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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.

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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'.

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"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."

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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.

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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]

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@MrJoeHarker

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