Ballarat housing crisis: a young mother is still struggling to enter the rental market six years on

Ms Gerring-Lowe, 22, gave birth to her first child, a boy named Maverick, about two weeks ago and has always wanted a stable place to live for her, her partner and now, her son.

However, after countless attempts of trying to secure permanent housing, she has started to question whether it is worth persevering any longer.

"I was applying for over 100 rental applications, doing one at least every day, and I was trying to get one-on-one inspections with landlords and real estate agents and it felt like a lot of what I was saying of our situation just went over their heads," Ms Gerring-Lowe said.

"I've been honest and upfront about my partner and I's situation to landlords and real estate agents but it feels as if we keep on getting dismissed and we're not given a chance.

"And now more than ever I need somewhere stable to raise my son and I'm not fussed about the space, it could be a one-room unit or even a shack."

RELATED: Renters look to caravan parks as Ballarat rental prices skyrocket

Ms Gerring-Lowe is currently living in a two-bedroom cabin at Lake Learmonth Caravan Park with her partner and her newborn. She has been there for a little over a month.

However, prior to this and before the birth of her son, Ms Gerring-Lowe and her partner had lived in a variety of places including a tent in a backyard, a motel, their car and their caravan.

In early 2021, Ms Gerring-Lowe after struggling to break into the rental market, sought the assistance of a Ballarat-based welfare agency.

"We were doing everything ourselves and I thought we might have a better chance with the help of a welfare group," she said.

"They (the welfare group) assigned us a case worker and they promised us that before our baby was born that we would have a house but there was never really any indication that would actually happen."

Ms Gerring-Lowe said aside from the agency providing her with food vouchers, there was not much else they did to help her housing plight.

"We poured our heart and soul to her and as soon as we got our caravan she dropped us and began ignoring us and yes we can and have lived in our caravan but it's definitely not a stable place to bring up a child in," she said.

After the birth of her child, Ms Gerring-Lowe's partner approached the agency one final time as a last plea to see whether they might aid his family.

Sadly, Ms Gerring-Lowe said her partner was yet again shunned.

"We were really disappointed with our case worker and it's really made us feel down in the dumpster about it because we saw other people she (the case worker) worked with that were without kids and were getting into houses," she said.

IN THE NEWS:

While Ms Gerring-Lowe understood the availability of rentals in the Ballarat region was low she said she had begun to feel her efforts for searching for somewhere affordable had become futile.

"I don't know whether we're being discriminated against and I understand there's not a lot of houses on the rental market but I don't understand why new families are getting a house so soon who have only become homeless and we aren't," she said.

"We are good people and although we might not have a rental history, we think we would be great tenants and we're not being given an opportunity and it's not fair."

Ms Gerring-Lowe, who stopped working as a housekeeper in December last year, said although she was not currently working, she and her partner definitely had the funds to cover a rental.

"We paid $200 to $300 a week when we were couch-surfing, between motels and even when we're living in a tent at the back of someone's backyard and we're currently paying $350 a week at the caravan park so we can afford a rental but we just need someone to give us a go," she said.

Lake Learmonth Caravan Park manager and caretaker Lany Sutton said she felt compassionate towards Ms Gerring-Lowe's situation as a mother as well as understanding the challenges many were dealing with trying to enter the property market.

"Usually the cabin she (Ms Gerring-Lowe) and her family are staying in would be $390 and with the (RBA) rate rise we increased that to $450 this month but as a mum I'd rather see money out of my pocket then have a young family overlooked," Ms Sutton said.

"This is my way of paying it forward."

Ms Gerring-Lowe said she wished the government put money towards building new houses.

"More houses need to be created to help those who are homeless to get into the rental market and it just seems like no one is willing to put in that extra mile," she said.

If you are seeing this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Courier, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and allowing us to continue telling Ballarat's story. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great city.