Rental crisis tears family apart as mum and daughter separated by distance
23-year-old single mum Michaela and her eight-year-old daughter are separated by almost 700km due to Australia’s rental crisis. Michaela has been unable to find a rental near job opportunities and schools, while sharehouses have rejected her multiple times because she has a child.
The crisis is forcing families to make impossible choices between food and shelter. Data from Anglicare’s annual Rental Affordability Snapshot shows that only 0.6% of rentals are affordable for people on minimum wage. For someone on Jobseeker, only three rentals were affordable, and for Youth Allowance: zero rentals.
Single mothers are particularly vulnerable to the rental crisis. Jenny Davidson, the CEO of the Council of Single Mothers and their Children, said, “Single mothers moving away from support networks due to the rental crisis has significant mental health impacts.” Michaela is one of them. She said, “I’ve been struggling with some depression for some time now due to all these additional factors of my whole foundation being all over the shop.”
Davidson said it’s not uncommon for single mothers to live under dangerous conditions with their children, entering a tight rental market without being able to prioritise security or safety. “It’s the worst we’ve ever seen and housing has been in their [single mothers] top three issues for over a decade.”
With the number of single-female parent families set to rise from 13 percent in 2016 to 14 percent by 2041 in Australia, the demand for rentals for single parents is expected to increase.
Michaela has contacted the Council of Single Mothers and is looking to team up with fellow single parents. “I’m hoping that I can get myself out there … and eventually get into something that’s comfortable for both of us, and then I can move [my daughter] into where I’m living. That’s the game plan.”
