Gympie rental crisis: Former Noosa chef Ben Lever lives in tent at Traveston

This family of six can pay $600 per week in rent but after eight months of knock-backs and a record-breaking flood, they are trapped in Queensland’s worsening housing crisis. VIDEO.

A close-knit Gympie family has been rendered homeless while shouldering a father’s spinal disability and nerve damage, a son’s broken foot and six pets.

Former security guard and Noosa chef Ben Lever, 38, and his family were forced to leave their Jones Hill home on Friday, June 10, because their landlord wanted to sell the property,

Since then they have been living in two tents at Traveston.

Mr Lever said he was Gympie’s number one security guard before he suffered severe injuries seven years ago from an accident on a staircase.

Now, his wife Kerry Lever, 39, works as his full-time carer and looks after their four children – Jackson, 17, Leon, 14, Kevin, 9, and Alicia, 7.

Three of their pets have been taken in by friends and family.

Mr Lever constantly suffers from nerve pains, pinching and spasming. He has trouble with many manoeuvres, including walking.

“I’m in so much pain but I don’t want to leave my family all by themselves,” he said.

“I’m just mainly worried about my family and my kids.”

Mr Lever had worked as a chef in Noosa before moving to Gympie 12 years ago for cheaper living costs.

Camping has taken a serious toll on Mr Lever.

Sleeping on a mattress on the ground in a sleeping bag leaves him in excruciating pain everyday.

With no fridge available to store meat, the family is only getting by on vegetables, he told the Gympie Times.

The family received a food hamper from St Vinnies the first week of living in the tent.

Mr Lever said his wife had many hardships between caring for himself, their children and pets.

Their son Leon broke his heel the day they moved into the tents, and the whole situation had left the children stressed and worried at school.

“We’re all very down,” Mr Lever said.

The family has applied for hundreds of rental spaces, and only about a third made it through to the owners.

Because of Mr Lever’s disability pension and rental subsidy, they can afford up to $600 rent weekly.

The family is currently renting a permanent camping space for $250 a week to have their tent at Warrigal Ridge Bush Camp.

Mr Lever’s landlord lost their own home and business in the floods and decided to sell their property.

The family searched for a new home for eight months, privately and through real estate agents.

Mr Lever applied through agencies, disability services and homeless lines but the search was futile.

He has now made a Gympie Homeless Family Facebook page for the community to come together and make a difference.

“I think people need to help people,” he said.

“I’d like to be able to help because I think this is going to be something going on for a long time.”

Despite generous community support, there has been no progress on finding a new home for this family.