Fiona Stokes is a full-time businesswoman with brilliant rental references and can’t find a place to live, although she can afford it.
She and her two daughters, aged 11 and 9, live in a caravan park in Cairns after the house they were renting was sold out below them.
The nail salon owner is one of thousands competing for a roof over their heads in the far north of Queensland, a tropical paradise that has experienced a major population boom following the COVID blockades.
Rental vacancy rates in Cairns, a city of nearly 170,000 people, have been below one percent for more than 14 months.
Realtors say it’s not uncommon to receive 200 applications for a single home or unit, with cash bribes and bidding wars now commonplace.
Mrs Stokes says it is a terrible situation.
Cairns business owner Fiona Stokes says they made fun of her for a permanent home. (ABC Far North: Kristy Sexton-McGrath)
“The situation is crazy. There is nothing around,” Ms Stokes said.
He pays $ 370 a week for a unit in the van parking lot and his rent should go up another $ 20 soon.
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“Yes, we’re lucky to have a roof over our heads, but we need security,” he said.
“I have no privacy. It ‘s very difficult to cook on a hot plate with no space on the bench, so it’ s difficult to cook a suitable meal for my children.
“I don’t think I ask for much. I have my furniture, a rental history and I can afford to pay the rent.”
Mrs. Stokes dreams of a place to prepare a suitable meal for her children. (ABC Far North: Kristy Sexton-McGrath)
Despite repeated rental requests and requests on social media, Ms Stokes said her search for “a unit, an apartment or a duplex, anything” had been unsuccessful.
“Laughing on social media to post that I need a home for my kids is very annoying,” he said.
“I’m also paying hundreds of dollars a month to keep my furniture in storage.
“If this continues and we can’t find a home, we’ll have to leave the area.”
Cash bribes for households
Realtors say people looking for rental properties will make a desperate effort to secure a home, including cash bribes, and offer to pay the rent one year in advance.
In Cairns, there are less than 300 rental properties currently listed on a major real estate website.
Local real estate agent Alex Witten said the situation was “heartbreaking” and that it was not uncommon to receive 200 applications for a single property.
He said potential tenants were resorting to desperate measures to secure a roof over their heads.
“On some odd occasion, a green or yellow note can be attached to an app, which is returned to them directly,” Witten said.
“They will offer to pay six or 12 months rent, in advance, which we do not ask for and, frankly, we do not like.”
He said that having to constantly reject applications was taking its toll on his staff.
Alex Witten, Cairns real estate agent. (Supplied)
“We regularly face distressed tenants who tell us,‘ Why haven’t we gotten this property? What’s wrong with us? “
“It simply came to our notice then. They are good people who are able to pay the rent.
“Last week we gave a property to a woman who was a single mother and she told us that she had submitted more than 50 applications that had not been accepted.
“He lived outside his car and did two jobs.
“She burst into tears when we gave her the property. She just needed a little start and there are hundreds of stories like this.”
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Witten said he did not believe the housing crisis in the far north was due to population growth, but that homeowners were taking advantage of a hot market and selling to homeowners / occupiers.
“We’ve lost 400 properties in the last five years, so they’re 80 to 90 a year,” Witten said.
Repression against rental offers
The Residential Leases Authority (RTA) says that the practice of the so-called “rental offer”, which consists of a real estate agent, property manager or landlord asking a potential tenant to offer more than the advertised price, is · Legal.
Cairns and the surrounding area, with a population of 170,000, has less than 300 homes available for rent. (Supplied by: Cairns Regional Council)
Sam Galer of the RTA said it was also illegal for them to accept bribes and rent properties at a fixed price.
“A tenant may offer a higher amount of rent, but they may not be encouraged to do so,” Galer said.
“It becomes very difficult and dangerous territory if you are seen playing with tenants with each other.”
Additional report by Chris Calcino.