FOR almost 30 years, 79-year-old Mary* has lived at a private rental property in Lake Macquarie.
But three months ago, Mary opened her mail to find an eviction notice, and she has been looking for a new place to live ever since.
"We got a notice from the real estate in March," Mary said. "We had to move out, no reason was given.
"But the time came and we still weren't out. We had nowhere to go."
Boxes of belongings, packed three months ago in anticipation of leaving, are stacked throughout the one-bedroom flat.
Mary has been sharing the unit with her adult son, who suffered disabling injuries in a car accident "years and years ago".
He had been sleeping on a fold-out sofa bed in the loungeroom, while she was in a "constantly damp" bedroom with a mouldy ceiling.
But it was a roof over their heads, at least.
It was affordable. It was close to her GP. And she could walk to the shopping centre.
"It is all just so hard," Mary said. "My granddaughter has been looking up properties for me to see if there are any places around.
"There isn't much, but what is out there is too expensive. I can't get over it."
Mary was grateful her landlord and property manager had allowed her to stay on until she found another home. She just didn't realise it would be so difficult.
"Some of the places are really dear," Mary said. "We're still looking around to see what we can find. All the things that are happening around the world at the moment, and I don't worry about those nearly as much as I do about the housing.
"It just makes me feel like, what do I do next?
"I'm nearly 80."
Nova for Women and Children have been trying to help Mary find some accommodation.
Charlestown MP, Jodie Harrison, has also been advocating on her behalf. But so far, Mary has had no luck.
"There is an absolute shortage of affordable housing in the private rental market, and there is an absolute shortage of social housing that should be available for someone in this circumstance," Ms Harrison said.
"There is a 10-year waiting list for social housing, unless you're on the priority list, and there are specific circumstances around what puts you in a priority group.
"On top of that, there is also a shortage of emergency accommodation.
"It is so multifaceted and very problematic for the housing market in this area."
Ms Harrison said she had watched rents increase by 30 per cent within her electorate in the past 12 months. She called for an "immediate injection" of funding into emergency accommodation and social housing to "fix two of the bottlenecks".
"Then there needs to be a real focus on how government can support the private market in providing more affordable housing," she said. "People have realised they don't need to live in Sydney anymore, they've worked out they can work from home and that home can be anywhere. People who would have ordinarily paid rent or bought a house in Sydney are coming to non-metro areas and bringing their higher incomes with them. They can pay more, and they are. It means people like this woman are having to compete against that on a limited income, and there is no way they can compete."
Ms Harrison said so many people were competing for private rentals.
She said she had approached the Department of Housing to ascertain how Mary could become a priority case.
"We're seeing hundreds of people lining up to apply for rental homes when they come up," she said.
"And because there is such a shortage of housing, and so many people in similar circumstances at the moment, 'priority' is really difficult.
"There are so many people who should be priority, but there just isn't enough housing. Not enough beds, and not enough pillows is what it's about."
*Name changed to protect identity.
