Invalid pensioner Cheryl Hollis and three of her daughters - Jazmyn, 11, Narys, 17, and Kira, 21 - have been staying with a friend of Cheryl’s since the house they used to rent was sold in December of last year.

The friend is a single mother with one daughter, so that means five people in one small three-bedroom house, which is not ideal to start with. Add in the friend’s dog and Cheryl’s own two dogs and a cat and that makes their current situation untenable long-term.

In desperation Cheryl approached the Gazette to share her story in case it might prompt a landlord to offer them a house.

“I have applied for at least 22 rental properties since December and every time it goes to someone else,” Cheryl said.

“It is a horrible situation. I feel like I am failing my children. I have never felt that in my life before. It is truly horrible.”

She said Wauchope real estate agents had tried to help, but as soon as a landlord saw she was not working and had children and pets she automatically dropped to the bottom of the list of applicants.

With dozens of applications for most houses, this meant they were never seriously considered. Cheryl thought this was totally unfair.

“It is just too easy for landlords to tick the box and exclude people with children or pets or who aren’t working,” she said.  “This is people’s lives at stake - not just faceless people, real people.” 

Cheryl said she might be an invalid pensioner with type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis and other issues, but she and her daughters kept their house in good condition.

Her two older daughters also are her carers and the combined pension they receive is more than enough to pay rent and living expenses.

“We are not being picky. We just want an ordinary three-bedroom house in Wauchope, preferably on a bus route because we don’t have our own transport, but if we have to, we’ll walk to transport,” Cheryl said.

“Ideally we would like somewhere around the $350 mark, but I have applied for properties that were as much as $410 a week.”

Cheryl said she also had a reasonable rental history, with only a couple of minor issues regarding late payment, one after her now ex-husband had a heart attack.

“All I want is a chance. Please, can someone out there give us a fair go,” she said. “I don’t have destructive children. We don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t do drugs and we stick to ourselves and we have an assured income.

“Surely someone out there can help us.”

The only must-have is that the house must be in Wauchope because Narys is in Year 12 at Wauchope High School. Any landlords or real estate agents who might be able to assist Cheryl can contact her via the Gazette.