Queensland family with baby forced to live in hostel dorm room
More Queensland families looking for housing have been forced into alternate living arrangements like hostels and caravan parks as increased rental demand pushes availability to record lows.
New parents Rebecca Cooper and Dylan Howard with their baby, Jasper are now calling a hostel dorm room home following desperate attempts to secure a rental for the family.
Sleeping on bunk beds and using communal cooking areas, Howard says he's grateful the owners of the Toowoomba Hostel took the family in, but that more secure housing is needed.
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New parents Rebecca Cooper and Dylan Howard with their baby, Jasper are now calling a hostel dorm room home following desperate attempts to secure a rental for the family. 9News
"Shared kitchen, shared bathroom," Howard said.
"I didn't think it'd be so hard to get a house, a rental, a unit, a granny flat even.
"How are you supposed to live a normal life when you don't have somewhere safe and stable to call your own."
He added the hostel isn't an ideal place for their baby boy.
"Being a baby, he does need his own space, to make noise in the morning, space to run around, to be a kid really," Howard said.
The family said while they can afford to pay rent, every rental application so far has been turned down.
"We apply for them and they turn us away," Howard said.
"We think it's maybe because we're on Centrelink."
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Sleeping on bunk beds and using communal cooking areas, Howard says he's grateful the owners of the Toowoomba Hostel took the family in, but that more secure housing is needed. 9News
Just a 20 minute drive from the hostel, most of the government Wellcamp facility's 1000 beds remain empty.
The state government said the facility can be used for those experiencing accommodation issues if they test positive to COVID-19.
"There's an empty quarantine centre with seven people in it that houses up to 1000 people," Howard said.
May data from Domain shows Toowoomba's rental vacancy rate is at an all time low of just 0.6 per cent.
Cory Heathwood from LGAQ said a national housing summit was needed to address rental availability issues.
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"The Local Government Association of Queensland have already been writing to the new federal government calling for a national housing summit as we believe that is a great first step in to bringing all levels of government together," he said.
Rebecca Cooper says the family just needs a chance to find a more suitable home.
"We need someone to give us a chance," she said.
"Just keep on trying, keep on applying.
"Hopefully someone will give us a chance."
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