Young family-of-eight forced to live in a tent amid rental crisis

• Queensland family-of-eight forced to live in a tent amid rental crisis
• READ MORE: Queensland Premier Steven Miles called out over ‘tent city’

A young Queensland family-of-eight have been forced to live in a tent for over six months as they struggle to find a home amid the worsening rental crisis.

Cameron and Tameka Fletchers never expected they would have to raise their large brood inside a tent erected in campsites around Brisbane.

The family have been living in a tent since last September and say their calls and emails to Queensland’s Housing Department have gone unanswered.

‘We’ve always had a house,’ Mr Fletchers told 9News.

‘We’ve never done this before, so this is new to us.’

A young Queensland family-of-eight have been forced to live in a tent for over six months as they struggle to find a home amid the worsening rental crisis (pictured)

Their four-year-old daughter is due to start primary school next year but can’t be enrolled because they don’t have a permanent address.

The couple, who have six children between the ages of one and 10, are just one of the dozens of families forced into tents amid record low vacancy rates.

‘Everyone here is going through the same thing,’ Mr Fletchers said.

‘But it’s the only way to get help.’

Everyday tasks like feeding their children breakfast, keeping the younger ones entertained and washing their clothes are difficult.

‘We’ve had to buy these solar camping showers from Kmart,’ Ms Fletchers said.

The family are happy to move into a three-bedroom home but the department of housing will only offer a five-bedroom property.

A department spokesperson said they had been working with the family since last September, including ‘providing accommodation which they chose to leave’.

‘As we’ve been assisting them to find longer-term options, they have declined further offers of accommodation,’ the statement said.

The Queensland couple, who have six children between the ages of one and 10, are just one of the dozens of families forced into tents amid record low vacancy rates

However, Ms Fletchers said this was not the case.

‘We’ve been pretty much shut out since last September when we first applied to get help, they don’t reply to messages, emails, nothing,’ she said.

Mr Fletchers said the ‘only way to get help’ was erecting a tent in a local campsite.

The housing department said there were eligibility factors that needed to be met to provide social housing, including income thresholds.

‘However, the department continues to work with the family to find a private rental and give any other support they might need,’ the spokesperson said.

It comes just weeks after a ‘tent city’ popped up in Brisbane’s south as an increasing number of renters struggle to afford a roof over their heads.

In Musgrave Park, adjacent to the city’s idyllic Southbank tourist precinct, more than 60 tents litter the grass filled with people seeking permanent accommodation.

The rental vacancy rate across Australia is at a staggering 1 per cent meaning the demand for rental properties is not being met by supply.

The rental vacancy rate across Australia is at a staggering 1 per cent meaning the demand for rental properties is not being met by supply

In Australia’s capitals, annual rent growth slowed from 17.8 per cent in 2022 to 13.2 per cent in 2023, while slowing from 11.6 per cent to 4.2 per cent in the regions.

Across the nation, property investors have left the market and while there has been a rebound it is not enough to replenish depleted levels of housing stock.

As a result, rental vacancies have remained near record lows at 1.1 per cent, down from 1.3 per cent in December 2022, forcing prices upwards.

The median cost of renting a house in the combined state capitals has reached a new record of $630 a week, according to real estate platform Domain.

The first three months of 2024 had the sharpest quarterly gain in 17 years.

Advertised house rents rose five per cent over the quarter, with units also up a solid 3.3 per cent to a new record median asking price of $620.

Deloitte Access Economics partner Stephen Smith said Australia hasn’t been building enough homes to keep pace with record migrant inflows.

The economist wasn’t confident the government’s goal of building 1.2million homes starting from mid-2024 would be be met, according to recent industry forecasts.

Mr Smith said it could take years to change, so the shortage in housing and soaring property prices and rents ‘will get quite a lot worse before it gets better’.

READ MORE: Queensland Premier Steven Miles’ called out over tent city in his electorate in Brisbane

Zane McGill (pictured) began living in a tent a year ago in Brisbane’s north

Read more