Kristi Smith is living out of a caravan after her former rental home was sold. Photo: Tara Croser.

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Kristi Smith has clung to the sun as a symbol of hope through her darkest days, but after three years hope is fading into winter’s deepening chill.

The Brisbane mother-of-two has been locked out of the housing market since the owner of her former rental home cashed out during the pandemic property boom in 2021.

She has been renovating her van with help from the community. Photo: Tara Croser.

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With rental affordability declining to record lows since, Ms Smith secured a beat-up 9ft vintage caravan she named Rising Sun, posting her plight on social media for help making her makeshift home habitable.

The 46-year-old did secure a lease after nine months of searching in 2022, but when her partner left, she could no longer afford the rent and was forced out again.

Months of couch-surfing ensued, during which time Ms Smith lost contact with both her young adult sons. Finally, she scraped together $1200 after selling her car and other possessions.

She called her van ‘Rising Sun’. Photo: Tara Croser.

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“I didn’t have anywhere to go so with the last little bit of money I bought a caravan and I’ve been renovating it for the last year on a budget and with help from people in the community,” she said.

“My mental health is my biggest issue, not having somewhere safe to sleep and to call home, where I can heal.

“I’m trying to better myself, but it is just so difficult when you don’t belong anywhere.”

Ms Smith is currently located in the Queensland electorate of Longman, one of the state’s most marginal seats where the tenant vote is expected to sway an upcoming election.

Public spaces in major cities are being taken over with tent cities as rent rises push people out of housing. NewsWire / Sarah Marshall

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A typical renter in the area is forking out up to 35 per cent of their income on rent. A benchmark of 25 per cent of income spent on rent is considered affordable for the average family, according to PropTrack’s Rental Affordability Index.

Ms Smith is searching for a granny flat, private room, or land with amenities where she can park her van permanently, but said affording rent as a single woman on a support payment is “not even achievable” in the current market.

“I don’t feel like I’m worthy to be in society anymore. I’m on a disability support pension and if half of that goes on rent how do you survive?”

Rental affordability is expected to be a key election issue. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Swift

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A more viable alternative would be an exchange, where Ms Smith provided caretaker or property maintenance services in lieu of some of the rental cost.

“There are plenty of holiday homes in this area which are vacant a lot of the time, and that really makes me upset because it could be part of the solution if I could put my van on their property, and that way when they come up they know their property is looked after and not being broken into.”

Find Kristi Smith here https://gofund.me/01036fd0

Ms Smith is looking for a permanent place to park her van. Photo: Tara Croser.

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