By Gabriella Payne
If you’ve tried applying for a rental property recently, chances are you weren’t successful.
With the rental market booming and the demand for affordable housing through the roof – it’s no wonder it’s a challenge to get a ’foot in the door’, but this is sadly having a detrimental impact on victims of domestic violence.
Gavin Staindl, Senior Sales Consultant from Ray White Pakenham, said that the real estate market throughout Melbourne’s south east was incredibly competitive at the moment and it was “concerning“ to see the amount of people left in desperate situations.
“It’s tough right now,“ Mr Staindl said.
“I’ve had people looking to purchase property who can’t find anything, so then they try renting, but again can’t find anything – and they then end up in tears on the phone to me.
“I had another lady who was trying to get out of a domestic dispute and couldn’t find anything to purchase, but she needed to get out,“ he said.
“She found herself lining up with 50 other people [for one house], and still couldn’t get anything – so it’s very tough.“
Mr Staindl said that there was such a huge demand for affordable housing at the moment, that it often meant people were competing with dozens of others for the one place – and it didn’t matter if they had a perfect record to back them or not.
“I’ve had mature aged couples with no pets, no kids and no rental history, who have sold their place and have a million in the bank who can’t get a rental, so I think people leaving domestic abuse relationships sometimes feel they’ve got no chance,“ he said.
“If they’re up against people who are able to pay 12 months rent in advance, then they might feel the landlord is making the judgement call that they can’t afford the rent,“ he said, adding that it was a sad situation to see.
Having worked in the industry for many years, Mr Staindl made a few suggestions for prospective tenants, particularly those escaping domestic violence, on how to impress at a house inspection and stand out from the crowd.
“I would suggest three things.
“One, I would always suggest taking the time to go to the inspection, speaking to the agent and trying to build up a rapport with them.
“Two, I would recommend writing a cover letter, as it’s a great way to humanise you,“ he said.
“Explain your situation, introduce yourself a bit – it could go a long way and helps you stand out from the 50 others applying for the house.
“And the third suggestion, have you checked your references, and are they speaking well about you?“ he said.
“If you didn’t leave your last place on a good note, maybe try and fix it – it’s important to have people vouching for you.“
