2020 was the year of everything bad, a deadly pandemic causing many people to lose their jobs, a recession in Australia, and much more.
Photo by: Kirralee Livingstone
Another consequence created by the pandemic, is the increasingly dire situation when it comes to finding affordable rental housing in Australia, which senior property manager Stef Allison says is pushing people out of homes and into homelessness.
“A lot of people are living in caravans or with extended family,” she says.
Stef is unfortunately faced with the challenge of choosing who gets each place (although it also depends on the owner), choosing between many families, whether they are local or migrating to the Sunshine Coast from another town or state, which she says is an emotionally exhausting process.
“A lot of properties aren’t even going on the market because if we do have people that are good tenants on our books that have been given that notice to leave, we’re helping them first,” she says.
As a result, it impacts Stef incredibly deeply, and makes her feel extreme guilt as though she isn’t doing her job to the best of her ability.
“It is really heartbreaking,” she says.
“Not being able to give people homes is horrific when that’s your job to do that.”
Luckily for Sunshine Coast local Zoe McDonnell, she was able to move out of home once she graduated high school, to live in her grandparent’s granny flat for $250 a week.
As cheap as that is for a one-bedroom place with a bathroom and kitchenette, its not for one person living alone.
Even though she works three jobs at KFC Wurtulla, Kawana Aquatic Centre and Jim’s Cleaning, she struggles to pay her rent from week to week.
“Although I have three jobs… I can’t really afford the rent comfortably,” she says.\
Zoe believes rent is too high for tenants in Australia, especially those aged around their late teens and early to mid-twenties.
She also feels there is no feasible way she’d be able to move to a bigger, better place and be able to afford it comfortably at the price average rent amounts are currently.
On the contrary, Stef says it’s not the real estate’s faults for putting rent up as they are the middleman for owners, and they have to do what they want them to.
“We work for the owners, so we have to put the rents up,” she says.
“The affordability for these tenants is just mind blowing because they can’t afford the rent as it is and now, you’re adding 20 to 50 dollars per rent increase… where does it end?”
Where does it end? Who is responsible for finding a solution to this problem which is affecting people’s livelihoods?
Zoe believes the government should help people afford rent with wage assist, whereas Stef thinks they need to somehow cap how much owners can put rent up by in a certain period.
It’s safe to say something needs to be done urgently to help these desperate renters.
Student journo 