The writing is on the wall for Tess and Luke.

Hot on the heels from the spa spat, host Scott Cam has told the couple that they don’t have enough money to do anything after their studio reno, beyond plastering their walls to secure that all-important certificate of occupancy.

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Shelley Craft’s own Block-style reno

That means no electrics, no painting and definitely no artwork, furniture or appliances!

Tess and Luke are betting everything they have on a win this week. They have sunk what little is left of their money into their studio in a last-ditch effort to stay on The Block.

Scott Cam tells Tess and Luke they have no more money before gleefully informing the other teams.

Without the $10,000 prize money, they will be heading home to Cairns.

“I don’t think anyone knows what it is like to be in our shoes,” Tess said, wiping away her tears.

“I know they’ve done The Block before, but no-one has done it this size before. No-one has been told you are not going to finish from day one.”

Although he didn’t shed any tears on camera, it was clear that Luke was devastated by the news.

“It’s super frustrating to come all the way down here and not finish the job that you set out to do,” he said. “We have so many more big plans for this place, but we have absolutely no money left to do that now.”

As Tess and Luke threw everything they had at their studio, there were some who took smug pleasure in their downfall. Cam took great delight in spreading the news of Tess and Luke’s demise to the other households, using their grim tale as a warning to others to be more frugal.

Dan lines up for his chance to kick Tess and Luke.

Meanwhile, Dan and Keith kept telling all who would listen that the honeymooners were putting in the hard yards too late in the game.

“It’s the first time I have seen Tess in there helping out. It’s great to see. But it’s 71 days too late,” Dan remarked smugly.

“They should’ve been doing this since day one. This is why they have no money. That’s what couples have to do. It’s too little, too late!”

There was certainly no sympathy for the couple’s situation from neighbours turned nemesis Mitch and Mark.

“Tess and Luke have to take responsibility for how they manage their budget and their spend,” Mark said. “We all started in the same place. We all started in the same building and with the same budget.”

But it’s fair to say Mitch and Mark’s decision to pull their plasterers had left Tess and Luke high and dry. They quickly fell behind the other teams when they couldn’t find a new crew to plaster their walls. No sooner had they finally locked in a team than they were forced to cancel them after their apartment was hit by an overnight storm.

Tess starts helping, finally.

It wasn’t just Tess and Luke who were affected by the downpour. All three cash-strapped teams bore the brunt of storm damage due to leaks in their unfinished roofs.

El’ise and Matt had to completely re-do their en suite due to rain damage. With the well dry of funds, there was nothing the couple could do to speed up the process and get back on track except weep (El’ise) and let fly with a string of expletives (Matt).

It was a similar story over at Andy and Deb’s place (without the tears and tirades) because the comedian, typically, tried to find the funny side in the setback.

Luckily for all three couples, the show’s producers decided to cover any damage costs to their rooms (given it was their shoddy roofing that caused the problem), plus foreman Keith arranged additional workers (free of cost) to help carry out the repairs.

Dan also turned up with some McCafé refreshments (and $5000) for El’ise and Matt.

Why? Supposedly to reward them for hard work, but it’s more likely the producers are desperate to find ways to keep the cash-strapped teams going until auction day.

Amid all this pressure to complete the biggest room in their properties on a shoestring and in wild weather, the teams were once again pulled off site for a challenge.

This time they were given $3500 and 6.5 hours to renovate and landscape five small properties for homeless people. They were given the added task of styling the houses to match the Colorbond steel used to build them. Because who doesn’t match their bed linen to their home’s structural steel framework?

It is somewhat ironic that the contestants have been set a challenge aimed at providing safe and attractive accommodation homeless people.

After all, last year The Block came under fire for converting The Gatwick, a boarding house for homeless people, into a luxury complex. Locals worried about the flow-on effect to the local area in displacing so many homeless people.

Jesse and Mel’s winning tiny house for the homeless.

This year they have repeated the same move in renovating The Oslo, a building which also provided a haven for many of the suburb’s most vulnerable.

It was nice to see the top-rating show giving something back. And, of course, that fact wasn’t lost on saintly Deb.

“Yes, everyone wants to win the $5000 but when you feel like you’ve contributed — even just a little bit — to something like that it’s awesome,” she commented.

Jesse and Mel took out the win because they managed to create an interior that included a living, dining and bedroom space. The other four teams managed to squeeze in only two of the three. It marks the couple’s third straight win.

And nobody was happy to see that bar Jesse and Mel — and, of course, the producers!

Game on. Or should that be, game over?