Homeless by text: Aussie renter evicted in 14 days

4 days ago 4

Clinton Mostert says renting has become “fragile” after a two-week notice to vacate by text left him homeless, highlighting the mental toll of short-term leases.

A two-week text message notice to vacate left Clinton Mostert homeless, a case he says shows how fragile renting has become across Australia.

The message told him the owners wanted the property back. He had about two weeks to leave.

“We were told by text message,” Mr Mostert said.
RELATED: RBA shock: Borrowers to be hit by $1900 hike
Former Cats’ captain Tom Harley in $6m Brighton move

Mortgage shock flips Melb renting maths

With little time to find another rental in a tight market, the notice pushed him into homelessness, an experience he says exposed how quickly stability can disappear for renters.

Now on a 12-month lease in Melbourne’s southeast, Mr Mostert said the sense of security rarely lasts the full year.

“You move in, settle, and suddenly you’re three months out from the end of the lease,” he said.

“Realistically, you only have about nine months of actual security.”

The longest he has stayed in a single rental was just under two years.

Renters say one-year leases don’t deliver a full year of security, with many forced into repeat moves that disrupt work, relationships and long-term planning.

It ended not because of damage or missed payments, but because the rent rose beyond what he could afford for a privately rented room.

Since then, he said housing insecurity had shaped major life decisions well beyond where he lived.

“There were times I wanted to go for better-paying jobs in different areas,” he said.
“But because I was coming up to the end of a lease, I didn’t do it.”

Mr Mostert said renters were often treated as temporary occupants rather than people trying to build stable lives.

Property managers warn rental instability is fuelling churn, tightening supply and worsening Australia’s rental shortage as tenants and landlords struggle to find certainty.

“It doesn’t matter how stressful it is to move or how hard it is to find another place,” he said.
“Renters aren’t really seen as people with families, jobs and commitments.”

He said the idea that renters valued flexibility misunderstood the reality of short-term leases.

“If stability and long-term options were offered, what people want would change,” he said.

Asked how a genuine prospect of a three to five-year lease would affect him, he did not hesitate.

“It would be incredible,” he said. “You could plan your life completely differently.

New research found renters and landlords both prioritise certainty above affordability or flexibility, with instability and short leases driving churn across the rental market. Picture: Google Gemini

“You could settle. It would feel like a home, not a holding pattern.”

He said the pressure to remain close to work also trapped renters in expensive areas, forcing compromises as rents rose.

“That desperation keeps people paying higher rents just to stay close,” he said.

Mr Mostert rejected the suggestion renters could simply save harder and buy.

“That’s really insensitive,” he said. “Buying a house is incredibly hard right now, especially being single.

“The cost of living is insane.”

What he wanted landlords and policymakers to understand, he said, was that instability compounded over time.

“Moving so many times has really impacted my mental health,” he said.

“It affects your relationships, your sense of stability, everything.”

“For people like me, staying somewhere for a few years wouldn’t just be convenient, It would be life-changing.”

Mr Giunta said the sale showed buyers were still prepared to act decisively when quality homes with lifestyle appeal became available.

“Good homes still sell well,” he said.