Families are facing up to a 10 year wait for a home in Orange amid an acute housing crisis and unprecedented demand for homeless services that is seeing people fleeing domestic violence and renters aged in their 70s particularly at risk.
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According to figures released by Housing Plus, social housing in Australia has shrunk from 4.8 per cent of all homes in 2011 to 4.2 percent in 2021 while demand for social and affordable housing increased in the last 12 months.
Currently there are more than 350 people on the wait list in Orange with a wait time of two to five years for a one, two or three-bedroom property, or a five-to-10-year wait for a property with four or more bedrooms, meaning often people are spending a large portion of their lives at risk of homelessness.
Housing Plus Customer Services head Liz Stamatelos said more than ever there has been a demand for support.
"We're receiving a lot of advice from people about 90-day terminations, the rising cost of living, people not being able to meet perhaps their mortgage repayments, forcing them to sell their properties and it means less housing basically in the community," Ms Stamatelos said.
"It also means less workforce; people coming to the region are struggling to find homes so in turn you have businesses struggling to find employees."
Those renting and first home buyers and people just needing a a safe roof over their heads are finding it increasingly difficult to do so in Orange.
- Housing Plus Customer Services head Liz Stamatelos
She said more than 1250 people sought homelessness support from the service in the 2021-22 financial year, in part due to the lack of affordable housing in the region becoming more severe.
Although that figure is on par with the 12 months prior but the problem now is that Housing Plus can't find properties for those people to move in to.
"Those renting and first home buyers and people just needing a a safe roof over their heads are finding it increasingly difficult to do so in Orange and in many of our communities,"
She said property values have increased by almost 50 per cent and rents by more than 20 per cent in the past two years.
"This is a desperate situation for older people in our communities to face."
To compound that issue, she said overnight short term motel and hotel accommodation is scarce.
"We are finding that people who are in our transitional or our crisis accommodation are having to stay longer because there are no homes for them to be transitioned to," she said.
Housing Plus CEO David Fisher said renters, first time home buyers, and people who just need a safe roof over their heads are finding it increasingly difficult to do so in Orange.
"Despite Housing Plus providing some 46 new homes in the city since 2019 with a further 10 planned, there has been a net decrease in properties available for rent that are affordable," Mr Fisher said.
This is a desperate situation for older people in our communities to face.
- Housing Plus Customer Services head Liz Stamatelos
Housing Plus's Homelessness Service Team is seeing people who have been in tenancies for up to 25 years and are aged in their 70s, being issued with termination notices.
"Many of these tenants have not had to view or apply for a rental during that time and with the lack of rental properties across the region many are facing homelessness through no fault of their own. A desperate situation for older people in our community to face" Mr Fisher said.
More than half of people presenting at services cite family violence or relationship breakdown as a reason for seeking assistance.
Last month Orange had only two properties on the rental market that were affordable for a person on job seeker at under $250 per week.
"The vacancy rates are less than one per cent in the city at the moment," Ms Stamatelos.
The 10 new homes Housing Plus is building are for 2023.
"This is why we need short, medium and long-term solutions and we are all working to try and achieve that because it takes time to build houses but that's what we actually need, not just here, but nationally," she said.
According to the Department of Communities and Justice Statistics rent report, the median rent rose from $400 per week in March 2021 to $498 in March 2022.
Housing Plus Community Services head Penny Dordoy said for those who are at risk of homelessness, Housing Plus can assist in several ways.
"We provide crisis and transitional housing to people that are already homeless, but we also help to prevent homelessness by supporting people to sustain their tenancy," she said.
Despite Housing Plus providing some 46 new homes in the city since 2019 with a further 10 planned, there has been a net decrease in properties available for rent that are affordable.
- Housing Plus CEO David Fisher
"We actually prefer to start working with people at this point, before they get to the situation where homelessness is a serious risk for them, their outcomes are generally better if we are able to provide this early intervention support."
This week is Homelessness Week and Housing Plus is hoping to use it to engage with community leaders on the issues impacting homelessness and what needs to be done to support the most vulnerable into long-term and safe housing by providing more affordable housing.
Housing Plus is also asking community members to show their support by signing a petition advocating for more funding for affordable housing by visiting the Housing Plus website.