For people relying on rental properties to keep a roof over their heads, there are few things more scary than the possibility of being evicted from their home.
The paucity of official statistics makes it difficult to know exactly how common evictions are. In 2019–20, 13.8% of private renters moved due to their lease being terminated or not renewed. Besides a report or two, we know little about what happens when households face the possibility of being evicted, or are actually evicted.
Our research examines these consequences. Through in-depth interviews with 53 private tenants in New South Wales and Queensland, we found these experiences negatively shaped people’s lives well into the future. Here are four themes we identified.
