The Silent Collision: How Australia’s Housing Crisis Is Intensifying Elder Abuse

Australia is in the midst of two overlapping crises: a rapidly worsening housing shortage and a rising tide of elder abuse. Each problem is serious in its own right. Together, they create a dangerous environment in which many older Australians face increased risk of exploitation, financial pressure, psychological distress and homelessness.

The National Elder Abuse Prevalence Study*reports that 1 in 6 older Australians experience some form of abuse annually¹. At the same time, rental affordability, housing insecurity and forced co-residence have intensified due to limited supply, soaring rents and economic instability²⁻³. Academic research now makes it clear: housing insecurity is not just a backdrop to elder abuse — it is a driver, a mechanism and a barrier to safety.

Understanding Elder Abuse in a Housing Crisis Environment

Elder abuse is defined as harm done to an older person within a relationship of trust. Common forms include psychological abuse, financial exploitation, neglect, and physical harm. Emotional and financial abuse are the most prevalent in Australia¹.

Crucially, most elder abuse occurs in private homes, often involving adult children or relatives. When housing pressure forces families into tight, unplanned or financially imbalanced living arrangements, risk factors escalate significantly⁴.

The Housing Crisis Facing Older Australians

A wide body of research shows that older Australians are disproportionately affected by the housing crisis:

• Private rental is unaffordable for many older people. Age Pension recipients experience rental stress when they pay more than about $200/week — far below current market rents².

• Older women are the fastest-growing homeless cohort, driven by divorce, widowhood, insufficient superannuation and rising rents³.

• Housing insecurity is linked to poorer mental and physical health

• Older renters have limited bargaining power, short lease terms, and a high risk of forced relocation³.

International studies similarly show that housing insecurity in later life correlates with depression, chronic disease, social isolation and functional impairment⁶,⁷,⁹.

This context matters because elder abuse thrives in conditions of financial strain, dependence, lack of privacy, and fear of homelessness.

How Housing Insecurity Fuels Elder Abuse

Research identifies three primary pathways through which housing and elder abuse intersect.

1. “Assets for Care” Arrangements That Turn Harmful

As housing becomes unaffordable, families increasingly rely on parents and grandparents to help with:

* mortgage guarantees

* lump-sum financial contributions

* title transfers

* building a granny flat

* co-residence agreements

These informal intergenerational housing arrangements are often made quickly and without legal advice. Studies show they become high-risk when expectations are unclear or when family relationships deteriorate¹⁰.

The Assets for Care research highlights cases where older adults transferred property to a child in exchange for promised care or housing security, only to face exclusion, verbal abuse, pressure to leave, or loss of control over their own home¹⁰. Once property is transferred, the older person’s ability to regain housing is severely limited, especially in expensive markets.

This form of financial abuse is becoming more common as younger generations struggle to enter the housing market¹¹.

2. Crisis-Driven Co-Residence and Household Stress

Co-residence — adult children moving back in with parents — is rising sharply due to rental costs, unemployment, relationship breakdowns and mental health challenges.

The Housing for the Aged Action Group (HAAG) reports that when co-residence occurs under stress, patterns of abuse can emerge, including²:

• refusal to contribute to bills

• using the older person’s pension or savings

• verbal or emotional abuse

• intimidation or property damage

• controlling behaviour

• exploitation of the homeowner’s vulnerability

Research links housing insecurity to increased anxiety, depressive symptoms, conflict and dependence⁵,⁶. When adult children are in crisis, and older parents fear damaging the relationship, they may tolerate escalating harm. This dynamic is often hidden because it occurs behind closed doors, and older people may feel ashamed or responsible.

3. Housing Instability as a Barrier to Leaving Abuse

Even when older people recognise abuse, leaving is often impossible without safe housing alternatives. Research from both elder abuse services and homelessness inquiries shows that older people stay in dangerous or exploitative arrangements because¹²⁻¹⁴:

• social housing waitlists are years long (one client in her 70’s was recently told it would take approximately eleven years before she would be eligible for social housing)

• private rent is unaffordable

• crisis accommodation is unsuitable

• they fear losing access to local doctors, neighbours and community

• they do not want to become homeless

• they worry about family estrangement

A 2025 Adelaide Law Review article describes this as a perfect storm of “structural vulnerability”— older adults face abuse not because they choose to stay, but because the housing system gives them nowhere else to go¹⁵. For an older person, the threat of homelessness can be as coercive as physical intimidation.

Why Housing Must Be Recognised as an Elder Abuse Issue

A consistent theme across the literature is that housing is not separate from elder abuse — it is central to it. Housing insecurity increases vulnerability as older renters experience higher poverty rates, poorer mental health, and limited choice of accommodation²,³,⁶. This reduces their capacity to resist or report abuse. Housing can also be used as a weapon. Older people may face pressure to sign documents, allow relatives to move in, or fund renovations or purchases they cannot afford¹⁰,¹¹. Housing also determines escape pathways available to older people. Without affordable alternatives, older people lack the basic safety mechanism available to younger adults escaping family violence¹²,¹³. We are also dealing with a fragmented service system. Legal Aid, housing services, elder abuse services and aged-care systems often operate in silos. Older clients can be bounced between services that are individually helpful but collectively inadequate¹⁵.

What the Research Suggests Should Happen Next

1. Integrate Housing into Elder Abuse Prevention Strategies

Elder abuse services must continue to routinely assess housing tenure, affordability, co-residence dynamics and risks related to property or finances. Policy frameworks should fund specialist workers who can navigate both elder abuse and housing systems.

2. Strengthen Consumer Protections Around Family Property Arrangements

Evidence-based reforms include:

• mandatory independent legal advice before intergenerational transfers

• written “family agreements” with enforceable terms

• community education on risks of informal care-for-property exchanges

These are already recommended by senior rights advocates and legal academics¹⁰,¹¹.

3. Expand Safe Housing Options for Older People

Policy research consistently points to the need for:

• more social and community housing targeted at older adults

• supported accommodation options

• rental subsidies for seniors

• transitional housing for older people leaving abuse

These measures reduce dependence on family members and increase personal safety.

4. Train Frontline Practitioners on Housing Dynamics

Mediators, aged-care workers, financial counsellors and legal advisors need frameworks to identify:

• when co-residence is unsafe

• signs of property-related financial abuse

• risks in “assets for care” arrangements

• links between mental health and intergenerational housing pressure

Conclusion: Connecting the Dots

The evidence is unequivocal: you cannot meaningfully address elder abuse in Australia without addressing housing.

The housing crisis heightens older people’s vulnerability, increases economic stress within families, and makes it harder to escape unsafe situations. At the same time, family reliance on older people’s assets — homes, mortgages, pensions — creates fertile ground for financial exploitation.

As housing pressure intensifies, Australia must recognise elder abuse not only as a family or interpersonal issue, but as a structural one tied to housing systems, affordability and ageing policy.

For professionals, this means asking two key questions:

1. *Is this older person safe?*

2. *If not, where can they safely live?*

Without answering both, elder abuse interventions will continue to fall short.

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1. Qu, L., & Daly, A. (2021). *National Elder Abuse Prevalence Study: Final Report*. Australian Institute of Family Studies.

2. National Housing Supply and Affordability Council. (2025). State of Housing Report. Australian Government.

3. Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI). (2023). Precariously Housed Older Australians. AHURI Final Report.

4. Kaspiew, R., Carson, R., & Rhoades, H. (2016). Elder Abuse: Understanding Issues, Frameworks and Responses. Australian Institute of Family Studies.

5. Butterworth, P., et al. (2022). Housing instability and mental health among older adults. Journal of Gerontology, 77(4), 665–674.

6. Fowler, P. J., et al. (2019). Housing insecurity and health in older adults: A systematic review. The Gerontologist, 59(3), e215–e231.

7. Henwood, B. F., et al. (2018). Aging and homelessness: Health outcomes of older adults. American Journal of Public Health, 108(2), 188–195.

8. Sargent-Cox, K., et al. (2021). Social housing and mental health in older adults. Australasian Journal on Ageing, 40(2), 160–169.

9. Tsai, J. (2020). Homelessness in older adults: Causes, consequences and interventions. Clinical Interventions in Aging* 15, 2085–2098.

10. Tilse, C., et al. (2018). Assets for Care: Misuse of Assets by Family in Later Life. University of Queensland.

11. Peterson, J. C., et al. (2020). Intergenerational financial transfers and elder financial abuse. Journal of Elder Abuse & Neglect. 32(4), 345–366.

12. Tually, S., et al. (2019). Older Women’s Pathways Out of Homelessness. AHURI Final Report.

13. Housing for the Aged Action Group (HAAG). (2024). Ending Homelessness in Older People: Elder Abuse and Housing Report.

14. Shulman, K., & Gordon, B. (2022). Barriers to leaving abusive family situations in later life. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(15–16), NP13147–NP13170.

15. Boulden, A. (2025). Housing insecurity as a form of elder abuse: Legal gaps and policy failures. Adelaide Law Review, 46(1), 87–112.