When mould started taking over Lara Dunkley's Darwin home in January, she never imagined it would start a chain reaction that would leave her effectively homeless within six months. She's not the only one struggling, with many NT residents spending up to 60 per cent of their income on rent.
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00:00It started with a leaking ceiling, and then the mould set in.
00:06Every day I would get home and go, what's going to be mouldy now?
00:10I'd throw out a pair of shoes today, a handbag tomorrow.
00:13After moving into a hotel while the leak was fixed, she was given two weeks to leave,
00:18only to notice the property was re-advertised after she moved.
00:22It was just devastating.
00:24We put six months of our lives into trying to maintain this property for our landlord
00:30and just to be kicked out with so little notice.
00:36It felt like by the end of it, the estate agents just felt like I was a troublemaker.
00:42Lawyers say such no-fault evictions should be banned in the NT,
00:46and the frequency of rent rises reduced, as in other jurisdictions,
00:50along with similar hardship protections to those available for mortgage stress.
00:54No such hardship provisions apply for tenants.
00:58If a tenant is in financial stress and can't make a full rent payment,
01:02and they eventually fall into 14 days arrears,
01:05then they're going to be out of that tenancy very quickly.
01:08After months spent couch surfing, after a family tragedy,
01:11she inherited enough money to scrape together a deposit and buy a home.
01:15I feel almost guilty for being in this position
01:18when so many other people are struggling to find a home.
01:22Five loved ones had to die,
01:25and I don't see any way it could have happened otherwise.
01:29I've got so many friends who are struggling to find affordable accommodation.
01:36A spokeswoman for NT Housing Minister Steve Edgington
01:39said the government would consider tenancy reform in due course,
01:42but is currently focused on reducing antisocial behaviour at public housing.