4 days ago
Desperate mother struggles to find home in WA's Kimberley with zero properties to rent
For the past couple of years, Billie Mills has wanted a suitable house to rent in Western Australia's north for herself and her two children.
But the 39-year-old feels lucky to have a single room in her share house in Kununurra, 3,000km north of Perth in the remote East Kimberley.
"There were periods when I was sleeping in my car, out of my swag, and couch surfing," she said.
Ms Mills works full-time in Kununurra, a town with more than 5,000 residents but no properties available for rent.
Out of the East Kimberley Real Estate office, the window displaying Kununurra properties for rent is empty.
"We don't have anything to advertise or to offer anyone who's looking for a rental," the agency's Jill Weller said.
Ms Weller said the situation was "dire" and even harder for those who were not "preferred" tenants.
At least half of her office's rental roll was made up by corporate clients, including government agencies and private companies looking to secure housing for employees, she said.
The tenancies are seen as more "secure" by local landlords.
The state's Government Regional Officer Housing (GROH) program manages 319 dwellings across Kununurra and the neighbouring town of Wyndham.
Of those, more than half (167) are leased from the private market.
Housing Minister John Carey said the GROH program was crucial in ensuring regional communities attracted and retained government workers, including teachers and police.
Six GROH houses were built in Kununurra over the 2024-25 financial year as part of a $104 million funding injection across the state.
The Department of Communities did not respond to the ABC's questions regarding the number of GROH houses currently vacant in the East Kimberley.
In addition to vacant houses, there are GROH houses with multiple bedrooms allocated to a single tenant.
A Kununurra GROH tenant, who requested anonymity to protect their employment, said they were allocated a house with extra rooms they did not need.
"I was very happy to have just the one bedroom," they said.
"We take what's available."
Despite providing a valuable service, they said the guarantee of secure housing sparked resentment from local recruits not eligible for the scheme.
The tenant said they moved to the East Kimberley to contribute to the community but would not have without secure housing.
Real Estate Institute of Western Australia vice president Joe White said corporate leases made "a critical situation more drastic".
"When a mining company or government agency needs to rent a house, they can afford to pay more because they're not limited," he said.
"They will invariably bid higher and you see rents increase."
Kununurra's median rental price is $730 per week, nearly double what it was in 2021.
Mr White said the most vulnerable paid the highest price in the current rental crisis.
"Every time a high-paid person comes into the community, the next most-vulnerable finds themselves on the street.
"The true figures are hidden because invariably they end up in share houses, living in garages or they leave town."
Ms Mills is one of those paying the price — working full-time but unable to secure a suitable home for herself and her children.
She said she wanted to stay in the Kimberley.
