Unwritten Battles

The Mighty on Facebook, which I joined a while ago, had a story from one of their members, Kirstie Edwards. She wrote in Chronic Illness Community Stories which is published on the Mighty website. I don't think I have chronic illness, but I read it – and I lived with so much of what she has been up against. “Underneath this happy, primary-color-saturated series of pictures... the undertow is pulling.”

Her refresher read very different to her present – “great academic job, big house, three kids, successful”. Her health “rapidly deteriorates, lose job, lose house, found out was pregnant the next day”. Very similar to mine, in different order.

Last November – 2016 – I had been kicked out, illegally, from the retirement village I had lived in for four and a half months. I lost the ability to fight that, I attempted suicide, I ended up in Loganlea Hospital – and the property people changed the locks on my unit, still full of all my stuff. Yes, it was illegal. I was homeless for one full week – more than any time in my 60 years of life. Perhaps Australia has more units/flats/small homes available to someone like me – I got one in Eagleby.

Edwards is homeless - not her own rental agreement, just provided (where available) by her local state department. This is USA. I saw Trump winning the election as despicable. In Australia, I had seen the Abbott/LNP government winning here as despicable. Those governments don't care at all about people on DSP. Some of them are kicked off, many are not accepted. I believe I can thank the ABIOS carer who talked about me at Centrelink – I couldn't talk, back then. It's still hard for me today, yet some people I talk to, even when I stutter or forget words, say I talk good. I don't think that – my speech, my thoughts, are very different than I was used to more than 3 years ago. Sometimes, when I am – so often – very tired, it vanishes altogether, until after I have an afternoon sleep.

Edwards said that her present emergency accommodation is being sold, probably “in part of having been pressured to resolve the mountain of disrepair issues in my home”. A short few weeks ago I received a letter from Harcourts saying they were now the rental agents. My lease was signed with Paul Flynn group as the agent. I heard nothing at all from them since just before then. Last week we had the Harcourts property manager come here for their first inspection. I had a long list of what was wrong with this place – I'd discovered it when I moved in, not before I moved in.

When I had moved in and filled in the moving inspection report I mentioned so much, included photos. Very little's been done, apart from they fixed the step down from outside to my kitchen which had flooded twice, under the door. I fixed some holes in the hallway myself, trying to stop the many ants from crawling around inside my unit, and they had arranged for some anti-pest spraying inside and outside. I have let sprays off inside, twice now; I've only been in here 5.5 months. Why do I feel that this is okay for me? Not at all like other places... except Woody Point. Eagleby's unit is actual much better than that!

Harcourts is actioning some of the repair work. I don't expect the property to be completely fixed, but it should be. Why not?

RTA's page says: “At the start of the tenancy, the property manager/ownert must ensure the premises and inclusions are clean, fit to live in and are in good repair. The property manager/owner must maintain the premises and inclusions in good repair throughout the tenancy.” This unit didn't fulfil that. RTA also said: “The premises and inclusions must comply with health and safety regulations, such as local council regulations, at the start and throughout the tenancy.” The ceiling in this unit is lower than legally required. Why is it? Why hasn't either of the rental agents reported it? Is it seen as my “last essential” place to live in? Even the real estate website gives information. All rental agencies should know this stuff.

Beyond PM website includes a list – quotes from the law – which regards the repair. And according to them the lessor is responsible for pest treatment every year: “It is a contractual term of the management agreement that lessors have their investment property treated for general pest control annually or as required. This pest control is generally for spiders, cockroaches, silverfish and ants.” I also found the section 69 of By-Laws: “Section 69 of the RTRA Act requires that by-laws be provided to tenants when the agreement is given to the tenant for signing . If by-laws under the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 or Building Units and Group Titles Act 1980 are to apply to the occupation of premises by a tenant, the lessor or lessor’s agent must give the tenant a copy of the relevant by-laws, when giving the written agreement to the tenant for signing. Maximum penalty—20 penalty units.” My dog should never have been kicked out from the retirement village under their so-called “by-laws”!

Choice's website has a pdf available for an Australian Rental Market Report 2017, which looks at the unsettled area of rental. If you rent, if you are in somewhere not too good, if you know someone living like this, read it.

At the start of this post I said I had read the Kirstie Edwards post for Mighty. She lives in USA, I live in Australia. I was born in NZ, but even NZ was no better. I truly wish I had kept the house that my Dad built for me as a wedding present. My mental illness – my PTSD – held me away from that, because I had to manage how I was living with my first husband. My second husband was no better – how the heck did I agree to marry a second time? I lived in Hamilton, NZ, in the same home for 11 years, single-parenting my two kids. Those 11 years were the best of my life. Nowadays, after my brain aneurysm surgery, my stroke, my loss of language, my loss of friends, my loss of a decent – cheap place to live in because my mental illness took over my life.

I am now in a unit which is certainly not 100% but is the best place where I can keep my dog, Jordie, until she dies. Yes, it needs repairs. Yes, it is probably illegal (low ceiling). I will continue to contact Harcourts for repairs, but right now it's the best place I can be.