A Queensland mum-of-three has been left devastated after she was rejected from 150 rental properties, forcing her to move to another state to live with her mother.
Single mum Zoe Somers was leasing a property in Pimpama, a rural town on the Pacific Motorway between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, early last year.
Ms Somers was forced to move out when her rent increased by 30 per cent from $460 to $590 a week.
She explained the first increase came when she and her husband were living together and the couple managed to pay the difference.
The pair then split and the rent was increased again to $680 a week leaving Ms Somers unable to make the payments while also caring for her two-year-old son and two teenager daughters on her own.
Single mum of three Zoe Somers (pictured) was forced to move from the Gold Coast after she had 150 rental applications rejected
Ms Somers applied for about 150 homes between March to December in a number of suburbs that were within driving distance to her daughter’s school – which she attends for its specialist Japanese language program.
Ms Somers even considered renting two hours away in Brisbane and have her daughter catch the train to school.
The young mum also faced a critical childcare shortage and accepted government assistance after leaving her work to care for her son.
After 10 months of unsuccessful applications, Ms Somers had no other option but to leave the Gold Coast and move in with her mum in Tasmania.
Ms Somers said she was overwhelmed with sadness by the rental ordeal, claiming the housing crisis is ‘how people end up homeless’.
‘I cried a lot, especially because I did not want to renew my lease when I knew my rent was going up and I did try to speak to my landlord…she knew the situation… and she still increased it anyway,’ Ms Somers told Nine.
‘Not only are rentals hard to find on the Gold Coast, but so is childcare, and that is how I became a single parent – not because I wanted to. People’s situations change on a dime – that is how people end up homeless.’
Ms Somers was forced to move from the Gold Coast (pictured) and in with her mum in Tasmania
Ms Somers, who now has a job, is still applying for rentals in Launceston and claims the housing crisis is ‘not much easier’ in Tasmania.
‘Even for myself when I do find a rental, I don’t know how I am going to do it, because for my entire life with children, it was a two-parent household,’ she said.
‘It does not seem much easier here to secure a rental as a single parent, but at least I have my family’s support.’
The median asking rent in Pimpama has jumped nine per cent over a 12month period and 52 per cent over five years, according to data online property site Domain.
Meanwhile, the national vacancy rate dipped to 0.7 per cent in February from 1.1 per cent in January.
According to SQM Research, the total number of rental vacancies -wide was 32,108 in January.
Sydney and Melbourne vacancy rates dropped to 1.3 per cent and 1.1 per cent, respectively, Canberra and Darwin fell to 1.7 per cent and Brisbane and Hobart saw a one per cent vacancy rate.
Meanwhile, vacancy rates sat below 1 per cent over January in Perth and Adelaide.
Over the 30 days to 14 February 2024, capital city asking rents rose by another 1.4 per cent.
he national vacancy rate dipped to 0.7 per cent in February from 1.1 per cent in January
The national median weekly asking rent for a dwelling is recorded at $ 614.54 per week.
Sydney recorded the highest weekly rent for a house at $1,037.08 per week, While Adelaide units offered the best rental affordability of all capital cities at $451.20 per week.
Managing Director of SQM Research Louis Christopher said national rents across nearly all regions indicated no end in sight to the rental crisis for the start of 2024.
‘Our rental market update reveals a sharp decline in rental vacancy rates cross the nation,’ Mr Christopher said.
‘It is a seasonal demand increase we see at the start of each and every year but is most certainly problematic due to the fact the current rental market remains in crisis.
‘Going forward, our best-case scenario for renters is that the population growth rate slows considerably this year to an increase of about 360,000 people which would likely mean a stabilisation in rents starting from the June quarter.
The worse case is population continues to boom at current rates.’
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