The rental crisis in the Bega Valley Shire has pushed Ashleigh Maybury, 32, and her fiancée Nathan Philipp, 29, into a situation they never thought they would be in. The family of five with one more on the way, is about to become homeless.
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The rental property their family had been living in since March 2020 was sold and they were given 30 days to vacate the property, despite allegedly having six months remaining on their lease.
The shock came when they had to leave their rental after reportedly being told previously they could continue their lease as the house was being purchased as an investment property by the new owner.
When they were alerted that would no longer be the case, the family was left scrambling to find another suitable rental in the area.
The pressure on the NSW regional rental market has been widely reported on and the situation is no different in the Bega Valley, with rental properties few and far between, especially homes suitable for those with larger families.
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"We are in the process of applying for every rental property available, but as quick as they become available they have been leased," said Ms Maybury.
"The rental market is so competitive at the moment and it's very disheartening knowing that we are up against so many others in our situation."
They also contacted caravan parks in the area but most reported that they are all at capacity due to many in the same situation.
The only option for the Bega family is a small room in Ms Maybury's mother's shed. The room will just be big enough for the family's beds and the rest of their furniture will be in storage in Candelo.
"It's not an ideal situation at all, my mum is amazing for even offering to let us do that, she didn't have to do that, she's raised all of her children.
"Having to go home to my mum is not something that I wanted to do but when you have no choice, it's kind of like it's that or we're completely homeless," she said.
"It's been difficult being pregnant, homeschooling, packing, and this whole lockdown situation. My poor kids know what's going on, but it's really tough on them.
"They're old enough to understand what's going on, they're very smart children, but they can feel how stressed I am. I do my best to hold it together for them, but it's difficult.
"They wake up every morning and it's like, 'Mum have you found a house yet?' Trying to explain to them that it's not that easy, and no I haven't, is really hard."
With her fourth child on the way and no foreseeable end to the rental housing crisis facing the Bega Valley, the stress of the situation has even led to some complications in Ms Maybury's pregnancy.
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"I feel like a bit of a failure at the moment, because it's just not a situation that I would have ever seen myself in," said Ms Maybury.
"I've always provided really well for my children, but being put in a situation that is beyond my control is really difficult."
She said the children have shown a great deal of maturity and now have a greater understanding of other people who maybe faced with a similar situation.
"It's made them realise that life's not exactly perfect and not what you want it to be, it definitely has changed them."
The three children will also need to continue with remote learning, despite the small space they will move into, but Ms Maybury said, "we're a very resilient family and we have no choice but to be."
Lack of rental security leaves renters with inadequate protection
Ms Maybury wants to bring to wider attention that there are no real protections for renters in a situation like this and it breaks her heart that this could happen to any family who currently rents their home.
She was alarmed that tenants could so easily become homeless.
"There's got to be something done about pushing somebody out of their home, I mean you have a lease, so you think you're secure but clearly you're not.
"I thought there's got to be some sort of rule that they can't force someone out of the house to just be homeless, but there just isn't," she said.
According to Fair Trading legislation, the minimum amount of notice a landlord must give to a tenant on the sale of a property is 30 days if the tenant is on a periodic agreement rather than a fixed agreement.