The current economic situation in the world is bleak. The global economy is still recovering because of the pandemic, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the cost-of-living crisis, according to the IMF. Australia is among other advanced economies that continue to face challenges in the economic sector.
A living and breathing example of the current housing crisis in Perth is this single mother. Jakki Brooking, a registered nurse, went to TikTok to tell her story. Right before Christmas, her landlord doubled the rent for her and her son from $300 to $630. The mom admitted that they might be facing homelessness soon and asked the Internet for suggestions.
Personal financial troubles can only get worse in single-parent households
Image credits: Keira Burton (not the actual image)
This 28-year-old mother fears she and her son won't have a home anymore after the landlord doubled her house rent
Image credits: jakkibrooking
Basically, I've lived in my rental for six years. And the house that I live in now is part of the NRAS scheme. Well, it was when I first started renting it. So they keep rent affordable for low income earners.
The house was recently sold and the new owners didn't want to go ahead with the same low income scheme.
So they've chosen to increase the rent from $300, which is what I'm paying now, to $630 a week. I obviously can't afford to pay that.
Image credits: jakkibrooking
I feel so f*****g stupid doing this s**t. I'm a single parent, like, contacting my real estate agent trying to be like... trying to find somewhere else to go.
My lease is up on the first of January. I've applying for houses and I've been getting rejected for all of them.
There was another rental available that was also part of the NRAS scheme. If you transfer from one NRAS property to another, it doesn't count as an existing tenant.
Image credits: jakkibrooking
So I'm a new tenant and there's different income limits. In my last email to the real estate agent, I think I said something along the lines of... I told her, 'I have been applying for houses. I've been getting rejected for all of them. Like, we're facing homelessness from the end of the lease because I can't afford to pay the $630.'
And her response to that was that if I don't vacate the premises by the first of January, then the owners can take me to court.
Image credits: jakkibrooking
I work as a registered nurse at one of the hospitals in Perth. I have a permanent contract. I just don't know what I'm meant to do at this point.
Like, this is literally so embarrassing. I have somewhere for Levi to go from the end of the lease if we can't find anywhere between now and then.
Image credits: jakkibrooking
I need to find somewhere for our cat and dog to go, rent a storage unit to put all our stuff in. Anyway, if anyone has any suggestions, let me know. I've been sitting here for 20 minutes now so I better go inside.
Image credits: Emil Kalibradov (not the actual image)
The single mom shared her story on TikTok and her video got 392k views
The woman clarified her issue in a follow-up video, and the problem is that $630 rent a week is more than half her wage
Some people left some rather harsh feedback under Jakki's original video. One commenter was surprisingly cruel: "Be cruel or pay what we all pay," they commented.
Jakki posted two follow-up videos to let these people know the real reason why she was crying in her first video. "I'm happy to pay rent. I can afford to pay rent within reason," the mother explained. "I can't afford to pay $630 a week rent. That's over half of my pay."
Like for all people, rent is not the only expense that she has to cover with her nurse wage. There are also other bills like water and electricity, not to mention buying food. Jakki spoke in the video about how the problem is that other landlords reject her applications for rentals.
"The issue is the rental crisis. The issue is the lack of rentals," she clarified. "But it's not the fact that I have to pay rent." In another video made on December 25th, Jakki said that she doesn't expect special treatment just because she's a single parent.
She also explained that she does have a place to stay. "My friend has offered me her spare room temporarily and I had a few other friends offer me spare rooms as well."
Other people in the comments admitted that they're in a similar situation, living in cars, tents, or couchsurfing. Jakki said she just wanted to let other people know they're not the only ones dealing with a rough patch.
Some people were worrying about Jakki's pets. She mentioned them in her follow-up as well. Luckily, her grandma would be able to take in the dog, because "she takes in everyone's dogs." The cat has several potential new temporary owners, Jakki says that she just has to figure out whom to give it to.
While many people supported the mom in the comments, she felt some of them could've been nicer. Jakki even said jokingly at the end of her follow-up: "Can you guys stop being mean to me, please?"
Image credits: Oleksandr P (not the actual image)
Perth is the worst city for renters in Australia at the moment
PropTrack published a report on housing affordability in September of this year. They found that New South Wales, Tasmania and Victoria are the states that face the worst affordability. West Australia, which has Perth as its capital, has the best numbers, but it's still worse than it has ever been in three decades.
Perth is now the toughest city for renters. It scored 9 out of 10 for having the most competitive suburbs for rentals. People who are looking to sign a lease in the Bentley area have an average of 160 competitors. Real Estate also reports that there are 130 inquiries per listing in the Greater Perth suburbs.
The rental shortage has been driving up prices and lowering the amount of available houses. Experts say that the COVID-19 pandemic is one of the causes of this situation. Apparently, rental levels were two times higher at the beginning of 2020 than they are now.
"The sudden shift to remote work and the economic slowdown have resulted in changes in demand for rental properties, leading to shifts in the supply and demand equation," Leanne Jopson writes for Property Update.
Population growth has also increased the demand for housing. What's the reason for sudden changes in population? Many people migrated out of Australia during and after the pandemic, but a few returned home.
Paul Ryan, Economist at REA commented on the effect this had. "Given the typical household size of two-and-a-half people, this population growth increased housing demand by about 140,000 dwellings over those two years."
Sadly, experts can't offer much consolation for the future. "It may not get worse at the pace in which it has been over the past 12 months, but there’s nothing on the horizon to suggest we will see a significant increase in the supply of rental homes," PropTrack economist Eleanor Creag told Real Estate.
Image credits: Happy Donut (not the actual image)
People in the comments were sympathetic and offered some advice
