Rent (weekly) dollar values (RNTD)

Latest release
Census of Population and Housing: Census dictionary
Reference period
2021

Definition

This variable records the individual dollar amounts of rent paid by households on a weekly basis for the dwelling in which they were counted on Census Night. A private dwelling is defined in Dwelling structure (STRD) and can include caravans in caravan parks, occupied tents, and houseboats.  

In standard Census products (Quickstats, Community profiles), ranges are used rather than individual dollar amounts. The ranges are listed in Rent (weekly) ranges (RNTRD).

Scope

Occupied private dwellings being rented

Categories

CodeCategory
0001-9999$1 to $9,999 singly
&&&&Not stated
@@@@Not applicable

Number of categories:  10,001

Not applicable (@@@@) category comprises:

  • Occupied private dwellings with Tenure type (TEND) of Owned outright, Owned with a mortgage, Being purchased under a shared equity scheme, Being occupied under a life tenure scheme, Occupied rent free, Other and Not stated
  • Unoccupied private dwellings
  • Non-private dwellings
  • Migratory, off-shore and shipping SA1s

Question(s) from the Census form

Is this dwelling: (please open this section to view response categories)

How much does your household pay for this dwelling?

How this variable is created

This variable is derived from the Tenure type and Household payments questions on the Census form.

Household payments data is automatically captured from numeric text responses. If rental payment responses are reported as a fortnightly or monthly figure they are derived to a weekly figure. Responses to the tenure type question are used to determine whether payments are recorded as rent or mortgage repayments.

History and changes

Information on how much rent is paid for a private dwelling has been collected for all censuses since 1911.

Since the 1996 Census, the actual dollar amount paid for a dwelling has been collected rather than the range.

In 2021, the applicability has changed so that dwellings with the Tenure type of 'Occupied rent free' are included in the Not applicable category. Consequently $0 (category 0000) has been removed.

Data use considerations

The Census is the only source of rent data for small areas and for small groups of the population. Such data is important for housing policy and planning, and for studying the housing conditions of small populations.

Processing Rent (weekly) dollar values (RNTD) is subject to some recognition error for responses provided on paper Census forms, particularly when responses incorrectly include cents and the decimal point is missing or unclear. While the data is subject to data assurance checks to ensure an acceptable level of quality, numeric responses are accepted as reported by respondents on the form.

The non-response rate for Rent (weekly) dollar values (RNTD) was 3.9% in 2021. This is an increase from 3.4% in 2016. 

Related variables and glossary terms

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