Thriving after a stressful hunt for a home

Living in a tiny single-bedroom unit with a premature newborn, Aqib and Zubia knew they needed to find a bigger home, but finding not just an affordable but also appropriate rental was impossible on their single income.

“We were looking at any suburb in Adelaide,” Aqib said. “We didn’t care which suburb we needed to move to, but we only had a limited budget so we would go where that took us.

“I ran to every open inspection I could, one after the other, but we didn’t get any call backs, no positive responses.”

The stress of the search was compounded by the medical needs of their daughter Maryam who was born prematurely and has required additional medical attention and feeding through a syringe since birth.

For first-time mum Zubia, she knew her daughter’s care came first, but it meant the young family was left with just one wage.

“Her feeding needs mean you can’t get that support in childcare, so I needed to be at home with her to provide that care.

“There was nothing we could get within our budget.”

As the 2026 Believe Housing Australia Rental Affordability Snapshot has revealed safe and stable housing remains inaccessible to those most in need with low-income earners restricted or locked out of affordable housing rather than being supported to access and thrive in it.

The Snapshot, taken on 14 March, revealed that large groups of individuals and families competed for only 1,990 private rental dwellings  advertised in metropolitan Adelaide and surrounding areas.

Of those 1,990 listed properties, only five homes, or zero per cent of listings, were affordable for households on income support payments, a decrease of 74 per cent year-on-year.

A single person on minimum wage could apply for five homes (1%), a decline of 11 homes compared to 2025. Meanwhile, a single person with two children (one under 5 and one under 10) on minimum wage and Parenting Payments could access 13 homes (1%), representing no meaningful change from the previous year.

Through constant searching online, Aqib came across a listing for Believe Housing Australia’s affordable housing complex in Woodville West. Believe Housing Australia, the housing arm of AnglicareSA, is a is a nationally accredited Tier 1 Community Housing Provider.

Believe Housing Australia manages a number of affordable housing properties, which are rented at below the market value of the property to eligible people on low to moderate incomes.

“It is unbelievable here,” Aqib said happily. “We are close to the city, we are close to the hospital, and we take Maryam to the local park every day.

“We have a garden, we love this neighbourhood, and we thank Believe Housing Australia every day,”