A MOTHER of two teenagers is on the brink of homelessness as scarce housing supply continues to strain the region.
The Swan Hill local, who wished to remain anonymous, was told in January she would be required to leave her current rental of nearly four years as her landlord intended to live in the property.
The single mother of the two high school-aged children works two casual jobs alongside receiving a Centrelink parenting payment.
She has now reached the point of desperation.
Unable to find a rental property, she said her and her children will be forced to live in the family car.
“I’ve applied for every house that’s on realestate.com, even ones that will really stretch our budget just to have somewhere to live,” she said.
“I’ve been knocked back from everything, at least 50 houses.
“My landlord will be calling tomorrow or tomorrow night to say we have a certain number of days before we’ve got to be out and I’m dreading that call because we have nowhere to go.
“I’m trying to keep it together because I don’t want to stress my children out, but it’s getting harder and harder to do that.
“We just want a roof over our head; I didn’t think that was too much to ask for.”
The woman said her maximum weekly budget for rent was $500, but that the market is flooded with prospective renters vying for limited housing.
“I went to one inspection and there was about 15, 20 people as well as me,” she said.
“When we were told we had three months to leave in January, I didn’t think it would be this hard, I thought we’d find somewhere and be settled by then.
“But it’s been nearly five months, and the market is just impossible.”
A report released by Anglicare Victoria this week analysed housing availability and affordability across the state.
The data which makes up the report was based on a snapshot of housing taken on the weekend of March 15.
At the time of the snapshot, just one property was available for rent in Swan Hill.
“A trend that continues from previous years is the very low numbers of properties in the most affordable regional and rural areas,” the report said.
“This means that while some low-income earners may not be priced out of the rental market in these areas, they are nevertheless likely to be competing for a very scarce resource.
“The increase in total available properties seen in metropolitan Melbourne has not occurred in the regions.”
Anglicare Victoria regional director Michael Oerlemans said in Swan Hill competition for rental properties would be incredibly tight.
“We have heard a lot in this election campaign about how both major parties are wanting to enable people to realise the ‘Australian dream’ of owning your own home, but there is an Australian dream that supersedes this – which is actually having a home to live in,” Mr Oerlemans said.
“Renters are the real victims of Australia’s housing crisis and have been forgotten this election.
“We’re calling for the state government to deliver more affordable homes across Victoria, and for the federal government to take a more proactive approach to providing social housing.
“We know we’re facing a national shortfall in the tens of thousands when it comes to affordable rentals and in the regions especially.”
In March, Mallee Family Care chief executive Teresa Jayet pleaded with Federal election candidates to address rural inequality, including housing insecurity and homelessness.
Data in recent years has shown a surge in the number of persons experiencing homelessness in the Swan Hill region.
Earlier this year, Swan Hill Rural City Council Mayor Stuart King acknowledged council’s aim to build 500 homes in five years wasn’t meeting targets.
“I’m not going to say we’re on track, but we’re doing what we can do make things happen,” Cr King said.
“Council has recently approved some developments for multi-unit developments, which is a step in the right direction and demonstrates a willingness of investors to take action and build more houses.”
