A new Department of Human Services report has found the average rent for a three-bedroom house increased by up to 40 per cent in some parts of the Wimmera between 2009 and 2014.

Ararat Rural City had the biggest increase in rent in regional Victoria, at 41 per cent.

Rent increased from $170 a week in 2009 to $240 in 2014.

Rent in Hindmarsh Shire increased from $140 to $188, or 34 per cent, Northern Grampians increased from $163 to $210, or 29 per cent, and Horsham increased from $220 to $260, or 18 per cent.

Wimmera Uniting Care acting chief executive Leeanne Thomson said the agency had seen a spike in people at risk of homelessness in the past year.

‘‘Prior to Christmas, we had a lot of requests from young people, and early this year we had a spike in family violence cases,’’ she said.

‘‘We have people as young as 14 coming to us.

‘‘Unfortunately, they aren’t eligible for a lot of our programs and services because of their age.

‘‘In the past few months there has been a huge increase in emergency requests at Nhill, mostly because of issues around budgets and cost of living expenses.’’

Ms Thomson said since December, the agency’s intake team had seen 480 new clients requesting some sort of support.

‘‘These are just people walking in off the street or giving us a call,’’ she said.

‘‘It is a significant increase and has put more pressure on our intake team.’’

Ms Thomson said about a third of clients believed higher rent prices and cost of living expenses were directly affecting their risk of homelessness.

She said she did not see the problem improving soon.

‘‘We are expecting this spike to continue. People are struggling across the board,’’ she said.

‘‘As a community, we need to be aware of that and look at strategies around where we can support and assist people.’’

Council to Homeless Persons chief executive Jenny Smith said the average cost of rent was going up at a startling rate and people on low incomes were feeling the squeeze.

‘‘Working wages are generally lower in the regional areas and Centrelink incomes have not kept pace with inflation,’’ she said.

‘‘As a result, people are struggling to keep up with the cost of housing and are finding themselves at risk of homelessness.’’

Ms Smith said inflation alone did not explain soaring rent prices, with increasing competition for rentals from seasonal workers, tree-changers and higher income urban commuters also contributing to the increase.