When Lauren Koplin requested repairs to her rental property in Adelaide, she says she and her special needs son received notice to leave.
She had applied for work to fix mold in her kitchen, which had previously been water damaged.
“It would have meant giving us a temporary kitchen while they did the work, but instead we had four weeks to pack up our lives,” she told Conversation Hour.
After first staying at friends’ houses and sleeping on their floors, Ms. Koplin wanted a more stable environment for her son, Noah, so she opted to stay in a trailer park.
“We brought our bedding with us to make it more comfortable and like home and we only had our bags.
“There was no other option and nowhere else to go, so I was paying $800 a week to have a roof over our heads.
“I never thought I would be in this position.”
Ms. Koplin said that she had attended property inspections almost daily, but that her options were limited.
“I went in for an inspection last weekend, it was a three-bedroom house for $450 a week and the moldy smell was horrible.”
‘We can’t help them’
Debbie McKenzie, who has run a trailer park in Shepparton, in northeast Victoria, for about 40 years, said she had noticed an increase in people turning to trailer parks for long-term accommodation.
“We get three or four calls a day,” McKenzie said.
“Young families, some women with four or five children, tell me that they have even gone by car.
“The sad part is you don’t know who to send them to and where to move them because you just can’t help them.”
Ms. McKenzie said she had also received inquiries about renting long-term campsites at $150 a week.
“They can put up a tent…instead of continuing to live in their cars.”
The tenants have moved
Tenants Victoria CEO Jennifer Beveridge said that despite some creative solutions, not enough was being done to fix the housing crisis.
He added that people moving into caravan parks were often unaware of their rights: those residing in a park for more than 60 days are subject to the Residential Tenancy Act.
“That provides much more protection for people than for those who are on the move,” he said.
But Ms Beveridge said people were often given orders to move on as they approached the 60-day mark.
“There are always people who will take advantage of the dire circumstances of others, either by finding ways to evade laws and by speculating.
“Our view is that housing is a human right. It’s an essential service, but we really need better conversations and outcomes across the housing market.”
too scared to speak
While some people were often aware of their rights, Ms Beveridge said there was a reluctance to speak up.
“We hear that all the time from people who will choose to accept substandard accommodation.
“People will choose not to make any more noise and live with mold because it’s too difficult or because they keep getting ignored.
“That’s not good enough.”
Struggling with rent, Ms Koplin has now moved to live with her sister in the Northern Territory while she looks for more affordable accommodation.
Ms Koplin, who is on a carer’s pension due to her son’s needs, said most of her income went to accommodation and storage fees.
“Our life is in storage, and then everyone else steps in here and there to try to help us, it’s just not a life.”
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