Desperate renters in Western Australia’s Kimberley are couch surfing, house-sitting and even sleeping in cars to keep a roof over their heads as housing pressure intensifies.   

The median weekly rental price in Broome has increased by almost 40 per cent in the past 12 months to $895.

With limited vacancies in Broome, some residents have left the town they love after being unable to source housing within their means.

Jenni Lowe has struggled to find a suitable property for her family in Broome, where renting would mean paying more than $900 per week.

Ms Lowe, her partner and young son have been house-sitting since December last year, even “couch surfing” at friends’ houses for the days in between.

“Having to change houses, often it’s hard to have enough space to store your food and shopping more regularly, so that’s more expensive as well,” she said.

With the dry season approaching, bringing with it an influx of tourists and workers, Ms Lowe said she felt the pressure to decide whether she would stay in Broome.

“For me, the lifestyle of living in a rural community and what that means for my family is so important and I would really hate to have to return to the city just because we can’t find accommodation in the country,” she said.

Investment cheaper than renting

Cable Beach head lifeguard Kevin Emery struggled to find a suitable rental for the employees moving to Broome, where they reside for several months each year.

“I think we looked at about 38 properties and the rent was insane; it was like $1,200 for a house,” he said.

“You can buy a house cheaper than that.”

In March last year, Mr Emery made the call to buy a property to house his employees and said industries across the board were feeling the sting of finding accommodation for workers.

“It’s really hampering the growth of the area, making life very hard for us,” he said.

Personal safety jeopardised

Ms Lowe said she was concerned the lack of regulation in unconventional rental options such as answering Facebook posts would leave people more vulnerable, particularly women moving to the area alone.

“It’s just a very worrying state of affairs and not something that I really want to expose my child to.”

Centacare Kimberley manager Michelle Biondi said the drastic increase of rent was a distressing situation and her clients seeking social support were at a loss when faced with homelessness.

Ms Biondi has witnessed a new demographic impacted by unaffordable rentals — single women over the age of 50.

“We’ve had a couple of older women sleeping in their cars, or just not able to afford alternative [rentals], they’re too old to go into the backpackers,” she said.

Ms Biondi said finding a timely solution for the current rental situation would prove difficult.

“Perhaps more support into NRAS [National Rental Affordability Scheme] properties so low-income people can move into one of those houses and more short stay accommodation so that there’s immediate lifting of the homelessness status,” she said.