Young family rejected from 60 rentals become homeless as Melbourne rent crisis deepens

100s of Victorians are applying for the scarce amount of rentals on the market to no avail, leaving some families like Renee’s functionally homeless.

Renee Feehan felt she had to throw out a number of once-treasured possessions to lessen the burden of moving into a friend’s home. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Renee Feehan endured her 35th birthday on the same day she became functionally homeless, with her lease ending before she was able to find a new home for her family.

Ms Feehan, her partner and their two daughters are now living in a friend’s home while they try to find their next place to live, despite relentlessly applying for a new rental for the past 60 days after receiving notice to vacate in May.

They submitted more than 60 applications. All were rejected.

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“We have a friend that has very generously offered us her couch and a room for our girls until we can find a house, but that’s literally the only option I have,” she said.

When Ms Feehan asked for feedback on her applications as to why they were rejected, she said she’d receive generic responses.

Renee Feehan, mum of two young children, was unable to find a home for her family after receiving 60 days notice to vacate her rental. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

“(They’d tell) me, ‘Oh, it hasn’t been looked at yet,’ ‘the applications haven’t been processed yet.’ Then, either I don’t hear from him or I get that follow up with an unsuccessful application,” she said.

The cost of losing their home has already started to bite as they spent part of last week throwing away piles of once-cherished belongings as hard waste.

It’s added a further strain on Ms Feehan who suffers from numerous chronic conditions including fibromyalgia and polycystic ovary syndrome.

“It’s really, really important to us that we stay pretty close to Kilsyth because our eldest daughter is autistic and she’s just started primary school and she is excelling,” she said.

The family is still on the hunt for a three-bedroom home, anywhere between Boronia and Ferntree Gully, with a weekly budget up to $550.

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Originally published as Young family rejected from 60 rentals become homeless as Melbourne rent crisis deepens