Desperate for a home … Jade and her baby Seth with her mum Susan and dog Winnie in front of their caravan. 64263
By Xavier Smerdon
FOR one Werribee South mother a three-day labour could never be as painful as a year of rejection by a system “in crisis”.
Young parents Jade and Dwayne have made over 50 applications for rental properties only to be denied every one, and have resorted to sharing a caravan with Jade’s mother Susan for the past seven months.
Their baby Seth can crawl from one side of the caravan to another in literally seconds.
Susan said realtors and landlords rejecting her daughter time and time again had placed emotional stress on the whole family.
“She goes into a bout of depression every time they knock her back because she wants her own place,” Susan said.
“It’s so upsetting to see your daughter crying like that. She needs her own place for the baby.”
The couple said that they felt most real estate agents were judging them too early because they were young parents. Dwayne, 21, however works as a concreter earning around $800 a week while Jade, 18, receives more than $1000 a fortnight in government benefits, meaning that paying the rent would not be a problem.
According to the Real Estate Institute of Victoria, Melbourne has been recording lower than average vacancy rates at rental properties for the past six years.
CEO of UnitingCare Werribee Support and Housing, Carol Muir, told Star people looking for emergency housing in Wyndham faced an “indefinite wait”.
“Basically in Wyndham there is little to no emergency housing,” Ms Muir said.
“There are crisis facilities in other areas and other municipalities, but in Wyndham there are absolutely none.
“Most definitely the system is in crisis, there is no doubt about that.”
The family’s plea for a home comes as commentators from both ends of the political spectrum criticised the federal budget for putting the squeeze on the middle class.
Tenants Union of Victoria policy and liaison worker, Toby Archer, said that the private rental market had become too competitive and as a result, couples like Jade and Dwayne were getting forced out.
“That’s a real indictment on the housing industry that they can’t find a house,” Mr Archer said.
“Estate agents are basically the gate keeper and often they make particular judgments about people based on factors that just don’t matter.
“We still get reports of discrimination against tenants because they may be too young.”
Jade, Dwayne and Seth are still waiting to hear about properties they have recently applied for.
