Women over 45 are Australia’s most vulnerable group when it comes to housing, and experts say drastic changes to tenancy laws are needed to protect them.

New research shows older women are the fastest growing demographic of homeless people, with more than 400,000 women over the age of 45 at risk of homelessness.

Western Sydney University researcher Dr Emma Power told Jim Wilson she’s heard some shocking stories from women in insecure housing arrangements, at the mercy of landlords reluctant to make necessary repairs.

“The women are facing two different types of challenges.

“One of them is about a difference in pay and superannuation.

“When you put that together with a really expensive rental market, that has really high rates of turnover, … it puts these women in a really precarious position.

“We often forget that housing is a social good.”

There’s at least one immediate legal solution, she said, that could make a huge difference at a state level.

“It’s time we end no-grounds eviction.”

Click PLAY below to hear the full interview

Image: Getty