Housing and mental health.

[calmseeker]

Hi All,

I have been thinking lately about the link between good mental health and housing. Yet again, I have a pending move, which I know is a trigger for my anxiety. I tend to get quite ill after a move, there have been too many moves for me recently. mostly because am in the private housing market and my owners always either move back into their property or sell the property. I yearn for a stable, long term home (I could never afford to buy). I am such a 'homely' person. I feel that if I could remain somewhere for a reasonable amount of time I could really relax and focus on my mental health, I feel like I never can, I am always moving or catching up financially from a move or trying to settle in somewhere new. The cost is phenomenal to rent now, it really blows my mind. What a person needs to come up with for a rental property is quite a lot, not just the rent itself but the moving costs, cleaning of previous property, etc.

I am aware of NRAS but those properties rarely come up. Housing Dep have told me 10-15 plus year wait. Private market ridiculously expensive.

I am very thankful to even have a roof over my head, don't get me wrong (not that I can afford that roof though). I realise there are lots of people who don't even have a home so I am really not ungrateful, just sick of the stress that comes with searching for affordable, decent housing where I can hopefully lay my hat for a few years. A home should be a place where a person can feel safe and relaxed and heal and survive - not feel like a hotel. My ranting was not meant to actually be a big whinge about my situation (sorry if its turned out that way!) more so just a comment on the link between good mental health and stable housing really.

[Hanna3]

A brief but useful article from UNSW about low quality public housing in Australia: "Poor-quality housing and low-income households" by the City Futures Research Centre on the UNSW website.

I'm living in a fibro house, circa 1950s, insulation in roof too old to do anything, temperatures during heatwaves cooler outside than inside, outdoor gutterings rusted through, window flyscreens fall off and are not replaced, windows rattle and are drafty, several gas leaks have been found, I paid $200 for the backyard to be cleared of rubbish when I moved in, and today one window fell out completely! Curent gas bill just received, says I use almost double the amount expected for a single person, gas is only for oven (I don't use the oven and only use one stovetop) and hot water for showering (I do the laundry in cold water only) so clearly there are more gas leaks which I am paying for. House will be freezing in the winter (gas heater which I haven't used yet). I supplied my own blockout curtains as window coverings in NSW are not supplied. Handrails on outside stairs are rusting. No carport and no paved driveway. Windows get sun all day in summer, no outside awnings, no shade cover at all.

How is this good enough in Australia for a disabled woman in her sixties?

[calmseeker]

Hanna - those conditions are not good enough in my humble opinion! What are housing saying about this, what can you do? I would daresay this is all hindering you being able to manage your physical and mental health, which is exactly what we have been discussing.

I just had a read of the article from UNSW. its no surprise they report a direct association with poor housing and poor physical and mental health.

CS

[Hanna3]

Hi there calmseeker,

I've been getting advice from Geoff on the home improvement thread. No we've had terrible heatwaves here and my dog has had to go to the vet with heat exhaustion and I've had to go to the doctor with it - that's just from the house being so hot!

The house is basically only fit to be bulldozed. Geoff say to tell Housing it's unliveable. However I've got to sort out things like where I'd like to go and how to move first - and I have no idea whether Housing will be prepared to move me in any hurry, and I don't have a supportive GP here to give me written support. So I'm exploring possibilities outside of public housing.

I certainly can't survive another summer here, and the place will be a refrigerator in the snowy winters here. It's a mess. I've been talking to supportive people on my thread.

It's just that I thought the quality of public housing should be part of the discussion here. I'm exhausted from the summer, lack of sleep, trying to keep my dog alive, in a house that - as a friend of mine told me - is basically an oven in which we are being baked alive. Will probably be frozen to death in the winter...

Welcome to the state of much of public housing in NSW! Thanks for your concern, I thought it was worth adding this to the discussion here.

[Hanna3]

The build to rent on the 7.30 Report on the ABC tonight was all very well, except that the rents started at $500 per week, so it's hardly affordable housing!

I'm toddling off to bed... I'd be more comfortable living in a caravan than here and I'm considering it!

[calmseeker]

Hanna - I just read your conversations with Geoff on the home improvement thread to gauge a better idea of what you're dealing with (btw, great thread by Geoff isn't it! How helpful!) .It sounds like a super frustrating situation for you and I am so very sorry you are having to go through this. I have everything crossed that housing come through for you. If an option is going back into the private housing market will you remain in the area that you currently live? I am guessing the private rental option would mean a lot of expense for you and be a stressful time.

Most definitely public housing should be discussed on this thread. I personally am interested in any and all topics regarding housing and its impact on mental well being.

My ears pricked up when I was watching tonight's 7.30 report when they mentioned the rent to buy option, even got excited for a micro second until they started talking prices. Like you say, $500 is not really what I would class as an affordable rent.

I hope you sleep well lovely lady.

CS

[Hanna3]

Hi calmseeker,

Yes Geoff's thread has been a great help. I'm in a really difficult situation but it shouldn't happen at all that I find myself in such poor quality housing. You see the physical and mental health problems that causes, and all because our government won't spend the money on decent quality housing for poorer people. Don't get me started...

I'm off out today so can't talk long but just wanted to say thanks for posting and yes Geoff has been really helpful!

[Guest_1643]

Hi all,

Calmseeker re the agents not disclosing that the property was quite possibly going to be sold... it really is disheartening. To imagine how these people act. Its horrible to think how disposable they view their tenants... really we live in their properties and often care for them like our own. I'm so over it myself. My property has endless problems and i know that the landlord has no concern in helping me, as the first time i asked regarding the broken heater they played dumb, saying that perhaps i didnt know how to work it etc. They made me scared that I had imagined it. Anyway, checked twice now by two men, one an engineer, and yes, of course it is broken. I can't believe their dishonest attitudes either . Hi Hanna, that sounds like a lt, just trying to keep your dog alive and safe. Surely oyu don't need the extra struggles of accomodation anxiety. Sending warm vibes and happy days xx

[calmseeker]

Hi there Sleepy,

Its not good you have all those issues in your rental and a disinterested landlord. To be really blunt , I am really over the whole private rent thing and their bs rules.

Hi Hanna, I hope your housing situation is getting somewhere.

Have a good day guys - CS

[Guest_1643]

Hey CS, nice to hear from you. You're bluntness here is very appreciated. It totally sucks looking for private rentals. I always here the one person who's landlord is an angel and helps them and is amazing. Just never been that person.

[Hanna3]

Hi Sleepy,

I have a friend who has been in the same rental for around twenty years now, with no rent increases - and the unit looks over Sydney Harbour! She is on a very low income. Her landlord had all the units renovated and has never put up rents.

The longest I have been able to stay in a rental is three years.... so I can understand where you're coming from! My friend doesn't understand that often landlords aren't very nice, because hers has been totally wonderful - for decades!!! It's all so unfair isn't it - I don't begrudge my friend her luck, she needed a break - but I'd love to have some of the same myself! Cheers!