• News
  • Life
  • TV & Film
  • Beauty
  • Style
  • Home
  • News
    • Celebrity
    • Entertainment
    • Politics
    • Royal Family
  • Life
    • Animals
    • Food & Drink
    • Women's Health
    • Mental Health
    • Sex & Relationships
    • Travel
    • Real Life
  • TV & Film
    • True Crime
    • Documentaries
    • Netflix
    • BBC
    • ITV
    • Tyla Recommends
  • Beauty
    • Hair
    • Make-up
    • Skincare
  • Style
    • Home
    • Fashion
    • Shopping
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
Submit Your Content

Home> News

Published 16:57 7 Jul 2023 GMT+1

Single mum who paid over £260,000 in rent has been left homeless and forced to sleep in caravan

A woman has launched a scathing attack on high rent in Australia after becoming homeless

Joe Harker

Joe Harker

A single mum who has paid about AUS$500,000 (£260,000) in rent in her life has hit out at Australia after becoming homeless.

41-year-old Emma Lenz says she's become 'broken' after becoming homeless and having to move into a caravan with her 13-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son.

The Queensland woman said she had to move out of her home after her landlord wanted to increase the rent, leading her to have to sleep in her car until a couple offered her their caravan to sleep in.

Advert

She told 7News that the rent in her area had 'doubled or even tripled since I've been out here', and that was in a rural area she moved to in order to avoid rising city rents.

Lenz said there were 'at least 40 or 50 people' going for every rental property available and that pretty much every renter she knew was 'traumatised' by high rents and poor supply.

The single mum has spent AUS$500,000 on rent in her life but ended up homeless.
TikTok/@mindofthemidnightsun

The single mum has also taken to TikTok to vent her frustrations at the situation, with her most popular video being one captioned 'f**k you Australia'.

"I've paid half a million dollars rent in my time, that's enough for two houses up here where I live now, but I'm homeless because when you pay rent you don't get equity, you don't get a return on that," she explained.

"The thing is about making poor financial choices, I had no other choice. I wasn't allowed to buy because my income's never been high enough."

"Did buy for a couple of years but then my ex-husband couldn't keep a job so we had to sell the apartment and been renting ever since."

"I've been on my own for 10 years and I'm paying an average of $24,000 (£12,500) a year out of a $30,000 (£15,625) income."

The 41-year-old runs a gardening business and volunteers for the Rural Fire Service.
TikTok/@mindofthemidnightsun

She called out 'rich b******s' and asked them to tell her how they'd get along if they had to spend the vast majority of their income on keeping a roof over their heads.

The 41-year-old signed off her video wondering 'where are you Australia, seriously' and has previously said: "I just can't keep living like this. Renting has broken me."

A friend of the single mum has set up a GoFundMe to help Lenz and her family improve their living situation from the current caravan in a poor state of repair.

Her friend said she was raising money to 'get her and her kids housed asap' or at least provide a new caravan which could provide Emma's children with a 'proper quality of life'.

Featured Image Credit: TikTok/mindofthemidnightsun / GoFundMe

Topics: Australia, News, Money, Home

Joe Harker
Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

X

@MrJoeHarker

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

an hour ago
3 hours ago
  • Getty Stock Images
    an hour ago

    NASA is sending four astronauts to the moon next week - here’s what we know

    The launch window for the Artemis II mission crew opens next Friday (6 February)

    News
  • Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images/Fox News 11
    an hour ago

    Celebrities who have spoken out after 37‑year‑old nurse Alex Pretti is shot dead by immigration agents

    37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti was killed in Minneapolis this weekend

    News
  • Fox News 11
    3 hours ago

    Alex Pretti: What we know after immigration agents kill 37-year-old nurse

    Pretti's death on Saturday (24 January) comes just a matter of weeks after ICE agents shot and killed Renee Good in Minneapolis

    News
  • KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images
    3 hours ago

    Donald Trump reveals secret 'discombobulator' was used when capturing Venezuela's president

    The US President captured his Venezuelan counterpart on 3 January, before transporting Maduro to New York

    News
  • Single mum fears she may be homeless before New Year after rent doubles days before Christmas
  • Mum of 14-year-old boy who died after participating in viral 'blackout' challenge is suing TikTok
  • List of the 100 highest-paid athletes for 2024 has been released and people aren't impressed
  • Starbucks forced to issue apology over viral 'Bearista' cups after fans left furious