Single parents discriminated against in Cairns housing market

A whistleblowing real estate agent and a landlord say that single parents are “heavily discriminated against” in the rental market, with one single mum who works full-time living in her car because no one will lease a home to her.

A whistleblowing real estate agent and a landlord say that single parents are “heavily discriminated against” and “stigmatised” in the rental market, with one single mother who works full-time telling of how she lives in her car because no real estate will lease a property to her.

Vicki Eriksson, now a rental property manager with Five Rivers Sales and Rentals in Cairns, has broken ranks with other firms to say discrimination against solo parents is a “massive issue” in the real estate industry.

“In my experience, it was tough to get a rental when I was a single parent … and it’s because there is a stigma attached to it (being a single parent).”

Ms Ericksson said she got involved in real estate management off the back of her difficult experiences as a single parent trying to find a rental and works hard in her role to give single parents rental properties.

Real estate agent Vicki Ericksson has broken ranks to talk about single parent discrimination in the rental market.

“Being a single parent means you are discriminated against and stigmatised in the rental market, just for being a single parent” she said of other real estate agents.

She said the “stigma comes from the fact there is only one income,” and the result is “people becoming homeless and often trying to make ends meet through stealing and violence”.

Indeed one single mother Stephanie Williams, said she works full-time, but is living in her car because of constant rental knock-backs that she believes is because she is a single parent.

“My boss even helped with a letter stating he would pay three months of rent to try help myself get stability for myself and kids. But here I am living in my car” she said.

“When you have kids and you’re on your own it’s tough, but you have to just keep powering on.”

Single parents Patricia Breuil and Jane Mcdonald say they have been forced to share rooms with their teenage daughters after applying for 40 properties between them in the last six months.

Patricia Brueil has applied for 20 properties this year and has been forced to share a room with her daughter.

Single father Scott Jones says he has applied for around “50 properties” over the past two years.

“It’s beyond a joke” he said.

He is now living in a 14-foot caravan with his three children.

The single parents who contacted the Post know the rental market is already tight with record low vacancy rates and around 1300 homeless people in Cairns, but believe real estate agents are rejecting them simply because they are single parents.

However, another real estate agent property manager who is also a single mother said that while she often leases out to single parents and wanted to remain anonymous – the issue is usually that single parents come to her with poor references.

However, landlord Sarah Wild disagreed.

As a new property owner in the area she told a couple of real estate agents she wanted to rent out to single parents.

“They immediately warned me against this,” she said.

“I asked the real estate why and ‘she said you don’t know what their life is like and they come with ‘complications’.”

Ms Eriksson said she believes the stigma against single parents is unfair and unfounded.

“Single parents are my best tenants,” she said.

“I advise any single parent to contact a property manager directly. Don’t just keep making applications online. Share your story, tell them who you are, it puts them in a different focus – you become a real person to a property manager that way.”

Originally published as Single parents discriminated against in Cairns housing market