Warrnambool's homelessness crisis set to worsen over summer

St Vincent de Paul Society volunteer Jack Daffy said he believed the city's housing crisis was worse than ever.

"I would guess that if you did the rounds tonight you would probably find 15 to 20 people accommodated in motels or somewhere else by welfare agencies," Mr Daffy said.

"There would also be a number of people who have nowhere to go."

Mr Daffy said he was disappointed to see a man with a sleeping bag appeared to be camping near Lake Pertobe early one morning recently.

"I think it's very fortunate a number of motels have been good with giving these people somewhere to stay but they will start to get busy with visitors over summer," he said.

Mr Daffy said the city was in desperate need of more social housing.

In addition to that, the existing houses that were vacant should be renovated immediately to ensure they could be lived in, he said.

Mr Daffy's comments come as new data reveals only 12.8 per cent of rental properties in the Warrnambool local government area were deemed affordable as of June this year.

That is in stark contrast to May in 2000, when 72 per cent were classed as affordable.

A Warrnambool woman who has been living in a motel said she was now facing the prospect of homelessness.

Michelle Parker, 52, suffers from a number of health ailments and is unable to work.

She has been on a public housing waiting list for two years.

Ms Parker said it was very difficult to find a one-bedroom rental in Warrnambool for $250 or under a week.

She cares for her parents and grandchildren and moving away from the city she was born and bred in is not an option.

"I have applied for 24 properties and I can't get a look in," Ms Parker said.

Brophy Family and Youth Services Housing Support and Linkages Programs team leader Leah McDonald said the lack of affordable rental properties meant people on Jobseeker and disability pensions were finding it hard to cover the cost of living.

"Renting a room in a share house for over $100 per week is even hard to access due to the demand for affordable housing," Ms McDonald said.

"Of the 22 rentals available in Warrnambool online this week, only one property at $210 per week is deemed affordable for someone receiving the maximum Jobseeker payment of $629.50 per fortnight. "That would leave a person $104pw to pay utilities, food, medical and any other necessary costs."

Ms McDonald said there had been a huge increase in people seeking support who wouldn't usually be accessing homelessness services.

"Rental price increases have put pressure on affordability and have really cut low-income earners out of being able to afford a rental that uses less than 30 per cent of their income," she said.

"Common discussions include families and individuals, both employed and unemployed, applying for over 50 rentals without being successful.

"Once they run out of options and the end of tenancy is looming, they turn to support organisations who unfortunately, have very limited options to offer them also."

Ms McDonald said overcrowding in homes was a common occurrence in the south-west.

"Families are supporting each other the best they can, but that in turn leads to serious overcrowding in properties," she said.

"This affects relationships and puts strain on the entire household - regularly leading to breakdowns in family relationships and can often end with individuals or families becoming part of Warrnambool's rough sleeping population.

"We try to encourage individuals and families to seek shelter with friends or family in the first instance. Limited emergency accommodation is an option but it relies on the motels having available rooms."

Ms McDonald said motel rooms were a less viable option for people needing accommodation in the busy summer period.

"Costs for motel accommodation can double which proves unsustainable for an individual or family if they were wanting to self-fund some accommodation once support organisations had reached their support limits," she said.

"Over tourist season, we are lucky to book one or two consecutive nights and very often unable to book more than a week at a time from November to February."

Member for South West Coast Roma Britnell said she was shocked to hear a woman fleeing a domestic violence situation was living in her car.

"It is a crisis, there's no doubt about it," Ms Britnell said.

"I am getting numerous calls weekly from people who are desperate to access social or affordable rental housing.

"As an example, I've had a woman fleeing domestic violence contact me saying she can't access housing and is sleeping in her car. It's just one of many, many examples of how heartbreaking and dire the situation is."

Ms Britnell said rental vacancies remained alarmingly low and added to that, Warrnambool now had one of the highest median weekly rental prices in regional Victoria.

"It has put enormous pressure on support services in our region who are finding it impossible to meet the demand for social housing.

"More and more families are facing homelessness as a result and it's only getting worse."

Ms Britnell said the state government's social housing investment, including $25 million for Warrnambool announced in last year's budget, was a drop in the ocean for what was needed.

"To most people $25 million is a lot of money but in real terms, this investment does not go anywhere close to alleviating the problem," she said.

"That investment would be enough to build less than 100 new houses and there are 900 people on the waiting list so the government needs to do more to find solutions to the problem as a matter of urgency."

New research by the ACOSS/UNSW Poverty and Inequality Partnership shows renters on low and modest incomes are experiencing difficulty financial difficulty.

COSS chief executive officer Dr Cassandra Goldie said organisations across Australia were reporting growing levels of despair experienced by people trying and failing to find affordable accommodation for their families in both metropolitan and regional areas.

"The situation for those on the waiting list for social housing feels increasingly hopeless, as individuals and families struggle to keep a roof over their heads in the face of rising private market rents or are forced to stay in circumstances that are not healthy or safe," Dr Goldie said.

"The COVID crisis tested governments. Most state governments did a remarkably good job in protecting people who were homeless during COVID. But with such a chronic shortage of affordable homes, the resources they are putting towards social and affordable housing are just not enough to meet existing demand, let alone future need."

Member for Western Victoria Bev McArthur said Warrnambool's housing affordability problem was, in part, a measure of the city's success.

"It is a place that people want to live - that families want to grow up in," Mrs McArthur said.

"For many, this is the answer to the bright lights of city congestion. People want space and choice.

"Freedom is increasingly important and it is why cities like Warrnambool are - and will be - subject to a popularity push."

Mrs McArthur said she feared the increasing popularity would continue to see house prices rise.

"Two things won't help this improve: one is the Andrews government's Windfall Gains Tax legislation passed just this month in the Victorian Parliament," she said.

"The second is a federal election victory by Labor."

A state government spokeswoman said the Big Housing Build would construct more than 12,000 new homes throughout metro and regional Victoria.

"We're getting on with delivering our landmark $5.3 billion Big Housing Build - the largest single investment in social and affordable housing in Australia's history, boosting our state's social housing supply by 10 per cent in just four years," she said.

"The Big Housing Build is investing $1.25 million in housing projects across regional Australia, including at least $25 million in Warrnambool.

"Thanks to Victorian government investments work is already under way to deliver 48 new social housing homes in Warrnambool."

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