Rebecca Brown had only just made it home from hospital with her newborn baby after a complicated birth, when she was given an eviction notice from their long-term rental in Queensland’s Lockyer Valley.
Brown, her partner Nickolas, three-year-old daughter Octavia, one-year-old Taitum and baby Nashton endured 38 rejections before finding a property 60km away, in Walloon. Now, they’re facing the prospect of being forced out of home for a second time.
“It doesn’t matter where you go,” Brown says. “There’s no escaping this rental crisis. It’s just everywhere.”
Their story
“It started in September. I remember it so vividly, because I was standing in the kitchen making my son’s first birthday cake.
“My husband went to the driveway and there was a real estate agent parked there. He said – ‘did you know your house has been listed for sale?’
“We didn’t, nobody had said anything to us. From there, we had people come through and have a look at the place … [the agents] told us they were investors and we wouldn’t have to leave.
“Come November, I went into hospital and had a little bubba. And 10 days after getting home from a complicated C-section and almost losing him, the real estate said to us: ‘the owners want to move in, they want the keys ASAP, can you guys start looking?’
“We were like ‘oh my god, are you serious?’. So we did start looking, and happened to find a house at Fernvale [in Somerset] for $420 a week – we were paying $400, so it wasn’t too much more – and we were told it’d be a long-term lease.
“A few days before our move in January, we got a phone call saying the current tenants were refusing to move, even though they were evicted three months prior. They said ‘there’s nothing we can do, we’ve applied to QCAT [the administrative tribunal] but because of Covid there’s a huge wait’.
“The QCAT date was set for 1 March, and we only had until 18 January to find a house before the new owners were going to have us removed.
“We’d signed a contract, paid a bond and rent and we couldn’t move in. We’d already given our own vacate notice, so we went to the real estate, explained our situation, and were told we’d get an extra 24 hours. We were back to square one.”
The budget
“Our budget was $400 to $450 a week even though we’re on Centrelink – that’s our rental history, that’s what we’ve got a proven ability to pay.
“We’d go up higher … You have to keep a roof over your head, [but] the most I applied for was $460.
“We weren’t picky with the location, we applied for everything from Toowoomba through Ipswich and right down the range through the Lockyer Valley.
“[But] between the entire Stanthorpe [Southern Downs] and Warwick region, there were six properties to rent. Just one has four bedrooms.
“We got to the point where we were going to apply to housing commission, but it’s a seven year wait. We tried to get into crisis and temporary housing, and there’s just nothing available – it’s gone.
“My husband has been on disability for 12 years now, and I’ve had to become his full-time carer for 10 of those years. It’s not one of those situations where you just ‘go out and get a job’. You feel so helpless.”
The search
“We have always gotten the first house we have applied for, but not any more. We have 16 years of perfect rental history and it means absolutely nothing.
“I had times where I put in an application and 12 hours later I get an email saying ‘sorry, it’s gone’. I was jumping on these houses as soon as they were advertised.
“You’re on your own … I was giving cover letters and explanations of our situation, screenshots of our savings. I’ve never had to do that before to secure a property, I’ve never seen so many cars pulling up for inspections.
“There were a couple of rentals that we really liked. There was one at Basalt that would’ve been perfect for our kids, it had a fenced off patio area … and we missed it. There was no room to even book an inspection, it was full.
“I met that situation a few times. My husband went to look at one house in Ipswich and was sending me photos of another car, and another car, and another car, lined down the street around the corner, he was fighting to get through the door.
“I went on social media reaching out to everyone, everywhere. Eventually 38 rejections later I had a lady message me who was property manager for a house we applied for in December.
“She vouched for us, and the owner of a property in Ipswich said “sure, they can come into the house on a six-month lease as a trial’, to make sure we could pay rent. He was prepared to put us on a two-year lease.”
The rental
“This house is much smaller. We came from a big four bedroom on acreage so we had to significantly downsize everything. But the only thing we required was a fence for safe outdoor space and air conditioning, because my husband’s medical condition is heat affected.
“That was it – we didn’t require two bathrooms, just basic necessities. We wanted to sign a long lease here.
“So you can imagine our surprise when eight weeks into the lease, we find out our house is up for sale. Apparently there’s been an offer from an investor. We don’t know which way it’s going to go.
“My health is not in a good place and I’m going to need surgery soon. Our daughter is devastated, her anxiety is through the roof.
“She says ‘I want to go back to the old house, I want my old room’. She had a big bedroom, she’s got a little one here. Of course, the real estate agent has put a huge ‘for sale’ sign in our front yard, and she goes: ‘Mum, what’s that?’. She remembers.
“She can’t sleep at the moment, she’s worried about losing her bedroom. She’s asked for a new princess bed if we have to [move], and we say ‘yes, OK’. She’s scared the real estate will take all her stuff … she’s freaking out.
“We can’t believe what is happening. It’s been a really awful few months.
“We sit here and wait, and hope an investor buys it and we can get another lease. But if they decide not to lease it out, we’re going to be left empty handed. We’re just sitting ducks now.”
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