Alex Levonis applied for 30 Melbourne rental properties over a few weeks, called estate agents to offer more money, and got no call back.
The full-time freelance graphic designer finally found a lease he could take over from a stranger on Facebook.
The place needs repair but Mr Levonis does not dare to ask the landlord for any improvements, for fear that could lead to them asking for higher rent.
He was among renters who gathered to air their issues at a forum held by advocacy group Tenants Victoria in Melbourne on Saturday.
Tenants Victoria has been overwhelmed by the state's rental crisis, only able to respond to 30 per cent of people who reach out for support.
The organisation is calling on action at all levels of government in the form of increasing housing stock — by the thousands — and caps on rental hikes.
A four-year couch surfing 'nightmare'
Full-time student Jack Doughty, 20, told the forum how they were threatened by a property manager for refusing to share their bathroom with a cafe business at the back of their block.
"He kept making threats about putting us on a blacklist, telling us we'd never be able to rent again, telling us that he would make it very difficult for us to be able to get our bond back," they said.
Jack was evicted and is now living in a new place in need of repair but so far requests for maintenance have not been followed up.
The front door is broken so they enter through the rear of the house, the windows don't close properly and there is no vent for the stove top.
The full-time jazz piano student works at their university's student union, teaches piano and performs in multiple bands to make ends meet.
Dova Weickhardt said he had been living an "absolute nightmare" since leaving high school, couch surfing across eight of Melbourne's outer eastern suburbs over four years.
He ended up leaving Melbourne for Geelong where he finds renting difficult, but marginally more affordable.
At one point in Melbourne he was medically unable to work for a while and was trying to survive just on Centrelink payments.
"That gives you only $800 a fortnight, while most places are asking for $600 a fortnight. You can't afford that and food and any bills you might have," he said.
Rental crisis expanding to include those on moderate incomes
Rental stress is affecting not just those traditionally facing hardship, such as the long-term unemployed, but also people who are in work and have good rental histories.
"They are putting in hundreds of applications in some cases, regularly tens of applications, and still meeting a dead end," Tenancy Victoria's director of community engagement Farah Farouque said.
"In anyone's book that's a crisis."
The threat of homelessness is real for people who are working, she said.
"If you're couch surfing you are in the category of homeless.
"We know now that people are having to resort to share houses much older than they once might have because there just isn't the available rentals that are suitable and in the areas that people need."
Ms Farouque said fixing the problem means all levels of government should come together to put price caps on rent and increase housing stock.
"We are calling now for greater regulation of rent increases," she said.
"There should be a fairness formula bringing landlords and renters together to work out what might be a fair calculation for future rent increases, because currently in Victoria, rent increases aren't regulated.
"Then we have to build more social housing."
Victorian government says it is taking action
"We understand the real challenges Victorians are facing in today's rental market – that's why we're providing support that is making a difference," a state government spokesperson said.
Build-to-Rent projects, instigated by the government, provide new dwellings designed to be long term rentals.
The government said it took "rental bidding" very seriously and investigated potential breaches.
The practice involving agents inviting offers of rent higher than the advertised price was outlawed in Victoria in March 2021.
But some say the practice is continuing in a subtler way, with desperate renters offering more to beat out competition, or feeling like a need to offer more money is implied.
