As Australia’s rental crisis continues to worsen, a single mother and her three children are living in their car after being told there’s a three-year waiting list for housing.
Perth resident Kristin applied for emergency housing, but was told that the waiting list was too long. “I feel like a mother that has failed her kids because I can’t put a roof over their heads,” she said.
The rental crisis is affecting people from all different age groups and income levels. The problem is widespread across Australia, with just one per cent of rental properties available in Sydney and Melbourne, 0.8 per cent in Brisbane, and 0.3 per cent in Perth and Adelaide.
While some are able to pay the increased rent, such as Sydney woman Milly Bannister whose rent increased by 35 per cent, others, such as Adelaide pensioner Sandra, are struggling to make ends meet. Sandra, who is 75 years old, was told that her rent would go up by 10 per cent, which she cannot afford.
She has been looking for a new place to live for the past six months but hasn’t been able to find anything suitable. She applied for ten affordable rental properties in a regional area but was passed over every time.
The rental crisis is causing stress, disappointment, and frustration for many, and looking for a place to rent is often compared to a competitive bloodsport.
Leo Patterson Ross, CEO of the Tenants’ Union of NSW, says that they hear from people every day who are applying for hundreds of properties and missing out.
Vacancy rates across Australia are at an all-time low, and the problem is spreading to the regions. “It’s actually regional towns where there’s been a large influx (of people), that’s where we’ve seen the biggest increase in people sleeping in really unsafe and unsuitable places,” said Mr. Patterson Ross.
»Single mum and 3 children living in a car as Australia’s rental crisis get worse«
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