I'm 35, employed full time and sleeping on a mattress on the floor at my friend's place because I can't afford a property in Australia

Daily Mail​

13-05-2025

A woman in her mid-30s has confessed to 'sleeping on a mattress on the floor of my friend's place' as she struggles to secure a rental property in the tough Australian housing market.
Shannon McDougall, 35, has this past week shared a series of viral TikTok videos voicing her concern about not being able to find an affordable rental property in Perth.
'I'm 35 years old, sleeping on a mattress on the floor of my friend's place because it's impossible to get a rental, or it's way too expensive,' she said.
The marketing and graphics assistant said she was forced to accept her friend's generous offer after running out of 'options'.
'[M]y only options are to sleep in my car, sleep on the floor at my friend's house, or try and find a room in a share house, if I can afford it and if there's any available,' she said.
'How are those my only options? How are those the only options of many Australians right now?'
Shannon explained that she had looked extensively for suitable properties within her budget and price range, but was disheartened to find that even a 'tiny one bedroom apartment' was beyond her reach.
'I don't mind having to live in a tiny one bedroom apartment. But having to pay $500 a week is f*****,' Shannon said.
'I earn an average wage. But I can't afford that.'
Shannon also said that she had been investigating share house rental listings - but the pet owner added that even this was proving difficult.
'It's like $300 to rent a room in a share house in Perth, which is ridiculous,' she said.
'I found that a lot of places don't actually allow pets - and I've got two dogs,' Shannon added, explaining that the 15-year-old dogs were her 'babies' and that giving them away was non-negotiable.
'I'm still sending inquiries but not having much luck.'
Even if she were to be accepted by a share house rental, she expressed worry over the 'risk' of inadvertently winding up living in a situation with 'the worst roommate ever'.
'Can someone please tell me when the housing crisis in Australia is going to get better?' she asked.
FEMAIL spoke to Shannon to glean further insight into her rental search struggles and she confirmed that she had now been looking for a place to live for three months 'since February this year'.
Prior to this, Shannon had previously lived with a relative for the past few years before they had sadly passed away.
'Currently, I'm moving between friends' homes each week while searching for a rental or share house,' Shannon explained..
In her widely-viewed social media videos, Shannon made mention of the point that people may be wondering why she hadn't previously been in a position to purchase her own property.
'Before anyone says, "You're 35, why don't you own a house?" - I did own a house in my 20s,' Shannon said.
The creator, who specialises in 'DIY Fashion, Thrift Flips & Try-Ons', explained that she had previously been a home owner in her 20s and had owned a place with her then partner.
'I owned a house with my ex for six years. We bought it at a good time in 2012. Then we split [and] he paid me out. It wasn't enough to then go and buy another property,' she said.
Shannon provided broader details on her former property ownership situation, explaining that she and her ex had bought their place in 2012 for $405,000, at a time when she had been earning an annual salary of $42,000.
When they separated six years later, the 'market value of that property' had made only a modest gain of $40,000. After accounting for the outstanding mortgage amount owing to the bank, she claimed to have only received a small buyout amount from her ex in 2019.
Shortly thereafter the COVID-19 pandemic hit and Shannon said she was also made redundant during this time. Simultaneously, she claimed the price of Perth properties increased rapidly.
Accordingly, Shannon said the lump sum payout from her ex was no longer substantial enough to use as a deposit to secure her own place, and she was forced back into the rental market.
There were mixed reactions among the thousands of comments to Shannon's TikTok videos, with the marketing graphics assistant herself acknowledging that the responses fell into 'two distinct categories'.
'The first category is made up of people who resonate with my concerns, sharing their own struggles with unaffordable housing,' Shannon told FEMAIL.
'Many of these commenters are women which shows the disproportionate impact of the housing crisis on them.'
Indeed, one reply read: 'Being a female, single, 35, low-income Australian must be a brutally bitter pill to swallow. Our entire societal structure is working against you.'
On the other hand, Shannon observed that many comments came from 'people who deny the existence of a housing crisis in Australia, claiming that rent prices are stable and homes are still affordable'.
'Many of them are calling me entitled and financially irresponsible. I'm not bothered by the negative comments,' she said.
Among the comments, there were certainly many who vocally questioned Shannon's financial decisions - particularly since her partner had bought her out with a lump sum payment six years prior.
'So what did you do with that huge pay out, it would have been a great deposit. [S]ounds like you spent it all and now stuck,' read one reply.
'There is no one to blame but you. Over time it was your financial choices, life decisions [and] not taking extra steps to improve your finances. Absolute accountability is the only way to change your life.'
Despite the wide-ranging reactions, Shannon said that she stands by her decision to post her confessional videos about her rental property search experience.
'I didn't make these videos to get sympathy, I made these video because the housing crisis continues to be downplayed or dismissed by people it doesn't directly affect,' she said.
'I am very aware that the issue extends far beyond my own experience. I feel that many Australians have become resigned to the current state of housing, accepting it as the new norm.
'Affordable housing has never felt so out of reach.