I was evicted and the law didn’t help. But I’m one of the lucky ones

Journalist

Finding a home is stressful at the best of times,let alone when rents are sky-high and thousands of people are in the same boat. I’d seen the viral videos of tenants lining up like sardines to inspect a rental,but hoped I’d never join them.

That was until,a few months ago,my flatmate and I were told we had 60 days to vacate our property (despite the legal requirement being 90 days). We’d been on a rolling lease and had not signed a new agreement,so were entitled to the full three months.

Queuing for a rental property. It’s a landlords’ market.

Queuing for a rental property. It’s a landlords’ market.Paul Rovere

At first,we laughed – this couldn’t be real. We’d been good tenants and had copped a $10 per week increase in September 2021 without protest. But last December,we were told we had two months to get out.

The only way we would have been required to leave the property in less than 90 days was if the landlord had entered a contract to sell the property,which required the place to be vacant. But it seems the owners had plans to do pre-sale renovations before putting it to market,so we should have fallen into the category of 90 days’ notice.

What better time to try to find a property than over the Christmas break,when everyone is away and there are almost no homes on the market? We tried to push for the extra 30 days but were told it wasn’t possible. Furthermore,we were cautioned that we would need a strong rental reference from the agent,given the market was competitive. Well,yes,that’s because renters keep getting kicked out by landlords!

How can renters choose between staying put and fighting for their rights or possibly missing out on the next roof over their heads? Having decided to get out rather than pursue legal avenues,we reluctantly rolled up our sleeves and joined those long lines.

We spent hours trawling through rental websites,increasing our budget and decreasing our expectations. We looked at all sorts:a house with a bedroom wall made of glass (did we really need privacy or could we just put a giant curtain up?);one that was damp and cold (who needs comfort?);and one that was way beyond our budget (could we eat rice and tuna for the rest of the year?). We asked ourselves if we really needed our own space. Did we need desks or could we work from our beds?

When I shared our story with friends I realised we weren’t alone. Not only are rents up but so are calls to the various helplines. I heard stories of people taking desperate measures to get a place,offering well above the advertised price and several months’ rent in advance. Many renters are putting up with dire conditions because they’d rather cop it on the chin than try and find somewhere else.

I heard horror stories of flatmates who lived in their house for three months without electricity or water after an electrical fire,a couple whose front door fell off three times while their agent refused to fix it,and a couple whose home flooded with sewage. Another friend,who’d lived in his place for five years and had been an exemplary tenant,pushed back on a $100-a-week rent rise,only to be told there were plenty of people out there who’d happily pay the price.

I am no longer surprised when friends tell me their rent is increasing,that they’ve been handed a notice to vacate,or they’re living in less-than-ideal circumstances. It’s more of a surprise to hear renters haven’t heard from their agent.

Luckily,my nightmare story has a happy conclusion. This time. Yes,we got kicked out,but we were among the lucky few to find a place. Still,my heart goes out to those still looking,to those living in a hotel or moving back in with the parents or being priced out and resorting to living on the street or forking out cash they don’t really have to keep a roof over their heads. Australia’s rental crisis was avoidable. The property market is not its own beast. It’s fed by greed and it needs to go on a strict diet.

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Laura Chung is an environment reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.

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