A FAMILY of five have been left homeless after being rejected by 227 landlords in 16 months.
The Coonan family from Adelaide, Australia fear they will sleep in the car after the agonising hunt for a new home.
On Monday, Hayden Coonan, 39, his partner Aimee Kent, 34, and their three young children spent their last day with a place to live.
The next day they were evicted from the Morphett Vale home on the basis of a no reason termination.
However, the property requires major maintenance which could explain the sudden eviction.
The family moved into the house in October 2020 but found themselves searching for a new rental home soon after due to the state of disrepair.
“It wasn’t long until we started having problems with the house – gas was off, no hot water, burst water pipes,” Mr Coonan told news.com.au.
Aimee has an older daughter from another relationship who the couple want to accommodate. They have been trying in vain to find a new home with an extra bedroom for the teenager.
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“We’ve kept on looking, not getting anywhere, there’s no rhyme or reason [to the rejections],” he added. “You never anticipate it taking this long. It just dragged on and on.”
Despite having a dual income and a spotless rental record the couple were knocked back by landlords a devastating 227 times.
Unfortunately, the stressed out couple have run out of time and are now facing the harsh reality of sleeping in their car with their three kids.
Their twins are aged just six and the eldest is nine years old. The two eldest children have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, making rough sleeping conditions even more difficult.
The youngest twin also has a degenerative physical disability, making it crucial she is kept comfortable and away from tricky movements such as stairs.
The couple have considered buying a mobile home like a caravan but don't know of any caravan sites nearby.
Staying in a cheap motel is another option but they would quickly be left out of pocket.
They plan to Stay at Aimee's mother's place for several days while they figure things out, with eight people now squashed into the small house.
Mr Coonan said: “We’re there for now. It’s a three-bedroom house, there’s eight of us there.”
With cramped conditions not ideal, things are further compounded as the house is also an hour away from where they work.
Mr Coonan has said that he is puzzled as to why they kept being rejected as they've always had "plenty of income".
The father of three describes attending a house inspection recently where the realtor gave him and his partner "glowing references" but they still missed out on landing the lease.
One problem they've discovered is that they often find the rental properties that they miss out on went for as much as $150 more than the original price.
They often find the rental properties that they missed out went for as much as $150 more than the original price.
“There are properties being advertised for $380 [which is in their price range], they eventually go for $480,” he recalled.
It comes as Adelaide finds itself in the grips of a rental crisis, with thousands of people on emergency waitlists for subsidised housing as rent in Adelaide rose by 9.8 per cent last year.
Mr Coonan and Ms Kent have been placed on a high priority list for social housing.
“Housing SA can confirm it is assisting Mr Coonan and Ms Kent and staff have spoken with them several times,” a spokesperson told news.com.au.
“Assistance has included rental advisory support, such as assistance with preparing information for rental applications.
“They are currently category 1, the most urgent category, on the Housing SA register.”
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