A Sydney woman who escaped brutal domestic violence is facing homelessness with her six-week-old baby after spending more than two years in a temporary private rental while on the priority list for social housing.
Sarah, who is using a pseudonym for safety reasons, is living in a two-bedroom flat in unsanitary and unsafe conditions but was recently asked to leave after she fought a 60 per cent rent increase and asked for repairs.
Domestic violence survivor Sarah and her new baby could be facing homelessness.Credit: Wolter Peeters
“I’m feeling scared and worried - my anxiety is heightened, and I’m constantly fearful,” Sarah said. “I hope to be able to give [my baby] something secure, so that she won’t have to grow up in the kind of environment where there’s no stability or structure or safety.”
Sarah, who is in her 30s, has been on the social housing list since August 2021 and on the priority list since December that year, needing a home suitable for herself, two dogs, and now a baby. The pregnancy was a surprise and the baby’s father is not her perpetrator but is not involved much.
The most recent figures for NSW social housing had 51,013 people on the general waitlist and 6519 on the priority list.
Sarah received a one-off state government grant of $4350 for victims of family violence to help her with her bond and initial rent. She was paying $400 a fortnight, which was a reduced price based on putting up with some maintenance issues, such as boarded-up windows in the living room, thinking she would only need to stay for three to six months.
More recently, the ceiling in the kitchen collapsed, and broken plaster is directly overhanging the stove. The lack of proper windows also mean higher power bills now she needs to keep the flat warm enough for her baby.
Despite the problems, the landlord recently tried to increase the rent to $640 a fortnight, which would be 97 per cent of her income from Centrelink.
The collapsed ceiling above the stove in Sarah’s rental flat.Credit: Wolter Peeters
Sarah, with assistance from Mission Australia financial counsellor Isis Khalil, appealed the rent rise in the NSW Civil and Administrative Appeals Tribunal with the case set to be heard in August. They offered $500 a fortnight instead, as long as some basic repairs were done.
In what Khalil believes is retaliatory, the agency then said the landlord instead wanted vacant possession to do the repairs himself on his own schedule. The agency is yet to set an eviction date, and Khalil is using the time to lobby the Department of Communities and Justice for priority housing.
“She can’t be made homeless,” she said. “She’s incredibly vulnerable. She has severe trauma. She’s seeing psychiatrists, psychologists, psych nurses, she’s on all sorts of programs, and she needs to be in her area so those services are wrapped around her.”
Sarah’s dogs make it more difficult to find accommodation but they are non-negotiable for her because they helped her through emotionally difficult times.
“They’re the only reason I’m still here and stayed in one piece,” Sarah said.
Rose Jackson, NSW Minister for Housing and Homelessness, said the government had “inherited a housing system that is broken after a decade of neglect”.
Jackson said since the March election, the Labor government had introduced changes to temporary accommodation, committed to delivering more social housing, extended funding for specialist homelessness services, scrapped the rent seeker diaries and appointed a rental commissioner to work on further reforms.
“This story is not only heartbreaking, but the harsh reality of our housing crisis in NSW,” Jackson said.
“We need to strengthen our housing system across the board to ensure people don’t fall through the cracks and find themselves unable to access shelter.”
The Greens have been lobbying to cap rent increases to be in line with inflation and end no-grounds eviction.
Link2home Homelessness:1800 152 152
Domestic violence helpline: 1800RESPECT
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