Tweed cancer battler Mason Garnar, 5, faces homelessness

Parents already battling the cancer wracking their five-year-old’s body are now facing another heartbreaking challenge after learning their landlord is planning to sell.

Two Northern NSW parents caring for their sick five-year-old son battling cancer have found themselves “staring down the barrel of homelessness”.

Alex and Hugh Garnar, like many families, found themselves caught up in the Australian rental crisis after their landlord decided to sell up.

They will have 30 days from settlement to find a new place to live so they began their hunt as soon as they could.

They have searched through hundreds of houses to ensure their family will have a roof over their heads but the banks have knocked back mortgage attempts and rental applications have not been successful thus far.

The Garnars have had a run of bad luck and sharing their story is their “last hope” to secure a home while they battle other heartbreaking personal hurdles.

Hugh, Mason and Alex Garnar are staring down the barrel of homelessness after their Tweed Heads landlord decided to sell up. Picture: David Bonaddio

Mason, 5, has been battling Langerhans cell histiocytosis since he was 17 months old and has been in and out of Queensland Children’s Hospital.

LCH is a rare disorder that can damage tissue or cause lesions to form throughout the body. It is unclear whether the condition is a form of cancer or a cancer-like disease.

While staying at Ronald McDonald House undergoing chemotherapy, Mason had a further health scare.

“Mason, unfortunately, developed septicaemia over those big rounds of chemo,” his mother Alex said.

“Watching your child pass away, that helplessness, is one of the hardest things to deal with as a … parent.”

Mason Garnar and his family have found themselves on the brink of homelessness following their rental being put up for sale. Picture: David Bonaddio

Mrs Garnar was also diagnosed with stage 4 thyroid cancer two years ago while Mason was battling his cancer.

More recently, her Hugh husband was car jacked at the Tweed Mall.

“We’ve got enough on our plate with Mason and his diagnosis, let alone having to fight insurance companies,” she said.

“And now trying to find somewhere to live it’s all becoming a bit too much.”

Mason Garner has been receiving treatment for cancer since he was 17 months old. Picture: Supplied

Mr Garnar said it had been a struggle for him to deal with the housing situation and ensuring his family was taken care of.

“As a Dad, I should be able to provide a house and all that stuff, I can afford it but there’s just no houses out there,” he said.

While looking after her son Mason, Alex Garnar suffered from thyroid cancer. Picture: David Bonaddio

Mrs Garnar said the stress was unimaginable and the situation had taken a massive toll on her health.

She said she was staying up late at night wondering where they were going to live.

“We’re not the only ones in it; there are a lot of people out there who are facing the same situation that we’re facing. It’s no longer an isolated incident,” she said.

Despite the high cost of their rental, the Garnars say they don’t fit the credit criteria for a mortgage with the banks to buy a home.

“A lot of us are paying between $550 and $800 a week, that’s a mortgage – the government needs to step in and have a conversation with the banks.”

Mason Garnar has suffered cancer since he was 17 months old.

The cost of the treechanger movement has been laid bare after a year of astronomical growth across regional NSW, with houses being snapped up within days of being listed.

A slew of regional towns experienced rent rising by as much as 52 per cent over the past year as demand from tenants outstripped the number of properties listed.

A report from moving platform HOOD.ai showed unit markets in Bogangar and Hastings Point in the Tweed Valley had the highest increase in rent, with weekly medians lifting 52.9 per cent and 47.7 per cent respectively to $650.

Hugh Garner said he has found it difficult to balance his responsibilities as a father and the stresses of looking for a place to live. Picture: Supplied

New Tweed Coast Real Estate agent Peter Brussel told realestate.com.au in May how rental supply had become tight in Bogangar after investors had either sold or moved into their apartments.

He said rents had also gone up across the whole Tweed region after the seachanger movement brought an influx of city dwellers moving for lifestyle appeal.

“I rented one in Pottsville recently and someone was prepared to pay 12 months’ rent upfront and pay an extra $50 a week,” he said.

“The rent had gone from $600 a week, and we were quoting $780 – and someone now is paying $830 a week.”

A Well Home Loans report in December 2021 also listed five Tweed suburbs where there were just one to three vacant properties for rent — Casuarina, Bogangar, Tweed Heads South, Tweed Heads West and Pottsville.