Mum forced out of home after shocking rental increase

"It's so hard and it just makes you feel so awful that you can't leave (the kids) in their home. You're left with no choice, you have to leave."

A mother of two is being forced to move out of her home after she copped a whopping $120-a-week rent increase.

9News reports Lisa Watts had been paying $500 per week for a four-bedroom home in the far southern suburbs of Adelaide, but last week received the “dreaded call” from her real estate agent.

"She called me and said 'Hey love, are you sitting down?'," she said.

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"And I just went 'Ohhhh how much?' and she said '$620 a week'. And I just went 'wow'."

Lisa told 9News her two children cried when they found out they had to vacate the home, but she couldn’t afford the new rent.

However, the real estate agency claims the home should be listed for $650 a week based on the current market.

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Lisa Watts with her two children. Picture: 9News

"They're just putting families out onto the street"

South Australian law dictates that rents can only be put up once a year, but there is no limit to the increase.

"It's a joke. They're just putting families out onto the street," Watts said.

"It's so hard and it just makes you feel so awful that you can't leave (the kids) in their home.

"You're left with no choice, you have to leave."

9News reports the South Australian Greens are pushing for tighter rent controls to prevent Lisa’s situation happening to more families, but the state government has said placing a cap on rent increases could lead to unintended consequences.

"We're also aware a lot of landlords have suffered an extraordinary amount of financial hardship in the last 18 months with escalating interest rates," Treasurer Stephen Mullighan said.

Originally published as Mum forced out of home after shocking rental increase