Across Australia - renters are often competing with hundreds of others for a single unit. Some people are forced out of the market entirely - resorting to couch surfing and other makeshift arrangements just to get by. 

In the last 12 months, the average rental price has gone up 10 per cent in capital cities - marking a record high in annual rent growth - while wages have only risen by three per cent in the same period. 

Yet this crisis - affecting people of many backgrounds - is anything but new.Today, property reporter for the Age and Sydney Morning Herald Jim Malo on whether we’ve reached a breaking point.

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