I live in a rental property in Ballarat, Victoria. I started renting this property in October 2020, when I relocated from Melbourne to regional Victoria for a new job. My rent increased from $295 (for a large, 3 bedroom old house with enormous backyard) to $420 (for a modern but very small 2 bedroom unit). It was a huge cost increase, but everything in Ballarat increased by that amount over COVID, and there were almost no rental properties available. I felt lucky to secure this property. However, I have recently been advised that the rent will increase to $450 per week. That’s a 7.1% increase at a time when inflation is running at about 5%. It means that in addition to all of my utility bills going up (gas, electricity, water), plus fuel, plus groceries, my rent is going up substantially as well. I am a single person with one income, and I will have to find an extra $30 per week just for rent. I have requested that the rent increase be reduced to $435 (for a 3.5% increase), but I’m not yet sure whether the landlord is willing to accept this. I have also asked for some repairs to be done to justify the rent increase that has been requested – the property has some significant issues that make it unappealing, such as a rusted front screen door that has almost fallen off its hinges; a back security door that I cannot lock properly (the key broke off in the lock), cracked bathroom tiles that are a hazard, a laundry trough that doesn’t drain properly, and a hole in the bathroom that was meant to be for a bath, but no bath was ever installed.