Social Justice & Action
Aged 44 and living with Dad
A Blue Mountains nurse is forced to live with his father, after applying unsuccessfully for multiple apartments and granny flats. If not for my father, I would be homeless or living in my car,” said Blue Mountains nurse David Dufty. David, 44, is a clinical nurse specialist at Katoomba Hospital and a father of three.
Since he and his wife divorced three years ago, a lack of suitable accommodation has forced David to live with his father. “I’ve applied for eight or nine flats or granny flats in the Blue Mountains that were just within my budget of $400 a week.
I haven’t been successful with any of them,” he said. “The agents always say that multiple people applied for these places and I wasn’t successful. I’m guessing I’ve been priced out of it. “The biggest impact of not having my own place is I don’t have room for the kids to stay overnight. “I’d like to have them for two or three nights a week – fortunately my ex-wife understands my living situation.”
David’s children are 14, 12 and 10. He said he may move to a regional area, where housing is cheaper, when the kids are older. “I think someone in my current situation would not be able to afford a mortgage on a property in the mountains, or even be considered for one by the banks.”
His wish to live close to his children is not the only thing limiting David’s accommodation choices. Along with full-time nursing he also has a part-time on-call position as a firefighter with Fire and Rescue NSW. The job requires him to live within three kilometres of his base station. David said governments need to do more to make more housing available – and he’s in favour of the Association lobbying for measures to increase the supply of housing. “Anything the Association can do to be a voice to help people with the cost-of-living crisis and housing can only be of benefit.”