This is just a rant really

Ive applied for 12 properties to rent southside, and finally today got to speak with an honest agent...

They told me that Im undesirable because I have two small children and on a centerlink carers pension, my son has ASD and besides going to preschool hes got therapy so Im unable to work fulltime.... but still I make MORE than enough to cover rent.

Im at a loss as to what to do...... I have to move out of where we're living but I just dont know how to get somewhere to live

Ok rant over, thanks for listening

I...thought it was illegal to discriminate because of children and the like?
Why do you have to disclose your DS's ASD, anyway?

Then again, I'm in WA so maybe laws are different.

I wouldn't be disclosing his ASD.

That is totally illegal!
Usually you aren't told anything though, but there are plenty of unscrupulous owners who tell RE to ignore certain applicants, ie children, single mothers, pension payments etc.
Are you able to find a private rental?
Check allhomes, but most importantly check Canberra times Saturday paper. This can be viewed online.

Not entirely sure if you have disclosed the information about your son. If so, I would say you probably shouldn't.
Write a cover letter (check the single parents section for ideas).
It is not just you. The ACT is the absolute worst for finding rentals. Plenty of overpriced sh*tty rentals, but the demand is so high, you just have to put up with it.
FWIW, when I was looking for a rental through real estates I had 12 rejections, only 1 approved and in the end only 2 in total told me I had not got the property. I was on a part pension, plus public service wage.
Just keep trying, something will come up eventually.

I havent told them about the ASD but its just that I have two little kids and no fulltime job they dont like....

We had a lot of trouble finding somewhere decent to rent so I wrote a letter stating that I had no debt so only needed to pay rent and living expenses and that I had only a small amount of time to find a new home. I got the next house I applied for - so it's worth a try! Good luck - have you tried contacting mission australia or somewhere like that - they have regulated housing that isn't housing commission there's also http://www.hcau.org.au/CurrentProjects.php and they do the same type of thing.

How do they even know about his ASD? Why does that need to be mentioned?

TBH as a landlord I would have NO issues renting to you as a single Mum with two kids, but we do not have rental property in the ACT and I believe it is very competitive.

Do you have condition reports from previous rentals? Or can get a reference from previous rentals at all? This may assist.

Where in ACT are you looking?

At this stage all you can do is keep plugging away but remember competition is tough. It's not that you're the best candidate but they're not choosing you because of these things - it's that there are better candidates.

Therefore it may be a matter of looking to areas without such high demands. It may be more difficult logistically but it my be easier to find a place - such a Ngunnawal or the like.

eta: it would only be discrimination if you were the best candidate and didn't get the house anyway because you had kids.

Well that sucks the fat one.

Why don't you consider suing the agent who disclosed discrimination to you? Make sure it's enough to buy you two houses minimum.

One thing that really sucks is that one of the property's I applied for over a week ago and got knocked back for had an open house today and another on coming up this Saturday.... so its not that they gave it to someone else, they would prefer no rent to renting it to me

Buy_Me_a_Pony it's the ACT there are normally 20+ application for every property.

If they are choosing to rent to say, a couple who both work, then it's not discrimination, it's renting to the most suitable tenants. Like a PP said, it would only be discrimination if OP was the most suitable tenant and then they gave it to someone else.

To be honest, we only got our rental because the Agent took a liking to us, so we pretty much knew when we put the application in that we would get it. That was with us being 2 working adults with DSDs not living there full time.

DP's ex couldn't get a rental, single mother, 2 kids, part time work, part centrelink and she ended up moving to another state instead! She was trying to find somewhere to rent here while living 250km away though!

This time last year, that was me with the same vent. I moving out of a 20 year relationship with 3 kids and was looking for first rental in 5 years. Despite having a full time secure job (APS), referees (never called any of them), a cover letter explaining why I hadn't been renting, no pets, etc I could not find a rental for 5 months. I never told them I had a child with ASD but I see that you hadn't disclosed that either. I was applying for 1-3 rentals a week but no one would tell me why I was overlooked. They all have that nice disclaimer on their forms but it was fairly obvious.

One time I finally was picked most suitable by agent but owner picked #2. This agency was very nice and told me I could have any house on their books since they had found me suitable (they just didn't have any suitable houses northside at that time). One other property went back on the market the next week so that agency found me unsuitable but again wouldn't tell me why. ACT is nasty for rentals, way overpriced and at this early part of year you are competing with uni students, grads for APS and sometimes defence families. I finally got success in April although this house was one no one wanted and for obvious reasons.

It was overpriced, lots of problems and dodgy agent (so I found out later). But only 3 applied, then 1 withdrew so I got in. I almost found myself back on market this month because agent/owner wanted to put up rent by almost $20/week despite them not fixing most of problems and all houses on market in suburb are $10-$30/week less but with more features like cooling, ensuite, etc. But today I received a 6 month reprieve after writing a massive letter to head of agency saying I would go to Tribunal. Dodgy agent was away and new guy is reasonable and recommended to owner to leave rent as is. Luck might be finally going my way.

Keep trying, it will ease up in the next month. I know how frustrating it is. Try canberra Times on Sat, allhomes, domain.com.au and sign up to ljhooker email (they don't always put on allhomes). Try different suburbs and private rentals. Good luck.

Goodluck OP it can be hard.

I think the cover letter is a brilliant idea. Have you applied for many in the Canberra Times on Saturday. my sister has often rented her house to people real estate agents don't consider... if the leasor can meet you then that might change their mind.





We have our house to rent through an agent. We were presented the three best applicants who they had ranked based on a number of criteria. We went with the one they recommended - not descrimination....