Southerners Trying To Escape Covid-hit

Southerners trying to escape Covid-hit [/news/melbourne/index.html Melbourne] and Foto Taken Sydneysiders who can now work from home have been blamed for a devastating housing shortage on [/news/queensland/index.html Queensland]'s Sunshine Coast as locals are priced out of the rental market.
The situation has become so acute that struggling locals are being forced out of homes just weeks before [/news/christmas/index.html Christmas], with many having to either sleep rough or relying on friends and family for a place to stay.
The Covid pandemic saw an influx of Melburnians and Sydneysiders making the move north, driving rental prices up and availability down to next to nothing.
According to the latest data, the Sunshine Coast has a rental availability of just 0.5 per cent - down from 1.9 per cent in June and well below the standard figures.
With housing in both Victoria and New South Wales far more expensive than on the Queensland coast, settlers are arriving with bigger budgets and driving prices up. 
Single mother Amelia Drew was forced to send her youngest child to live with her parents on October 23 after she was kicked out of her home - meaning the family is separated as her parents live five hours away. 
Tarsha and her partner Derryk have been given notice to leave their granny flat apartment because the owners are looking to sell.

They are among hundreds of families struggling to find a new home 
Several families told Daily Mail Australia the crisis has left them sleeping rough or relying on friends and family to house them temporarily.

Pictured: One man sleeping in a tent, which he described as 'home'
She was given a notice to leave two months earlier - but couldn't find a suitable new home for her family.
'I'm just trying to stay with a friend, but I have three children and this place doesn't quite accommodate us all,' she explained. 
Ms Drew's budget is $475 per week, and she is hoping to secure a two or three-bedroom home - but may be forced to take something smaller. 
Ms Drew is among hundreds of Sunshine Coast locals who have found themselves without a stable roof over their heads throughout the pandemic. 
Vicky Myer from the Integrated Youth and Family Service on the Sunshine Coast said homelessness was already was rife in the region and has been made worse since the pandemic.
'We do have a real shortage of safe and affordable accommodation for a variety of reasons, including people moving to the Sunshine Coast from other areas,' Ms Myer explained. 
Georgia Forbes (pictured) is in an equally precarious position, facing homelessness along with her two teenage sons
The organisation acts as a crisis accommodation service for people who are desperate, and experienced an uptick in requests at the height of the pandemic.
Figures from the Real Estate Institute of Queensland show the Sunshine Coast's median rental availability in September 2020 was just 0.5 per cent - dropping from 1.9 per cent just months earlier in June.
Availability of between 2.5 and 3.5 per cent was considered healthy in a market, while 1.5 to 2.5 per cent was relatively tight - and anything below 1.5 per cent was very low. 
Coolum Beach and Pelican Waters had an availability of just 0.3 per cent, while Nambour dropped to as low as 0.2 per cent in September. 
The rental shortage is being made worse because investors are being forced to sell sell or move back into rental homes due the uncertainty surrounding the Covid pandemic. 
The organisation worked closely with the Department of Housing to create a direct Covid-response, and has in turn set up additional shelters and housing for people impacted during the pandemic.
She encouraged anybody who found themselves in a tough situation to call the Department of Housing or the homeless hotline to explore their options. 
Ms Myer found that they were busiest when Covid forced the closure of public toilets, showers, and barbecues. 
Ms Forbes told Daily Mail Australia she is in the process of talking with local homeless shelters and the department of housing to avoid being on the streets come December 1

Dozens of messages have been posted in local community groups from Victorians who have just moved to the region
The influx of southerners has driven prices up because people from Victoria and New South Wales are used to paying more for accommodation
Mother-of-two Caroline Shanks is terrified that she and her family will be homeless by Christmas.
The Noosa native must leave her home on December 12, and the stress of the looming date is 'compounding' each and every day.
After living on the coast for 19 years (half her life), Ms Shanks said it isn't as easy as 'packing up and moving away'.
The retail worker loves her small community in Tewantin, west of Noosa, and will do whatever she can to make sure she isn't forced out.  
Ms Shanks said community Facebook groups - from parenting advice pages to local buy/swap/sells - have been inundated with queries from southerners as they made the big jump across the border.
'Many didn't even wait until the borders reopened,' she said.
 'Sydneysiders and Melburnians will pay $600-$800 for what would generally be worth $450-$600 for locals,' Ms Shanks said.
Similarly, mother-of-two Caroline Shanks is terrified that she and her family will be homeless by Christmas
Properties that were desperate for tenants just two years ago are now asking for an additional $100 per week - and they're being snapped up before even holding an open home. 
Ms Shanks recalled when she moved to the town two decades ago, homeseekers could pop into a local real estate office and pick up the keys to an available place to inspect.  
'Now, you have a limited window to view, which is usually at a ridiculous time with a one hour time slot and if you can't make it you miss out,' she said. 
Ms Shanks has applied to view 20 rental properties, only for the inspection to be cancelled because a tenant had snapped up without viewing in person.   
'People are offering more money per week and 12 months rent in advance.

For many, including ourselves, that just isn't feasible,' she said.
'In less than a month, we've applied for 10 properties, but missed inspections due to work. We've been cancelled on about another 20 times.'
Ms Shanks' eldest son started primary school this year and has 'really settled in well' at his new school, while the couple's youngest has another year left at his daycare centre, which he loves. 
For the family-of-four, moving away simply isn't an option.
Victorians have been posting in local community groups trying to source accommodation
Locals have been getting fed up and even occasionally lashing out when people ask for advice on making the move 
'It's costly as it is and jobs aren't exactly in abundance to relocate in an instant,' Ms Shanks reasoned, adding that her parents live nearby and are their only family in Queensland.
'It would be heart wrenching to uproot our family due to this housing crisis.'
The family are hoping to find a three or four bedroom home with a lockup garage, and have a budget of $600 per week.
Pictured: Ms Forbes and her son
Just two years ago, that budget would have got them a five bedroom, two bathroom home with a double garage and change to spare, they claim.   
Georgia Forbes is in an equally precarious position, facing homelessness along with her two teenage sons. 
Like others in her position, she has been told Covid has played a 'huge factor' in the Sunshine Coast's housing crisis.
Ms Forbes told Daily Mail Australia she is in the process of talking with local homeless shelters and the department of housing to avoid being on the streets come December 1. 
'They're demolishing my house,' she said.

'I've been living here for two-and-a-half years and I've been a great tenant.
The complications have been particularly stressful for her 16-year-old son, who is autistic and struggling to come to terms with losing his home.
'Having to move away would break my son,' she said.
'He's at an amazing school and I couldn't thank them enough for all they've done in supporting him. 
Ms Forbes has a budget of $500 per week and is hoping to secure a three bedroom home, but would settle for a two bedroom unit.  
The crisis isn't just affecting families with children, either.  

Tarsha and her partner Derryk have been given notice to leave their granny flat because the owners are looking to sell.
The 29-year-old retail assistant told Daily Mail Australia she has lived on the Sunshine Coast her entire life and never struggled to find accommodation prior to this year.
The couple fought tooth-and-nail to get the little flat, which was far from what they were hoping for and grossly overpriced compared to what they would have paid for it even two years ago.
Tarsha said the coastal region had been a hidden gem waiting to be discovered for years, and she knew it was just a matter of time before people flooded the coast.
'Covid seems to have given people the time to think about a lifestyle change.

They've decided to move away, change jobs, work from home,' she said.
'But it's so sad to see families struggling right now... there is just so much shuffling around. 
Tarsha said her family members were forced to pay 12 months' rent upfront just to secure a tenancy when they were on the brink of homelessness. 
Ms Forbes has a budget of $500 per week and is hoping to secure a three bedroom home, but would settle for a two bedroom unit.

Two of her three sons (pictured) will be living with her, while the third is in the Army
<div class="art-ins mol-factbox news" data-version="2" id="mol-d0979e20-221f-11eb-b6a8-53091eec1c5f" website Coast locals homeless as Victorians and Sydneysiders arrive