Single mum of four’s desperate plea as Kingaroy rental crisis pushes family near homelessness

‘Do I keep applying or buy a tent?’: A Kingaroy single mum of four says she is facing the harrowing prospect of raising her family in a tent after countless rejections for a rental property, with only weeks left to find her children a new home.

A Kingaroy mum of four says she will be homeless when her lease ends later this month unless her luck in the region’s crippling rental crisis turns soon.

The migration of residents from southern states to Queensland has created drastic rental property shortages, which means some single mothers and families are taking second preference to singles and couples in a desperate market.

After 12 rejections from several real estates and only four weeks to find a new property, Teresa Marie Christie and her four children have started preparing for the worst.

Ms Christie said the constant knock-backs came despite offering two months’ rent in advance, an unblemished rental record, and a full-time employment reference as a finance manager.

Teresa Marie Christie, 48, mother of four struggling to find accommodation in Kingaroy rental crisis. (photo: Theresa Marie Christie)

“I have four weeks. I don't know if I should keep applying, look at caravans or buy a tent,” she said.

“It's so competitive, I really don’t know what I’m gonna do. It’s because I’m a single mum, if it was a couple both earning my salary they’d get it.”

Raine & Horne Kingaroy Real Estate principal Jackie Allery said house prices in Kingaroy had jumped, which resulted in many landlords selling their properties, and real estate agents were now noticing the dramatic drop in available rentals in the region.

“There are five to six agencies in the area, each one has had 20 to 30 investment properties go off the books from people selling,” she said.

Mrs Allery said landlords could afford to be more conscious of their choice of tenant given the current market.

Fellow Kingaroy resident Tony Wilson said he and his family of six was on the brink of homelessness after being informed with little notice that their current property needed renovations, putting the family in a compromising situation.

“This came as a shock, but we were given the option to either stay if we paid extra rent or leave. We obviously accepted due to no (other) options,” Mr Wilson said.

Mr Wilson believes they have been discriminated against in the current market for being a family of six.

“We applied for a five-bed home with a huge shed and pets allowed, we were told we would definitely be in the running. Instead we were told it was not in our affordability range and it was rented to a couple,” he said.

“Landlords are being guided by agents and (are told) renters are nothing but a burden.”

The Rotary Club of Kingaroy has joined South Burnett CTC Youth Services to respond to the region’s rental and homelessness crisis, providing essential services such as camping gear and swags, hot meals, laundry facilities, and toiletries or care packages.

Rotary administration and membership organiser Ray Pit said the group was motivated to help when they realised how serious the problem was.

“When told there were at least 120 odd homeless youths in the area we asked ourselves, ‘What can we do?,” he said.

“We later discovered there are lots of elderly people who are recently homeless too.”

Rotary Club of Kingaroy administration and membership organiser Ray Pit. Photo: Facebook/Rotary Club of Kingaroy

Mr Pitt recounted an elderly couple who had rented all their lives before their landlord recently sold the property, which left the couple homeless sighting migration of the metro residents to Kingaroy.

“The couple had nowhere for all their furniture, they had to live in their car,” he said.

“It is a problem that has been hidden away for a long time, it’s now coming to a fall.”

“Every Sunday we provide hot meals and microwave facilities to people in need at O’Neill Square.”