Sleepness nights over rental ‘nightmare’

A LOCAL resident has shared their ‘nightmare’ story of navigating the region’s property market during its most turbulent time throughout the pandemic. 

Recent statistics have shown rents surged by an average of 8.2 per cent in Gippsland over three years leading up to July 2022. 

While towns such as Grantville, Coronet Bay and Wonthaggi all experienced some of the biggest rent increases regionally.

According to the PropTrack Rental Report June 2022, rental prices were up 9.7% year-on-year regionally, with the median weekly rent for houses at $420 in June and $330 for units.

The resident, who wished not to be named, had moved to Korumburra with their partner during 2019, after living in Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs.  

The couple lived in their Korumburra rental until late 2021, but were forced to move when the landlord decided to sell. 

“You only get 60 days’ notice and they (landlords) have the right to do that as long as your lease is up,” the resident told the Sentinel-Times. 

“But I can’t even imagine how hard it would be for people with children.”

When searching for another property, the resident explained they were told there was only one available after inquiring with a local real estate agency.

“We called all the estate agents in Bass Coast and South Gippsland,” they said.

“The waiting lists were at least 30 people deep, and when I talked to agents, it wasn’t just locals, but also people wanting to come to the area because they thought it was cheaper.

“I had many sleepless nights, and this led me to Facebook groups asking if anyone knew of any properties.”

From this, the resident managed to find a property situated on a farm, but they highlighted it was incredibly 
disheartening that this is what they had to resort to. 

“When you only get 60 days’ notice, it’s a big issue, that’s the minimum they can give it but it’s not very long to find something and pack a house as well,” they said.

Fortunately, the couple have now purchased their own home in South Gippsland and noted while their situation was difficult at times, there are many worse off.

According to Realestate.com, as of last week, there were 38 rental properties in South Gippsland ranging from $275 to $550 per week.

While for Bass Coast, there were 85 properties available, ranging from $230 to $750 per week.