Canberra’s rental crisis is forcing many to spend weeks searching for a home as prices go beyond ‘affordable’

Finding a rental property in Canberra at this time of year is almost always a battle, as hordes of people flock to the national capital to start university and take up new jobs.

But as the country remains in the grip of the coronavirus pandemic, there was hope among prospective tenants that this year would be less brutal.

It’s not. In fact, it’s worse.

“The market is crazy,” real estate agent Mel Brill said.

“It just has a mind of its own at the moment.”

While COVID-19 has halted the usual influx of international arrivals, more Australians are relocating to Canberra from interstate than agents expected.

And the mass exodus from the territory that usually happens at this time of year is not occurring, with most Canberrans seemingly happy to…