I’m a single mum-of-two, 40, on a six-figure salary but I’m sleeping on my parents’ floor because I still can’t find a home in Sydney. This is the grim reality for women in Australia’s housing crisis

Kate never imagined that at the age of 40 she would be living with her mother and father again and sharing a king-size mattress on the floor with her two young children.

But that has been her reality for the past six months.

Although Kate is grateful to have her elderly parents to lean on, unlike many others experiencing homelessness, she is another victim of the crippling rental crisis unfolding across Australia.

With a salary of $100,000 a year, Kate is in limbo. Agents continue to reject her rental applications, but she earns ‘too much’ to qualify for government assistance to get back on her feet.

‘The schedule [I applied for] is aimed at helping survivors of domestic violence rebuild their lives, helps find a home and pay part of the rent for three years,” she told FEMAIL.

‘But my application wasn’t processed when I first left my relationship and I’ve worked super hard to build my financial situation, so now I don’t qualify.’

Although she earns too much to qualify for assistance, in the eyes of many the mother does not earn enough to qualify for a rental home.

She has applied for more than a hundred rental properties since her landlord announced they were moving back to the place she called home for five years.

“She was the best landlord, she gave me 90 days’ notice but told me not to worry if I went too far,” Kate said.

At first she was confident she would find a place, but then weeks turned into months.

“We stayed five months after that original date. “The landlord was lovely and didn’t want us to have anywhere to go, but I realized we wouldn’t be able to get a place anywhere so I moved back in with my parents,” she said.

While the location is safe, it is not ideal as it is far away from Kate’s work, the children’s school and her wider support network.

‘Dad, an old man, takes the children home from school when I have to work late. He loves it, but it can’t go on forever.’

He spends up to three hours a day in the car helping his exhausted daughter.

Kate had never struggled to secure a rental property when she was with her ex-partners, but took the courageous step to ‘break free’ from a dangerous relationship and fund her young family on her own.

She’s worked super hard to recover from being under someone else’s financial control, but she continues to feel frustrated because “it seems like it doesn’t matter.”

The rental market was different then. She fears women will now have to make the impossible decision to stay with abusers because finding a safe home is so difficult for single mothers.

“Every Facebook page for single moms has posts with the same story. No one will hire us even if we can pay the rent,” she said.

She passes as many rental inspections as she can, has a glowing reference and the income to provide her family of three with a two-bedroom apartment close to work and school.

“The officers don’t even want to talk to you,” she said.

“I went for an inspection and there was mold everywhere. “I asked about it and he tried to tell me it wasn’t mold, it was what the paint looked like,” she said.

‘The worst thing is that the rental market is so tight that these places are rented out immediately.’

She hopes to soon have her own roof over the children’s heads.

‘They don’t really mind, they love sleeping with me. But I really need my own space,” she said. ‘I am never alone. I can’t go anywhere, it’s just for me.’

She has also criticized Anthony Albanese’s government for abandoning her and many others.

“He grew up in a single-parent home, continued to protect women and families, and did nothing. He made everything worse,” she said.

‘Children end up on the streets.’

She has “asked for help” but has been given the same annoying answers over and over again: “They can’t give me any support unless I’m officially homeless,” she said.

She also claims that the government as a whole is simply not taking the issue seriously.

“Even if they put rent caps now — housing is too expensive or unavailable, they should have capped things years ago,” she said.

“I came out of an abusive relationship and now I feel like I’m being financially abused by our government. Single mothers are having a hard time,” she said.

And she has been left frustrated by people in the community.

“They’ll ask why I’m living with my parents in my 40s and tell me I need to get my life on track,” she said.

She has always been independent and says she is shocked where she is now.

“But it’s not because I don’t have my life in order – it’s the state of the housing crisis,” she said.

Although Kate hasn’t completely given up on looking for a rental property in Sydney, she has become deeply disenchanted with the process.

“I can’t stay with my parents forever and I don’t want to put any pressure on them or our relationship,” she said.

‘I have saved for the one percent deposit system. If I buy something, we won’t have to go through this again.’

If you need help with domestic abuse, call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

1800 RESPECT is a 24-hour national sexual, family and domestic violence advice line for every Australian who has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual violence.