A young family has been forced to live in a Gold Coast motel amid an ongoing housing and rental crisis crippling Queensland.
But even with a virtually spotless rental history, stable income and no prior issues with their previous properties, Alexi Bennett and her partner Tinei Tiumalu say they still can’t find a place to live two months after their troubles began.
The couple, who has three young children, had to leave their previous rental home in May after their lease was not renewed.
“We were effectively made homeless,” Ms Bennett told NCA NewsWire.
Ms Bennett first spoke to the Gold Coast Bulletin about her plight and how it left them with no place to go.
She said they were now living in a small motel room which cost $850 a week while she continued applying for new properties from the Tweed region up to Logan.
“We’ve been going through real estates, private rentals, Gumtree, even the apps that aren’t really well known and there’s still nothing,” Ms Bennett said.
“It’s just rejection after rejection, or we’ve been told it’s already just been leased.”
“It’s a daily thing now.”
Ms Bennett’s plight is just one of many stories amid a shocking housing emergency leaving thousands of Queenslanders struggling to find a home.
Last month, the Queensland Council of Social Service (QCOSS) revealed more than 50,000 Queenslanders were waiting for a home on the social housing register.
The QCOSS blamed unaffordable house prices, rising costs of living and a slew of natural disasters plaguing the state.
Ms Bennett, a qualified aged care nurse, with her removalist partner Mr Tuimalu, are financially able to afford a rental property but have been constantly rejected from applications.
“It hits you; it really brings you down,” she said.
“My anxiety is through the roof. I sit up at night looking at homes, it leaves you speechless.”
Ms Bennett said she was remaining as positive as possible in the face of the constant rejections.
But she admitted she doesn’t know what the future holds.
“I don’t want my kids to know this life or the amount of guilt around simple things,” Ms Bennett said.
“We can’t even have fish and chips on the beach or go to the Ekka because of the money we have to pay in rent.”
According to research group SQM Research, renting a house on the Gold Coast costs about $970 as of August 4.
The average cost of a unit is around $653 a week.
Earlier this month, housing campaign group Everybody’s Home released data showing the “red zones” where rent prices had surged ahead of wage increases.
Northern parts of the Gold Coast had an average increase of 15.1 per cent to $835.50 for a rental.
The Brisbane CBD had a 3.6 per cent rise to $556.60.
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