Ballarat has the second highest proportion of homeless populations in regional Victoria, startling new data released for national homelessness week shows.
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New data from national body Homelessness Australia has revealed how widespread homelessness and the shortfall of social housing is across rural and regional Victoria.
Released for Homelessness Week, with the theme "Everybody Needs a Home", new heat maps highlight the extent of homelessness throughout Victoria, revealing there are 5200 regional and rural Victorians without a home.
The data highlights that one in five Victorians without a home are based in regional and rural electorates, with Ballarat second on the list of federal electorates with the highest homeless populations and a lack of social housing.
Corio, taking in the wider Geelong region, is at the top of the list, with 600 homeless people and an unmet social housing need of 3200. This is followed by Ballarat with 500 homeless people and an unmet social housing need of 3100.
Homelessness Australia and Everybody's Home have come together to urge the federal government to urgently invest in social housing as part of its stimulus package in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The bodies believe the Social Housing Acceleration and Renovation Program could build 30,000 homes over the next four years and create up to 18,000 jobs each year.
RELATED COVERAGE: New social housing dwellings to be built in Ballarat
Homelessness Australia Chair, Jenny Smith, said there were already thousands of people in regional and rural electorates without a home or at risk of homelessness but unable to access social housing.
She said the lack of affordable housing was the biggest contributor to homelessness across Australia, with Victoria no exception.
Ms Smith said the pandemic had affected everyone, but for those already marginalised and living in rental stress or without a home at all, it had been devastating.
"With the significant increase in unemployment because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and decrease in income support coming in September, we are facing a perfect storm that needs immediate action," Ms Smith said.
With the significant increase in unemployment because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and decrease in income support coming in September, we are facing a perfect storm that needs immediate action.
- Jenny Smith
Kate Colvin, from Everybody's Home, said the social housing shortfall of 35,100 properties in regional and rural Victoria made up almost 35 per cent of the total shortfall in Victoria.
"While we have yet to see the full economic consequences of the pandemic, the solution is simple.
"Social housing investment will help Australia build its way back to a stronger economy and create tens of thousands of jobs."
The two bodies are urging MPs to take the SHARP proposal to the treasurer.
Rental vacancy climbs
Meanwhile, the rental vacancy rate may have climbed in Ballarat to be the best in regional Victoria, but it is having no effect on the city's homelessness.
It was revealed this week that Ballarat's rental vacancy rate was 2.6 per cent, climbing from 1.2 per cent at the same time last year.
While it is now the leading rate in all of regional Victoria, for many people battling homelessness or a loss of income brought about by COVID-19, it hasn't made any difference.
Uniting Ballarat acting coordinator housing and homelessness Adam Liversage said while properties were coming onto the market, people without rental history or references were not having any success in finding a home.
"Our clients really aren't still getting a look in, it seems like it's still quite competitive out there," Mr Liversage said.
Our clients really aren't still getting a look in, it seems like it's still quite competitive out there.
- Adam Liversage, Uniting Ballarat
"When properties do come onto the market, you're seeing 20-30 applications for properties. It's still very competitive."
Mr Liversage envisages more people to fall on hard times once JobKeeper is rolled back or when restrictions were eased.
But he said this week particularly had been very busy, with an average of about 25 contacts a day.
"We do tend to have peaks and plateaus, but this week for some reason has been incredibly busy," he said.
"I think we are seeing a few more people come down from Melbourne who perhaps have had previous contacts in the area, maybe family connections.
"It's obviously very difficult in Melbourne with the lockdown situation and perhaps people are seeing Ballarat as less of a health risk right now."
In June, Uniting Ballarat revealed it had received two-and-a-half times its regular numbers.
In the three months since March, Uniting has spent $260,000 assisting people in the private rental market to pay rent arrears and bonds. This is an increase of 300 per cent since COVID-19 hit.
Uniting spent $100,000 on helping people in crisis accommodation in that same period.
Real Estate Institute of Victoria president Leah Calnan said this week that while a number of new properties had come onto the market as the likes of Airbnb rentals were placed on long term leases, she had had reports that all were going fast.
"We heard feedback in April on the ground, all of a sudden there was an increase on the number of properties being made available.
"But speaking with agents just last week, they are saying properties are leasing really well and there's not the vacancy period that we were expecting."
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