Kate Scott had to downsize to two rooms after soaring rents in Western Sydney's private rental market left her with just $89 a fortnight for other essentials.
Ms Scott, a disability support pensioner, was paying $450 for a house in Carlingford in north-west Sydney, sucking up 91 per cent of her pension.
"I really was dying, like $89 a fortnight. That's not enough to buy food. Not enough to do anything," she said.
