petrol, food and groceries has also increased at a much higher rate than my pension,” the resident said.
“This will make it very difficult to get ahead and to save, as more of my pension is now going straight to my rent.”
Cameron Taylor, CEO of Eureka Villages, sympathises with the residents of Shorty O’Neil and has confirmed Eureka have only increased the rent as much as necessary to manage increased expenditures and to ensure the Shorty O’Neil complex remains profitable for the benefit of residents.
Cameron comments that “it’s always difficult to increase rental repayments, especially when we know that residents are feeling the pinch.”
However, the rental increases, according to Cameron, “include rates and water charges, a dedicated and passionate village manager, a community room with social activities and events, and general maintenance for the entire facility.”
In a letter provided to the tenants, Eureka comments that ‘as a local community, we strive to ensure your apartment is comfortable to proudly call your home, and you have access to all the comforts of home.’ Cameron notes that to continue to provide this level of comfort and service, a rent increase is necessary.
Cameron comments that ‘a rental repayment of $250 a week is a lot of money, but on the basis of the benefits that are provided to residents of Shorty O’Neil, a tenant would be paying a higher amount of rent for either a private dwelling or for a similar complex elsewhere throughout Australia.’
For the residents of Shorty O’Neil, though, the need to now budget an additional fifty dollars a week will be challenging, particularly due to the rising cost of other expenses.
It is helpful that many household bills are included in this rental arrangement, but nonetheless, this is cold comfort to those who are living pay-to-pay.
In this economy, it is clear there are no winners.
Residents of Shorty O’Neil now need to budget for a significant increase in their weekly expenditure, and Eureka must continue to provide tenancy to residents at a lower rate than they would be elsewhere throughout Australia.
Both parties understand the challenges of the current economy, and both parties are doing their best simply to make ends meet.
