Farzeen enjoying the view from her apartment.

Pride. Relief. Gratitude. This is how Farzeen and her partner, Satya describe, the feeling of settling into their new home.

It’s hard to believe the couple, both graduate architects working in local Adelaide firms, were – just a few weeks ago – facing homelessness.

They had been renting the same house for a few years before their landlord advised that he needed to end their lease to accommodate his own family soon to arrive in Australia from overseas.

“He gave us plenty of notice, and we started looking straight away,” Farzeen explained. “When we started renting in 2019, we found a property easily, so we didn’t think we’d have any trouble.”

Unfortunately, they were wrong. Despite having a decent bond, excellent rental references and stable incomes, the couple could not secure a tenancy. With every unsuccessful application, they became increasingly worried.

“The next step was a share house which we probably would have needed to go into with up to six other people or a backpackers’ hostel,” she said.

“They (property managers/landlords) couldn’t always disclose the reason why we missed out, so it was very frustrating and confusing.”

After contacting Junction early in their search for a home to rent, it was a return call in mid-June that saved Farzeen and Satya from falling out of stable housing.

“We had until June 20 to leave our rental and Julie (Allocations Team Leader, Junction) called us just in time,” Farzeen said.

The couple is now settled in their home at West Lakes.

As part of our affordable housing portfolio, the apartment is one of 10 Junction has purchased within the vibrant new West project to provide stable, long term rental accommodation.

Farzeen said she wanted to share her experiences so others could learn from what she and her partner had been through.

“People think it is going to be easy, but it isn’t,” she said. “We don’t want others to have to go through the same stress as we did because this outcome isn’t where we were heading.”