Melbourne tenant suffers a five-month search to find a rental in Melbourne

It took Sarah five months to find a home to lease in Melbourne’s northeast suburbs.

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Single mum Sarah has come to the stark realisation her dream of owning a home is “never going to happen” after Victoria’s worsening rental crisis wiped out all hope.

It took the 44-year-old five months to find a rental in Melbourne’s northeast after “many house inspections, all full of people in the same boat”.

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“My son is 15, he’s lived in 10 different houses in his lifetime, four in the last two years,” she said.

“I carry so much guilt for not being able to provide a secure place for him to grow up.”

Sarah said she was saving for a deposit but had realised in the last six months or so that buying her own home “was never going to happen”.

“And it’s really sad; I don’t save any more, I spend it now,” she said.

“I don’t have enough money to live.”

After living in Castlemaine for 13 years and struggling to find a rental there, Sarah decided to move back to Melbourne with her son.

Sarah applied for at least 30 rentals before finding a home.

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Little did she know that it would take five months to find the place they are in now.

Sarah said she applied for at least 30 rentals and the process was “pretty horrible”.

“We were going backwards and forwards from Castlemaine pretty much every weekend to go to house inspections,” she said.

“It’s so disheartening because you’re putting yourself out there like trying to find work and getting rejected from jobs.

“I just don’t look that appealing on paper; next to someone who has two incomes, I’m not the choice.”

She added that even in the five months she was looking for a new rental, rents rose “so much” and she is now stretched to her limit.

Sarah said if there was one thing that could change about the rental process was for landlords and real estate agencies to understand that tenants aren’t just a number, they’re people who need a home.

“I found it not very personal and we were just sort of treated like numbers,” she said.

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sarah.petty@news.com.au