They say your home is your castle, but Adam Pippos may be the only social housing tenant in Australia to sit on a throne.
He lives near the western suburbs of the Gold Coast — an area with the second-lowest vacancy rate in Queensland and where rents have jumped 23.3 per cent in 12 months, according to an analysis by national housing campaign Everybody's Home.
After a serious back injury forced Mr Pippos onto a disability pension, he floated between temporary accommodation for two years.
While there are around 3,100 applications for social housing on the Gold Coast, Mr Pippos managed to secure a home with enough space for his woodcarving passion.
"A block of wood, you can turn it into whatever you want, there are no limits," he said.
But he's one of the lucky ones, with housing advocates concerned that even people with full-time work are being forced to move into caravan parks or pitch tents in backyards.
Housing as an 'essential service'
Community Housing Limited manages 11,000 social and affordable properties across Australia.
"We are getting more and more inquiries now for housing from people who are working full-time but can't afford private rental," spokesperson Cathy Beadnall said.
She said there was a "perfect storm at the moment of interest rates rising, inflation, more and more people struggling to find a home".
According to an analysis of real estate data by Everybody's Home, the Gold Coast's west, stretching from Nerang to Varsity Lakes, has a vacancy rate of 0.29 per cent.
At the end of May, 64 properties were available to rent out of 21,978.
Everybody's Home spokesperson Kate Colvin said such tight housing availability was "a national problem".
"There are 50 other households trying to get that property and then it becomes a competition for who is the most appealing tenant.
"So perhaps the local surgeon gets a property but the local supermarket worker really struggles."
30,000 houses promised
Ms Colvin said even people with full-time jobs were moving to caravan parks or "putting a tent up in a friend's back garden or in the state park".
"When we've got market failure, the private sector is simply not delivering the new rentals into the market that are needed, [so] we need the government to step in," she said.
"[The federal government] did commit before the election to build 20,000 social housing properties and 10,000 affordable housing properties over five years — that's definitely a fantastic start.
"But we do need around 25,000 properties a year."
Federal Minister for Housing Julie Collins was unavailable to comment but told media last month that the federal government had elevated the housing portfolio to cabinet.
"We also, of course, want to deal with affordability and supply with councils," she said.
"We need to work altogether — local government, state government, federal government, community housing providers, and also private builders."
More than 'a roof'
A spokesperson for Queensland's Department of Housing said $2.9 billion had been committed to social and affordable housing, with 7,400 new homes over four years.
"Of those, 260 new homes will be commenced on the Gold Coast through a budgeted investment of $70.4 million to June 2025," the spokesperson said.
"Many of those who have registered interest on the housing register have already been assisted to address their immediate housing needs with other solutions such as bond loans and rental grants."
But Ms Beadnall said social housing was about more than "a roof over your head".
Adam Pippos and his handcrafted wooden throne — now on display as part of an art exhibition at Kirra Community Centre — may be a case in point.
"As everything is rising up in costs, everyone is struggling and forgetting that life is supposed to be awesome and exciting," he said.
