Family of six forced to consider moving into a tent as Australia’s housing crisis hits a new low

A family-of-six from Queensland has been left with an impossible decision after their landlord gave them 30 days’ notice to vacate their rental property.

A family-of-six from Queensland has been left with an impossible decision after their landlord gave them 30 days’ notice to vacate their rental property.

The Scott family is now having to weigh up living full-time in a tent after they sent out 40 applications for different rental properties that have all been unsuccessful.

“They have all been declined so far, we get emails daily saying our application has been unsuccessful,” Skye Scott told Channel 9 in a heartbreaking interview.

They now have only four days left in their current home to find somewhere to live, with a tent becoming a more likely option by the day.

A request for an extension on their current home has been turned down and now they are “hoping and praying” for a miracle.

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The Scott family is faced with the prospect of moving into a tent. Picture: Channel 9

“We’re going to inspections every day, applying for houses every day,” Ms Scott told Nine said. “I speak with the housing department every day.

“It basically comes down to having to get a few tents and having to sleep in them, that’s our only option.”

It is a daunting prospect for Ms Scott who said several of her children have special needs, including her youngest child, who was recently diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

As tragic as the Scott family’s situation is they are far from alone as a massive 50,301 people are currently on Queensland’s social housing register.

The state government announced this week that up to 1200 social and affordable homes will be delivered in Queensland under a new commercial partnership that will leverage the Palaszczuk government’s $1bn Housing Investment Fund.

Treasurer Cameron Dick revealed the homes would be built under a partnership struck between the Brisbane Housing Company (BHC) and the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC).

The first seven projects will see almost 600 homes built, with construction set to begin between 2023 and 2025.

The family has just four more days to find somewhere to live. Picture: Channel 9

“This commercial partnership is a model which has not been seen before in Queensland,” Mr Dick said in a statement. “Every Queenslander deserves a safe home to live in and a secure roof over their head.”

Queensland Council of Social Service CEO Aimee McVeigh told ABC Radio Brisbane that since a $2.9 billion investment was made by the state government last year, it has actually halved the number of houses delivered compared to the year before.

She and this announcement was a “drop in the ocean” to what was needed.

“We have 50,000 people — a population around the size of Gympie — on our social housing register, and people are waiting for up to, almost four years for a house,” she said.

“Our social housing register has blown out by 80 per cent over the last four years, so 1,200 new homes ... it’s a drop in the ocean.”

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