Winery worker Meriliis Jõhve says north-west Victoria is the most difficult place in Australia to find accommodation.
The 23-year-old arrived at the Murray River city of Mildura in January to find rental prices so high and properties so difficult to attain she was forced to rely on short-stay accommodation.
She exhausted rental, hostel and motel options, as well as online forums which she said were usually helpful.
After two months, and hundreds of applications, Ms Jõhve secured a house in Cardross, 20 kilometres from Mildura, through an online accommodation provider.
Like many others in the region, she was "very stressed and concerned" she would be forced back into homelessness.
"I was concerned that I won't find a place and I might have to cancel my vintage job because of that," she said.
She said the cheapest short stays advertised on AirBnB were at least $1,000 a week, which was four times her budget.
"I have done a one year cotton season, grain season and vintage season, I lived in many different locations," she said.
"In Goondiwindi the first few days I had to sleep in a car and motels until one lady in a Facebook group offered me her granny flat.
"In Moura in Queensland, that one was easiest as the company provided me the accommodation."
Long-term struggle
Ms Jõhve's comments rang true for Mildura mother Tara Bland, who said she was "desperately" searching for a place to live.
"I've been looking [for a rental] for three years and it's difficult to find a place because of rental prices," Ms Bland said.
"My budget is $250 a week and the cheapest so far is $300.
"Me, my partner and daughter have been fighting for three years now for nothing.
"I need a place as soon as possible."
Rental blow out
A PropTrack Market Insight Report showed regional Victorian rents were up 5 per cent quarter-on-quarter to sit at $420, the fastest rate of quarterly rent growth since before the pandemic.
Rents were up 7.7 per cent in regional Victoria over the year.
Units led the growth, up 9.4 per cent year-on-year whereas houses were up 7.5 per cent year-on-year.
Northern Victoria MP Wendy Lovell said data recently released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics from the 2021 Census showed homelessness in the Mildura local government area had increased by 173 people, or 99 per cent, between Census night 2021 and Census night 2016.
There were 348 people homeless in the Mildura municipality, while last known figures found 1,856 residents were awaiting social housing compared to 321 in 2019, with 1,013 of those applicants regarded as "priority" status.
The percentage increase in Mildura was more than four times the state average of 23.3 per cent and 19 times the national average of 5.2 per cent.
