Cairns family takes drastic steps to find new home after being homeless since March

A Cairns family of three just wanted to move to their next rental home, but one key factor is scuppering their chances in a tight market - and they’ve resorted to desperate measures.

Lee Maynard, her partner Tommy Vucetic and their daughter Claudia Vucetic, 13, have found themselves homeless with their dog Sparticus after they moved out from their rental of seven years and their landlord refused to give them a reference. They are finding it extremely difficult to find a rental property with a pet and no reference. Picture: Brendan Radke

A CAIRNS family of three are sharing the difficulties they’ve had finding a new home in a bid to put a spotlight on the rental crisis that has engulfed the city.

Lee Maynard, her partner of 23 years Tommy Vucetic, their 13-year-old daughter Claudia Vucetic and dog Sparty took the extraordinary step of standing by the side of the Captain Cook Highway on Tuesday with a sign outlining their struggle.

“You’ve got to do extreme things when you’re desperate,” Ms Maynard said.

“There’s a crisis in Cairns and it needs to be addressed.”

After giving notice to their landlord of seven and a half years in January, Ms Maynard believed they’d be able to get a new rental, “no problem”.

They had moved to Kewarra Beach in 2014 but were looking to downsize in order to save a bit of money each month.

Tommy Vucetic, his partner Lee Maynard and their daughter Claudia Vucetic, 13, have found themselves homeless with their dog Sparticus after they moved out from their rental of 7 years and their landlord refused to give them a reference. Picture: Brendan Radke

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But the relationship with the landlord soured and while they received their full bond back from the Rental Tenancy Authority, no reference to attach to their rental applications has meant they have been homeless since they moved out at the end of March.

First they stayed at the Cairns Southside International and now Ms Maynard and her daughter and dog have spent a week at a friend’s, while Mr Vucetic has been sleeping in his car.

Ms Maynard said she’d probably applied for 15 or so properties and had not one phone call in return.

“It gets you down, that’s for sure,” she said.

“We just want to get our story out there and see how many other people are like (us).”

In Cairns, rental vacancy rates for homes and units have been reported ranging from 0.5 per cent to 1 per cent in recent months.

Real Estate Institute of Queensland Far North Queensland zone chairman Tom Quaid said that generally speaking, references were important to securing a rental home, especially in the current market in Cairns where there’s “a huge amount of competition for every rental property that comes up”.

REIQ Far North Queensland zone chairman Tom Quaid. Picture: Brendan Radke

In situations where competing tenants can both afford the property and are looking for a similar lease length, Mr Quaid said the owner or manager of the property would be looking for a point of difference.

“It might come down to the references,” he said.

For those who may not have those references, or have a landlord not willing to offer a reference, Mr Quaid said he’d be upfront in dealing with the situation.

Evidence, such as rental ledgers and bond refund receipts would be key, he said.

“Our job (as property managers) is to make sure the property handed into our care is looked after as if it was our own and make sure the people going into a property are going to look after it well,” Mr Quaid said.

In additional to an already tight market, a shortage of building materials is delaying the construction of new housing stock, squeezing the market even further.

Originally published as Cairns family takes drastic steps to find new home after being homeless since March