Families forced into backpacker hostels amid Cairns rental crisis

These are some of the faces of Cairns’ housing crisis. Young families, desperate for a roof over their heads, yet forced to stay in a backpacker hostel as the median rental price tops $550 a week.

FOR mother-of-three Dominique Knowles, having a place to call home is becoming a distant reality.

She has lived with her young family in a backpacker hostel for almost a year, it’s a hopeless situation.

The median rent in Cairns right now is $557 per week and the vacancy rate is 0.5 per cent.

Ms Knowles is madly applying for rental properties but her income is about $1300 a fortnight and real estate agents are looking for tenants who can pay rent with no more than 30 per cent of their income.

She became homeless when her landlord put her rental property on the market and she had to vacate.

"We're all long-termers here." Castaways Backpackers is home for Janita Khan (left) and her daughters Jade and Kiah Jacobsen, along with Dominique Knowles and her sons Marcus and Conner McEwen. Picture: Isaac McCarthy

She’s grateful Castaways backpacker owner Wayne Hutchison has largely converted his premises to families, and that she hasn’t been moved on as tourists start returning to Cairns.

“If it wasn’t for this place, I don’t know where I’d be, I know hotels and motels are kicking out long stays now to accommodate tourists again,” she said.

“I have been looking through rentals at real estate agencies, going to inspections, applying and being unsuccessful every time – they want so much for rent, some of it is really ridiculous, if it is $500 a week I just scroll past it,” Ms Knowles said.

“No wonder so many people are living in backpackers and hotels.”

She said an influx of southerners buying property reduced available rentals.

Building more social and affordable housing is the only solution to the Far North’s housing crisis, according to Cairns Women’s Centre manager Nicole Dye.

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“I think regional Australia is bearing the brunt of skyrocketing housing prices, and as a result of that the rental affordability is all but disappearing, and the lack of housing is really devastating for our families,” Ms Dye said.

“Building more social and affordable housing creates more jobs and surely it is going to balance the housing system, there’s a massive shortfall of available rentals.

“It would relieve pressure on our services, if there was more housing we wouldn’t have people rocking up at our door, day in, day out.”

The State Department of Housing says there are 1996 households on the housing register in the Cairns local government area - but it is at pains to stress it’s not a waiting list.

St Vincent de Paul area manager for housing and homelessness Annette McKail said a national strategy involving federal, state and local governments was critical.

“I think it is really important for the strategy to be looking not just at mortgages and social housing but to the private rental market, which most people low incomes end up looking for,” she said.

Originally published as Families forced into backpacker hostels amid Cairns rental crisis