Rental supply had also reduced as landlords took back homes to live in, with pushed-out tenants often having nowhere to go.

Many homes were leased before being advertised, and rents had been rising by upwards of $150 between tenancies.

“It’s heartbreaking,” Atkinson said. “I know of families that are in caravans and their cars, [and tenants are] panicking when they have to move out because there is nowhere else to go.”

Bellingen was followed by Lismore, Wingecarribee and Upper Hunter, which also saw rent hikes of at least 20 per cent.

Orange, Gunnedah and Port Macquarie were next, with hikes of at least 17 per cent. Byron, the most expensive region, saw a lower 6.7 per cent increase, with affordability constraints now slowing price hikes, Powell said.

Other regions were also slowing, having passed their peak level of growth.

KPMG regional economist Terry Rawnsley said smaller towns had felt the pinch more than regional cities, as tree and sea change activity accelerated.

“If you have 10, 20 or 30 people moving in it soaks up the available housing stock and pushes rents up,” Rawnsley said.

Rawnsley also felt the pace of regional rent rises was unlikely to continue, expecting it to level as the rush to the regions slowed. However, both Rawnsley and Powell suggested rents could rise further in areas affected by flooding.

Ray White Lismore property manager Sam Cheli said the destruction caused by flooding had worsened the existing housing crisis in the region.

About 50 of the 280 rental properties on the agency’s books were left uninhabitable, with another 30 or 40 damaged. Of just two rentals currently available, both had more than 60 enquiries. Some impacted tenants were staying with friends or family, while others had turned to living in caravans and vans. Others had left Lismore behind.

“Frankly, we’ve already seen a max exodus of Lismore. Rents were already high, and this is going to be detrimental for people who have lived here their whole lives,” he said.

“I can only see [rents] going up, we have a massive enquiry pool there. People are offering well over the market value advertised, offering to pay six to 12 months in advance, and other people with little savings … will be pushed out of Lismore. Rents are going up unless we have some form of intervention.”

Tenants Union of NSW chief executive Leo Patterson Ross said rapid rent rises were forcing tenants to compromise on the safety and quality of their homes, and pricing locals out of communities.

Support services were being inundated with calls for assistance, with 50 per cent of case work now dealing with evictions, particularly no grounds evictions, and many impacted tenants finding they had nowhere they could afford to go in their community.

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“The people in Byron might move to Lismore, people who were in Lismore move to Tamworth,” he said.

“People keep getting bumped further and further along, it’s not just one town that gets displaced, it’s a series of people making moves along and that comes at a cost to the community.”

More social and affordable rental housing was urgently needed to support those on low incomes being left behind by the private rental market.