Senior Queenslanders stuck in 'no-win situation’ amid rental crisis
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These days, it’s become so difficult to make ends meet on a fixed income or pension.
Amid the ongoing rental crisis in Queensland, seniors, pensioners, and retirees have found themselves priced out of the rental market and thrust onto a growing waiting list for public housing—worse, find themselves homeless.
According to the Queensland Department of Housing, 546 people aged 80 and above are currently on the waiting list for public housing.
The agency also said that as of August, there are 25,363 applications for public housing in Queensland and more than 41,000 people on the waiting list. Of the forty-odd thousand,a third are homeless.
There are also 3,608 people aged 65 and over registered in public housing, which was higher than in November 2022, which was 2,990.
The average waiting time for those with ‘high’ and ‘very high’ needs is 19 months,
According to real estate firm Domain's October Vacancy Rate report, only 0.8 per cent of available rental properties nationwide and 0.6 per cent on the Gold Coast are unoccupied, signalling a tight rental market with very few units available up for grabs.
The delicate interplay between supply and demand is putting many Aussies at risk of displacement, with some even being forced to let go of their humble abodes.
People like 67-year-old Judy Tate found it difficult to make ends meet with the prices driving up. She currently sleeps in a van as she was forced to move out of the Broadbeach unit she had lived in for four years.
Tate was paying $370 a week but was unable to adjust when her landlord told her that her rent would be increased to $425.
While she was approved for public housing, she was informed that she might wait two years for a house to become available.
‘Most of us have worked all our [lives], and now we are just nothing to anybody,’ she said.
‘It's not the vendors' fault either—with interest rates going up so high, they have to cover their costs as well. It’s a no-win situation.’
Tate said that the apartment was later leased for $450 a week.
‘I never thought I would be homeless,’ Tate said.
‘My anxiety is just through the roof. I am struggling to cope with it. Mentally, I am a nervous wreck. It is really, really hard.’
For Tate, her feasible option is to park overnight at showgrounds where she can use communal toilets and showers. She sometimes stays with friends or sleeps on her daughter’s couch, which she does not like doing.
Tate also prefers living in a van to living in a shared house with strangers.
‘My daughter said, “Mum, you are 67, you can't live in the van like that,”’ she said.
‘They are in a little three-bedroom townhouse with one bathroom, and there are three kids, two adults, two dogs, and me when I'm staying there.’
‘Even though they say I'm not, you do [impose]. It's just not possible to do it long term.’
Tate isn’t the only one experiencing homelessness.
Sixty-nine-year-old Godfrey Brown has been on and off the streets of the Gold Coast for years. He is currently sharing a small unit with a friend.
‘Sometimes I feel it might be better to go back to being homeless,’ Brown shared.
'I'm on a fortnightly pension, and when you're homeless, it lasts from payday to payday.’
With 40 per cent of his pension going towards rent every fortnight, the bills and food he needs to cover, and payments for loans he’s taken up, Brown admits not much is left.
Brown kept in touch with some acquaintances he knew from back when he lived on the streets.
Aside from exhaustion and hunger, he says a third emotion is at play with homelessness: fear.
He said, ‘Most of them are scared… they're scared of getting attacked by drunks.’
‘Some of them are hungry, but they'd rather go and hide and sleep hungry than go out at night and look for handouts because they're scared.’
Chair of the Gold Coast Homelessness Network Maria Leebeeck said her service has seen a 30 per cent increase in demand this year.
‘We are seeing a spike in people who are 80 years plus coming to our support and charity services,’ Leebeeck said.
‘A lot of people are on pensions and income support, so don't have a lot of money, and that's the challenge. Unfortunately for some people, it has been about moving out of the Gold Coast.’
Rosies, a not-for-profit Queensland group, also provides street outreach with hospitality for those experiencing homelessness, disadvantage, hardship, or social isolation.
CEO Jayne Shallcross mentioned that they’ve also experienced a similar 30 per cent increase in demand for services.
The Queensland government had provided almost $877,000 in financial support to renters on the Gold Coast.
According to Queensland Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon, ‘We're also providing $15 million for specialist homelessness services on the Gold Coast this financial year to help people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.’
Real estate agent Tiger Malan said that rentals below $800 per week in the Burleigh Heads area were leased ‘within hours’. He added that the increased demand during summer creates a ‘double whammy’ effect to the shortage of available rentals.
‘I think it did improve around winter, and now it's getting tougher again,’ Malan said.
‘A lot of the units and beachfront stuff get swallowed up by the short-term letting market,’ he added.
‘Because you get better rates through Christmas a lot of the apartments that would otherwise ease the burden are currently sitting on Airbnb for $1000 per night—and lots of them are getting it.’
What do you think of the current rental crisis? Let us know in the comments below.
Amid the ongoing rental crisis in Queensland, seniors, pensioners, and retirees have found themselves priced out of the rental market and thrust onto a growing waiting list for public housing—worse, find themselves homeless.
According to the Queensland Department of Housing, 546 people aged 80 and above are currently on the waiting list for public housing.
The agency also said that as of August, there are 25,363 applications for public housing in Queensland and more than 41,000 people on the waiting list. Of the forty-odd thousand,a third are homeless.
There are also 3,608 people aged 65 and over registered in public housing, which was higher than in November 2022, which was 2,990.
More senior Queenslanders have been waiting for public housing as they cannot afford rent anymore. Credit: Unsplash
The average waiting time for those with ‘high’ and ‘very high’ needs is 19 months,
According to real estate firm Domain's October Vacancy Rate report, only 0.8 per cent of available rental properties nationwide and 0.6 per cent on the Gold Coast are unoccupied, signalling a tight rental market with very few units available up for grabs.
The delicate interplay between supply and demand is putting many Aussies at risk of displacement, with some even being forced to let go of their humble abodes.
People like 67-year-old Judy Tate found it difficult to make ends meet with the prices driving up. She currently sleeps in a van as she was forced to move out of the Broadbeach unit she had lived in for four years.
Tate was paying $370 a week but was unable to adjust when her landlord told her that her rent would be increased to $425.
While she was approved for public housing, she was informed that she might wait two years for a house to become available.
‘Most of us have worked all our [lives], and now we are just nothing to anybody,’ she said.
‘It's not the vendors' fault either—with interest rates going up so high, they have to cover their costs as well. It’s a no-win situation.’
Tate said that the apartment was later leased for $450 a week.
‘I never thought I would be homeless,’ Tate said.
‘My anxiety is just through the roof. I am struggling to cope with it. Mentally, I am a nervous wreck. It is really, really hard.’
For Tate, her feasible option is to park overnight at showgrounds where she can use communal toilets and showers. She sometimes stays with friends or sleeps on her daughter’s couch, which she does not like doing.
Tate also prefers living in a van to living in a shared house with strangers.
‘My daughter said, “Mum, you are 67, you can't live in the van like that,”’ she said.
‘They are in a little three-bedroom townhouse with one bathroom, and there are three kids, two adults, two dogs, and me when I'm staying there.’
‘Even though they say I'm not, you do [impose]. It's just not possible to do it long term.’
Tate isn’t the only one experiencing homelessness.
Sixty-nine-year-old Godfrey Brown has been on and off the streets of the Gold Coast for years. He is currently sharing a small unit with a friend.
‘Sometimes I feel it might be better to go back to being homeless,’ Brown shared.
'I'm on a fortnightly pension, and when you're homeless, it lasts from payday to payday.’
With 40 per cent of his pension going towards rent every fortnight, the bills and food he needs to cover, and payments for loans he’s taken up, Brown admits not much is left.
Brown kept in touch with some acquaintances he knew from back when he lived on the streets.
Aside from exhaustion and hunger, he says a third emotion is at play with homelessness: fear.
He said, ‘Most of them are scared… they're scared of getting attacked by drunks.’
‘Some of them are hungry, but they'd rather go and hide and sleep hungry than go out at night and look for handouts because they're scared.’
Chair of the Gold Coast Homelessness Network Maria Leebeeck said her service has seen a 30 per cent increase in demand this year.
‘We are seeing a spike in people who are 80 years plus coming to our support and charity services,’ Leebeeck said.
‘A lot of people are on pensions and income support, so don't have a lot of money, and that's the challenge. Unfortunately for some people, it has been about moving out of the Gold Coast.’
Rosies, a not-for-profit Queensland group, also provides street outreach with hospitality for those experiencing homelessness, disadvantage, hardship, or social isolation.
CEO Jayne Shallcross mentioned that they’ve also experienced a similar 30 per cent increase in demand for services.
The Queensland government had provided almost $877,000 in financial support to renters on the Gold Coast.
According to Queensland Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon, ‘We're also providing $15 million for specialist homelessness services on the Gold Coast this financial year to help people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.’
Real estate agent Tiger Malan said that rentals below $800 per week in the Burleigh Heads area were leased ‘within hours’. He added that the increased demand during summer creates a ‘double whammy’ effect to the shortage of available rentals.
‘I think it did improve around winter, and now it's getting tougher again,’ Malan said.
‘A lot of the units and beachfront stuff get swallowed up by the short-term letting market,’ he added.
‘Because you get better rates through Christmas a lot of the apartments that would otherwise ease the burden are currently sitting on Airbnb for $1000 per night—and lots of them are getting it.’
What do you think of the current rental crisis? Let us know in the comments below.
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