Meagan pays $300 per week to camp in a tent at a caravan park in South Australia's western suburbs.
But caravan parks only allow a maximum stay of 55 days, forcing Meagan to come and go.
Meagan, who asked for her surname not to be used, has had to join the waitlist for public housing for the first time.
"I've always rented privately, I've never been in the public housing list [before]," she said.
South Australia has about 16,000 people on the public housing waitlist with about 3,600 of those deemed priority one.
The average wait time for category one cases in SA is about seven months.
Meagan, a single mum who receives a disability payment, said she had applied for about 40 properties around the western suburbs since her previous lease was not renewed.
The most recent cost of living report issued by the South Australian Council of Social Service (SACOSS) showed the price of new rentals in SA increased by 7.2 per cent in the 12 months up to December 2021 — more than double the general inflation rate.
The report also showed the number of social housing dwellings declined from 9.9 per cent of the housing market in 2000, to 6.7 per cent in 2021.
Meagan said it had been "absolutely horrible" staying in a tent, particularly during Adelaide's recent storms.
"I woke up at 3 o'clock in the morning and I sat in the kitchen, because they've got a nice kitchen here," she said.
"There were other couples sleeping on the floor of the kitchen so I can imagine how they were feeling, because I've got an alright tent but there's other people in there that are living in nothing, like tiny little things."
Meagan said there were others in the caravan park in the same situation as her, and she had also seen groups of people sleeping rough in the area.
"The situation is horrible," she said.
Shadow Minister for Social and Community Housing Michelle Lensink said the state government should be doing more to help people like Meagan.
"I'm surprised that there isn't a property available for someone like Meagan in her situation," she said.
"She should be the highest category on the list and I'd be very surprised if there aren't properties in the locations that she's nominated that might be available."
But Human Services Minister Nat Cook hit back at the criticism.
"I'm not going to be lectured by a Liberal government that didn't invest new money into building public housing like good governments should," she said.
Ms Cook contacted Meagan on Friday, after the media publicised her case, and a hotel room has been offered to her.
Ms Cook said Housing SA also advised it could provide a "more permanent place to call home" faster as Meagan was prepared to "broaden the area she is prepared to live".
"We would expect that this would make allocations a whole lot easier," she said.
However, Ms Cook was unable to give a time frame of when Meagan would be given a home.
Ms Cook said she while was glad to be able to help Meagan, there were still "hundreds and hundreds of people that need this help".
"Going into winter there are hundreds of people who do not have a place to call home.
"It is the worst time of year to be left out in the cold and the rain, searching for food everyday, and without your family and friends without you."
Ms Cook said the government was working to address immediate and long-term housing issues such as reviewing the private rental assistance program and the emergency accommodation program, as well as upgrading existing public housing units and building 400 homes.
