Shelly Mussig moved back into her house last month. She didn't want to.
The back door is broken, the frame covered with a sheet of plywood. The house was broken into and vandalised when it was unoccupied.
She is unable to safely use the toilet, but Ms Mussig has moved her few belongings in anyway.
"I had to make the really hard decision of coming back here, even though I can't use the bathroom," she said.
She first moved into the house in Bomaderry on the New South Wales South Coast in 2014.
At the time it was public housing, managed by the state government's Land and Housing Corporation.
Ms Mussig's health has deteriorated since then. She lives with multiple disabilities, including osteoarthritis and a condition which causes her bones to weaken. She also lives with a neurological disorder that makes her more likely to suffer falls.
In 2021 an occupational therapist assessment report found without significant modifications to her bathroom, it would be extremely unsafe for her to stay in the house.
The bathroom isn't accessible, she cannot climb into the bathtub to shower, and it's too cramped for her to safely use the toilet.
She's set up a portable toilet in a bedroom, which has a plastic bucket she empties after use.
"It's very degrading and demoralising … just the stress and the thought of it."
Faced with what the OT report called "a significantly high risk of acquiring a major injury", Ms Mussig started couch surfing instead.
"I've been staying on different people's lounges and couches between my dad's and my family and friends' houses just to be able to shower and go to the toilet," she said.
But Ms Mussig has run into problems due to a social housing shift occurring in across Australia.
Staying in unsuitable home to avoid becoming homeless
Social housing's aim is to provide affordable homes for those on low incomes. Dwellings fall under two categories: public housing managed by state governments, or community housing run by not-for-profit providers.
Community housing is increasingly making up a bigger portion of Australia's social housing mix, which experts say has consequences for people like Ms Mussig.
Ms Mussig's landlord is community housing provider Southern Cross Housing (SCH), which has managed the house since it was transferred from NSW state public housing.
SCH declined to renovate her bathroom. She requested a move last December, and was only put on the priority transfer list nine months later.
Then last month SCH gave Ms Mussig an ultimatum:
"If you have not returned back to your property by the end of November Southern Cross Housing will issue again a termination notice for absence."
"They [said] that if I don't move in by the end of [November], they'll take me to court," Ms Mussig said.
Ms Mussig relies on the Disability Support pension and cannot afford the skyrocketing prices in the private rental market.
She has no choice but to stay in the house despite not being able to use the bathroom. She showers at friends' homes, and uses the portable potty instead of a toilet.
With social housing residents often waiting years to transfer into other homes, losing the house at Bomaderry could mean having nowhere to live at all.
"I have to do what I have to do to get by and not be homeless."
Housing organisations say more funding needed for repairs
SCH manages all non-Indigenous social housing in the local Shoalhaven area, but with an average property age of 41 years, it's a portfolio that is in desperate need of renewal.
Chief operating officer Eric Coulter did not comment directly on Ms Mussig's case, but said maintaining the ageing properties in general was a challenge.
With limited funds hard decisions need to be made between upgrading existing homes or investing in new stock.
"We don't have a bottomless bucket, so we have to make do with what we have," he said.
Mr Coulter said over the next 20 years, SCH will probably spend up to $150 million just in maintenance on ageing stock.
"Do we have enough [funding]? We can always do with more," Mr Coulter said.
"We would like to see recurrent funding to invest in the infrastructure of social housing as an ongoing thing, and not just as a one off or ad hoc."
But the social housing sector is crying out for more funding.
The NSW Community Housing Industry Association estimates the state will need 50,000 new social homes over the next decade.
Over the last three years the NSW government has committed to build just 1,170.
Social housing stock falls short of predicted demand
Overall, the share of social housing in Australia's housing stock continues to decline.
In 1981, 4.9 per cent of all Australian dwellings were classified as social housing. By 2021, that had dropped to just 3.8 per cent.
Community housing providers like Southern Cross Housing have become a bigger part of that mix in the last 15 years, mostly due to the transfer of properties from state-owned public housing.
In 2006, there were 341,000 public housing dwellings in Australia. By 2021, that number had dropped to 299,000.
In the same period, the number of community housing dwellings exploded — from 32,000 to 108,000.
And there are potential consequences for tenants, especially those with maintenance issues.
One is that community housing decisions may not be as subject to judicial review, says Chris Martin, a researcher at the City Future Research Centre at the University of New South Wales.
"In public housing you're dealing with a government department and the principles of administrative law apply," Dr Martin said.
"Public housing tenants could seek review up to the Supreme Court. It's not clear community housing tenants could."
But he believes there are good reasons for the growth of the community housing sector.
"One of the reasons for fostering community housing is because going back to the 70s and 80s, public housing wasn't great at customer service," he said.
"It has gotten better, but still can be high-handed and more influenced by governments' 'get tough' agenda on anti-social behaviour, [and the] 'undeserving poor'."
Mould problem only addressed after ABC questions
Over the decades, public housing has acquired a poor reputation as tenants struggle to have maintenance issues addressed.
Halima Ibrahim Omar in Melbourne's western suburbs knows all too well what that's like.
For more than six years, she has been complaining about the incessant mould in her home, owned by Victoria's Department of Families, Fairness, and Housing.
"They say there's nothing they can do because this house is old and I have to live like this," Ms Omar said.
Since 2016 the department has intermittently sent crews to treat the mould, and the house was even re-painted last year. The mould came back within weeks.
"The issue is that they didn't fix it for good," Ms Omar said.
"Either we have lung problems, either we are coughing, you know, someone is sneezing. If someone has sores, all caused by this."
The medical effects of exposure to mould are well documented. They include runny and blocked noses, irritation of the eyes and skin and throat. Mould can be especially detrimental for people with asthma.
Ms Omar said sometimes the mould was so bad she paid up to $1,500 out of her own pocket to get it treated. It's money she can ill-afford as she relies on the Jobseeker payment to support four daughters living at home.
"I even failed to put food on the table for the kids because of this," she said.
At least for Ms Omar, there may be hope on the horizon. The morning after the ABC visited her home and asked Victoria's Department of Families, Fairness and Housing about her case, she was contacted by the department.
A statement to the ABC said, "The department is continuing to work with Ms Omar to ensure a suitable outcome."
It also said Ms Omar had been offered alternative accommodation while maintenance work took place, and that she had been approved for a priority transfer application to another property.
For one public housing tenant, maybe good news — more than six years in the making.
