Grieving daughter astonished to find group of squatters had changed the locks on her late father’s home and thrown out all his belongings

A woman’s shocking discovery that her father’s house is occupied by squatters has sparked a debate about home ownership in Australia, with outspoken author Clementine Ford advocating for squatters’ right to occupy unused properties.

Victorian woman Carol called ABC Melbourne Mornings to ask for advice on what she could do to evict the squatters.

“Something terrible happened this weekend and I don’t know what to do,” Carol, from Westmeadows in the city’s northwest, said Tuesday.

‘I arrived at my father’s house, which had been largely vacant for the past 12 to 15 years, and my key wouldn’t work.

‘I have been a caregiver for my mother for the past 12 years and before that I was renovating the house. My mother passed away and I have not been in the house for nine weeks.

‘There has been a break-in, all the locks have been changed and everything in the house has been taken: furniture, clothing, personal belongings, toiletries, everything in the kitchen, everything in the garage.’

Carol became emotional as she said the intruders had taken belongings, including sentimental mementos of her late father.

“The police came, I proved I owned the house, they spoke to my neighbors who said, ‘Yes, it’s Carol’s house,’ and they called a locksmith who broke in,” she said.

‘[The squatters] weren’t there, but they had moved furniture – they had moved a refrigerator, they had moved a washing machine.

‘…I don’t know who these people are.’

Attorney David Whiting advised Carol to hire a security guard who could address anyone who entered the property and confront the squatters if they returned.

He also advised her to make an “appointment” so that the squatters could come back and remove all their belongings from the house and then change the locks.

Outspoken left-wing commentator Clementine Ford joined the debate after hearing Carol’s story on the radio.

“I was just listening to the ABC and a woman called with a “very disturbing story”, in her own words,” Ms Ford wrote.

‘I understand why she was angry, but the story also shows how big the problems are with rental rights in this country.’

Mrs. Ford understood Carol’s loss, but did not agree with her wanting the squatters to leave.

“I understand why someone who has lost both parents — and who has likely devoted much of her adult life to caring for them — would feel sad and hurt when her belongings are tampered with in this way,” she said.

‘But that is precisely the problem with the poor rental market and the lack of tenant rights here.’

The right of squatters to take over private property if it is vacant was promoted by Jordan van den Berg, better known by his social media account ‘Purplepingers’.

Mr Van den Berg encourages squatters to move into vacant properties that he offers on his social media platforms.

Ms Ford said the commentator had “done a fantastic job of exposing the harsh realities of the Australian rental market”.

‘We’re all in trouble as renters. While an absurd number of people are competing to pay other people’s mortgages on overpriced, moldy junk, empty homes sit all over the country, being used as emergency shelters for owners who are rarely there or as tax breaks.

“It’s disgusting. Why shouldn’t a house that has been largely empty for 15 years be used to house people?”

Ms Ford said that real estate should not be seen as an investment but as a fundamental right, which could reduce or even eradicate homelessness, particularly among older women.

The government’s 2022-2023 annual report on Specialist Homelessness Services shows that the number of older women seeking help for homelessness has increased dramatically over the past decade.

“It has become increasingly common for older women to be homeless. Between 2011 and 2021, the number of homeless women increased by almost 40 percent, to approximately 7,300 older women,” the report said.

‘While the shortage of affordable housing and an ageing population have contributed to the increasing number of older people experiencing homelessness, lower lifetime earnings and savings are particularly relevant to the experiences of homelessness for many older women.

‘Since women are more likely to take leave from work and return to paid work on a part-time or on-call basis, the amount of wealth accumulated is generally lower than for men.’

Mrs. Ford indicated that she may not have a stable home as she gets older because she cannot get a mortgage.

“The idea of ​​investment properties is grotesque in itself, but in a country where tenants have essentially no rights, it is outrageous that homeowners are treated as if their ‘investment’ is anything but another kind of high-stakes gamble,” she said.

‘I’ve been paying rent for 25 years, but because I don’t have a permanent job and don’t expect an inheritance, I will probably never be able to buy my own house.

‘Even if I could ever borrow enough money for a small apartment, what bank would give a loan to a woman in her 50s with an unreliable source of income?

‘In the meantime, how many houses and apartments have I bought for other people so they can arrange their retirement?’

Ms Ford said Australia’s property sector was in “crisis” and called on investors to implement stricter laws to ensure homes were not left empty.

“We are facing a homelessness crisis, particularly among women over 65, and the government’s response to this is to simply put a sticking plaster on the wound and do absolutely nothing about the insane rights afforded to property investors,” the spokesperson said.

‘If you own multiple properties – and I mean two or more – then you should be legally required to offer fixed-term leases, with an option for long-term contracts of 10 years or more.’