'Heartless': Mia and Evee told of eviction days before Christmas with nowhere to go
Three jurisdictions in Australia permit landlords to evict tenants without a reason during month-to-month agreements.
Dec 24 2024
SBS News
Mia Day and Evee Flores are struggling to find reasons to celebrate this Christmas.
Days ago, the pair received a notice of termination for their periodic lease agreement, requiring them to vacate their Perth rental property by 21 February.
"That was already one of my worst days," Day told SBS News.
"That morning, I got a call from the hospital saying there was nothing more they could do for my dad … and that he likely has only days to weeks to live."
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Western Australia, NSW, and the Northern Territory are the only jurisdictions where landlords can evict tenants without providing a reason during periodic agreements — leases with a start date but no fixed end date.
The WA government introduced reforms to the state's tenancy laws earlier this year, including banning rent bidding, limiting rent increases to once per year, and allowing tenants to have pets.
However, it stopped short of strengthening protections for those at risk of being evicted without reason.
A government spokesperson told SBS News it's essential to "provide certainty for investors" in WA's long-term rental market.
Day, 21, lives with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a rare genetic condition affecting connective tissues.
The disorder leaves her prone to joint dislocations and other complications, making work opportunities scarce.
"If I stand for more than five minutes, I risk dislocating my hips," she said.
Her partner, Evee Flores, has taken on the role of her support carer, a responsibility that restricts the couple's ability to earn more.
Evee Flores and Mia Day spoke to SBS News in November about the rental crisis.
Together, they bring in just over $650 per week — Day's disability pension and Flores' income from two casual jobs.
However, earning more could jeopardise Day's Centrelink payments, as Flores' income is factored into their support eligibility, they said.
The pair pay $750 per week in rent, shared with a housemate, leaving little room for savings.
"I wasn't able to pay rent last week, and had to pay the remainder of it this week ... so we're going over budget by a lot," Flores said.
Finding new housing presents another challenge — accessible accommodations that meet Day's needs are rare, and their limited budget makes options even scarcer.
Advocates for housing reform argue that no-grounds evictions perpetuate instability for vulnerable renters, while the WA government continues to defend its approach.
"The rental market is hot right across Australia, including in Perth, which has experienced some of the country's biggest rent increases in recent years," Everybody's Home spokesperson Maiy Azize said.
"Getting evicted from your home and hunting for another is stressful and hard enough for anyone — but it's often tougher for certain cohorts, including people with a disability and those receiving Centrelink payments or working precarious casual shifts."
Eviction and finding a new home is challenging for anyone, but even harder for people with disability, those on Centrelink, or those in unstable casual jobs.
Everybody's Home's Priced Out report, released in September, found that affordable rentals are almost non-existent for people on the lowest incomes.
In capital cities, people on the age pension or disability support pension would have as little as $8 a day left after paying rent, according to the report.
60 days left: the clock is ticking
As they scroll through rental listings and send out applications, Day and Flores are contemplating worst-case scenarios.
"Couch-surfing … I think we've got a friend we could go to for two weeks," Day said.
"But I'm scared to hope for something good to happen. We don't really know what we're going to do."
'Nothing short of alarming': The full-time workers being priced out of the rental market
Flores said she isn't new to the instability of housing insecurity.
"I've couch-surfed a lot and moved rentals often," she said.
"It feels awful ... it feels kind of heartless. They see owning a house to rent out to people as a business... and we probably don't fit in their business model."
Mia Day, 21, struggles to find permanent work due to her disability.
On Monday, WA Treasurer Rita Saffioti unveiled the state's mid-year economic review, announcing a $3.1 billion budget surplus for 2024/25.
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