The hike in regional rents is the highest on record, according to data released this week based on the CoreLogic rental index, which commenced in 2005.
Melbourne was the only capital city to see rental prices drop, declining by 1.4 per cent, while Darwin recorded the highest increase at 21.8 per cent.
Beyond Housing chief executive Celia Adams predicted the Goulburn Valley affordability crisis would worsen in the coming months.
“We haven't reached the peak of the rental affordability crisis,” she said.
“Incomes, particularly in a COVID environment, haven’t increased at the same rate as rental prices and housing prices.
“Add to that the large number of people whose incomes have been decimated by COVID.
“For those that were already struggling, the gap is wider."
Ms Adams said Beyond Housing experienced a "significant increase" in the number of people accessing support to find a private rental or maintain their existing tenancy.
She said the safety nets put in place last year were gone, such as Jobkeeper, the Coronavirus Supplement for JobSeeker and the moratorium on rental evictions.
While rental properties in Greater Shepparton are scarce, the region is about 15 per cent cheaper than other parts of regional Victoria, according to data compiled Real Estate Institute of Victoria for the June 2021 quarter.
The REIV analysis found the median rental price for a house in Shepparton was $330 per week last quarter, as opposed to the regional Victorian average of $380 per week.
And the median unit rental price in Shepparton was $265, compared to the average of $310 across regional Victoria.
For rent to be affordable it must cost no more than one third of a household's annual income; for solo low-income earners that means spending no more than $250 per week on rent.
Ms Adams said the people on the tightest budgets, such as people on JobSeeker, would realistically be looking for a property at no more than $200 per week.
There were 82 properties listed in Greater Shepparton on realestate.com.au on Wednesday — 10 in Mooroopna, 67 in Shepparton and five in Kialla.
Of those 82 houses and units, just five were advertised at or below $250 per week, the price considered affordable for an individual on the minimum wage.
There were three properties for rent in Tatura and four in Seymour, none of them affordable for a solo low-income earner.
Of the six available in Cobram, two were listed for less than $250 per week.
In Echuca there were 11 properties advertised to rent, one at the rate deemed affordable for low-income individuals.
And in Kyabram there were two properties available to renters, one for less than $250 per week.
Meanwhile, the Victorian Government's Big Housing Build allocated a minimum of $45 million to be spent on social housing in Greater Shepparton.
As part of the investment, work is under way in Mooroopna to build 36 supported independent living units for people living with mental illness.
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