A disabled person was pushed to the brink of homelessness when they were evicted from a private rental after requesting repairs and safety modifications, the disability royal commission has heard.
Nik Moorhouse, 45, who is legally blind, told the commission on Tuesday they had been in a “desperate place” and had been unable to remain at university due to the stress caused by their housing insecurity.
The royal commission is in the midst of a five-day hearing focused on the experiences of people with disability who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
Moorhouse has had visual snow syndrome since 2013, a rare neurological disorder that results in what looks like “static pixels … constantly moving across my entire visual field”, affecting their spatial awareness, depth perception, and triggering vertigo, migraine, photosensitivity, nausea and temporary paralysis.
From 2016, Moorhouse lived in a Newcastle private rental with their two teenage daughters, both of whom are autistic, while studying at the University of Newcastle and working there part-time.
The house had bad leaks and a mould infestation. The bathroom fittings were “extremely rusty”, they had to stand on a board to shower, and had tripped over in the bathroom on multiple occasions.
Asked by senior counsel assisting, Kate Eastman, if Moorhouse thought the house was dangerous, they said: “I felt like the bathroom was, yes.”
Moorhouse said they spoke to the real estate agent “many times” about the issues in the rental. In January they were issued an eviction notice so repairs could be undertaken. They were told they could return to the property after renovations if they wanted to, but that the rent would be increased by $200 a week.
Moorhouse said they were already “struggling to pay $420” on their $800 a week combination of disability pension payments and family supplements.
They told the commission it was impossible to find accommodation in the private rental market that met their needs, which included having minimal indoor hazards, effective window coverings, handrails and more, and being close to amenities and their support network as they cannot drive.
Searching for and inspecting properties was also fraught, as Moorhouse required assistance to filter through real estate listings as they could not see the images posted.
“I realised that if I was going to stay in the private rental market that I would be in a position, again, where I would have to live somewhere that wasn’t actually suitable for me and my disability,” Moorhouse said.
Moorhouse investigated crisis accommodation, but was uncomfortable with the prospect of sleeping in a share house with support workers and not being able to have their daughters with them.
The anxiety of their situation exacerbated Moorhouse’s neurological condition and took a toll on their younger daughter’s health, Moorhouse told the commission.
“I was unable to remain at university. I was unable to do honours this year because of the stress of being evicted and trying to find somewhere to live and the impact that that was having, not only on myself but my children.”
Last October, after a six-and-a-half-year wait, Moorhouse was offered a public housing property by the New South Wales housing authority, but declined it after inspection and consultation with support workers, considering the kitchen and the bathroom unsafe for their disability, and the location too far from amenities and their supports.
They sent an email to the department listing all the reasons why the place was not suitable for their disability. Nevertheless, they received a reply saying their rejection of the property would be treated as “a rejection of a reasonable offer”.
“My understanding of a ‘reasonable offer’ would be an offer that is suitable for my disability,” Moorhouse said.
Moorhouse told the commission they were was prevented from becoming homeless at the end of their private lease in April by an 11th-hour offer of a second, more suitable public housing property.
“I was in such a desperate place, whatever they offered me I was going to have to take whether it was suitable for me or not,” Moorhouse said.
In their interactions with the department, Moorhouse said they had been met with hostility and had their disability ignored in ways that included being given paperwork that they could not read, and requests to correct notes on their file overlooked.
“When I have been into the department of housing, you’re sort of treated a little bit like you’re a criminal, like you have done something wrong and that perhaps you don’t deserve to be treated with respect,” Moorhouse said. “It’s not a very nice feeling.”
The commission also heard on Tuesday that the current investment in social housing in NSW was “atrophying and in decline”.
Trina Jones from Homelessness NSW told the commission that at current investment levels of approximately 700 houses a year, it would take 70 years to meet the current waiting list.
The hearing continues.
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