Finding a rental in the Illawarra is an almost impossible feat, made even tougher if you own a pet.
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As vacancies remain at an all-time low, it's been a struggle for Tahlia Roza to find a new home after she was asked to vacate from her Bulli rental a month ago.
The 34-year-old has resorted to living in a caravan, and believed owning her rescue cat, Dougie, has hindered her chances of securing a rental.
"I'm not getting rid of my cat to find a place, it's just not an option. He's been homeless before and I'm not putting him through that again.
"So this is home sweet home for now," Tahlia said, as she looked at her caravan.
Tahlia, who works as a digital content creator, had applied for more than 50 rentals over the past few weeks, and has decided to sign a 12-month lease to stay at a caravan park while she waits for the rental market to improve.
"I would go to inspections and real estate agents would say more than 200 people had applied," she said.
"It got to the point where I just started feeling defeated. Hopefully it settles down and people will find a place and there might be some more places available."
Dougie has been Tahlia's main companion through a stressful period.
"I've gone through a lot of mental health issues with this whole move, and Dougie's been there. When I look at pictures of my old unit, it still brings a tear to my eye," she said.
"At least I've got him with me and I can keep Dougie stable."
RSPCA NSW said 9 per cent of the 4338 pets surrendered in the Illawarra in the last financial year were due to moving, where the owner could no longer have the pet in their new residence.
Despite almost two thirds of Australians having at least one pet, it is often difficult to find pet-friendly rentals.
Atlas Keighley, 20, was forced to vacate from his Gwynneville rental in February after flood waters had damaged the property so badly it needed to be demolished.
And so began the desperate search for a rental for not only himself, but his two cats, Cirrus and Soup, and two snakes, Gary and Marshal.
After 113 rental applications, Atlas was relieved to have finally secured a rental in Engadine this week, and will finally be reunited with his animals after they were put into boarding.
However, it was a close call. As the search grew more desperate, Atlas had fosters and re-homes lined up for his pets.
"It was really relieving, and it was just in time," Atlas said.
"I would search for Wollongong properties and there would be around 100 available, but then you put the 'pet-friendly' filter on and it would narrow it down to three.
"I only have two years worth of a good rental history, so maybe that made things harder, too."
Calls for change
In NSW, tenancy law still allows for blanket 'no pets' clauses, so landlords can continue to refuse requests to get a pet for any reason, or no reason at all.
"I think the blanket rule is such a shame, because there's no way for you to make a case for yourself," Atlas said.
"It's just black and white and leaves out those who take good care of rentals, and their pets."
Tahlia hoped landlord's would be more empathetic to pet owners in an impossible rental market.
"It's a tough time we've gone through the last few years, everybody's endured COVID and lock downs and trialing times," Tahlia said.
"There's a lot of people that have their pets as a support animals. If I had to give Dougie up, I'd be heartbroken. He'd be heartbroken."
RSPCA NSW said pet owners have had some success by creating a "résumé" for their pets upon application.
"The résumé should include your pet's name, species and breed, age, council registration, microchip number, references from previous landlords or neighbours, and a description of their health status (de-sexing, vaccination and parasite prevention records), personality and training," a spokesperson said.
RSPCA NSW has an open-door policy to people and their animals who need their help.
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Grace Crivellaro
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
