South Australian woman left homeless by rental crisis: Eliza Phillips forced to sleep in car after her 300 applications for a house are all rejected

• The woman was kicked out by her landlord
•  Was forced to live in her car and can’t find a place to live
• She is now in psychiatric care 

A woman has opened up on the devastating toll the rental crisis has taken on her mental health after applying to live in more than 300 homes.

Eliza Phillips, who asked her real name not be used, was forced to sleep in a car after struggling to find a place to rent in South Australia, for the past two months. 

The 34-year-old disability pensioner has been pushed to breaking point and has admitted herself to psychiatric care. 

A woman in South Australia who is homeless and is living on a disability pension has struggled to find a place to live after she applied for 300 homes to rent a property

Ms Phillips has been homeless since July after getting kicked out by her landlord from a property she was leasing.

The woman was told that the landlord’s family members would be moving in which forced her to look for a new place. 

She has since spent weeks, applying for a home but was told by real estate agents that she would have to outbid other tenants to afford places to live. 

At one point, Ms Phillips was told by agents she would have to pay $150 more to afford a rental property, after other bidders offered an extra $100. 

Ms Phillips told the agents that she could not afford the asking price of the weekly rent. 

‘I can’t,’ she said. ‘That would take up my entire pension’.

She told 7News, the situation has been difficult to bear. 

‘What am I meant to do’? she said. ‘We don’t live in a Third World Country but it feels that way’. 

‘I’ve offered them $15 more, and they say that’s not going to do anything’. 

Ms Phillips is receiving a disability pension after she broke her neck. 

She was admitted to a psychiatric ward in July, as the stress of finding a home and the constant rejections took a heavy toll on her mental health.

Ms Phillips, who has been working since she left high school, said housing is a human right after she couldn’t afford to live in other dwellings. 

Hotels and caravan parks in the state are charging rent between $600 to $900 with the price well out of range for many renters. 

Despite coming close to finding a place to stay, South Australia Housing Authority rejected her request to cover the bond and first week’s rent on Ms Phillip’s behalf. 

After processing Ms Phillips’ claim, SA Housing responded to her request by saying that all claims are thoroughly assessed. 

‘Our focus is connecting people with the right housing support for them, and staff are working closely with Ms Phillips to assist her and to ensure the most appropriate solution for her needs’.

‘There are eligibility criteria for the Private Rental Assistance Program, and we need to be sure that rent is affordable for any customer applying for assistance.’

34-for-year-old woman known only as  Eliza Phillips broke her neck a while ago and is now living on a disability pension as she struggles to find a home, with the ordeal taking a toll on her health after she was admitted to a psychiatric ward in July after she couldn’t find a place to live

Ms Phillips from South Australia, has tried various places to stay, including a hotel and caravan park before SA Housing refused to provide a bond and cover a week of rent despite Ms Phillips finding a place to live only for it to be deemed ‘expensive’ by the state’s housing authority

Daily Mail Australia has contacted SA Housing Authority for comment. 

A SA Housing Authority spokesperson said funding has increased to provide people with accommodation for those who are unable to afford a home.  

According to SA Housing Authority, close $11 million is spent annually on emergency and motel accommodation. 

Almost 200 people and families are provided with a place to live under the scheme per night.

‘This is in addition to around $75 million per annum for Specialist Homelessness Services that help people avoid becoming homeless and provide support if they have lost their home,’ the spokesperson said. 

SA Housing Authority also said they have increased the weekly rent limit they pay for, which has gone up from $450 to $600. 

Vacancy Rates across Australia increased by 0.02 per-cent to 1.45 per-cent in July according to data from PropTrack. 

However, national rents have increased by 27.4 per-cent on average according to CoreLogic. 

It means, rents are paying an extra $127 to live in an average rental property.  

Australia is in the midst of a major housing crisis as supply shortages cripple the market for property buyers forced a massive spike in rents. 

Building approvals have spiraled across the country with the the Australian Capital Territory seeing the worst fall by a huge 35.3 per cent. 

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