Family facing Tasmania's housing crisis for second time in a year

The Hawkins family of Michael, Adria and daughters Sakura, Karliah and Yuna in Burnie, north west Tasmania, thought they had finally found a long term home when they signed a lease in May this year.

But that house is now on the market, and the real estate agent has told them there is few investors buying at the moment, meaning it is likely a prospective buyer will want to move in and not renew their lease.

It is a familiar feeling for the family, as they learned just before Christmas last year that they would not be able to renew their lease as the house they were then living in was being sold.

"We let ourselves get comfortable and feel secure again. We had actually started to try and make this place our home," Mr Hawkins said.

He said despite their lease not being up until May next year, he is not at all optimistic they will be able to secure a new rental home.

There is currently huge demand for rentals in Burnie, and statewide.

"We are hearing a lot of the same stories," Mr Hawkins said.

"We aren't unique in it, so naturally there isn't going to be any sympathy for our situation."

He said he feels like his family lands at the bottom of the list when applying for rentals, as they have three children and are reliant on welfare to pay rent.

Sadly, they are being forced to consider giving up the family dog, a black Labrador named Skittles, just to make themselves more attractive tenants.

"We have never had a single complaint against us," he said.

Before they found this home, the family of five had to move into their mother-in-law's two bedroom unit, which forced her into the garage.

As their current lease ends just before next winter, the prospect of returning to that living situation is, to say the least, daunting.

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"She's in her 60s, and we tried to make the garage habitable for her, but it was cold," Mr Hawkins said.

"And our eldest daughter is a teenager, so she needs privacy. She ended up basically sleeping outside, with tarps over the patio, so she could have some weather proofing and space away from her sisters."

The state's rental and housing crisis has generated much political debate in recent years, but University of Tasmania researcher Kathleen Flanagan recently said the solution is simply for the government to build more social housing.

"We know what it is, we know how to build it. We just need the government to put up the money to do it."