As Australia’s housing crisis continues to worsen significantly, the pressure on many of the country’s caravan parks is growing.
The Guardian reports that van park operators in south-east Queensland are receiving up to 30 calls a day from people seeking long-term accommodation.
It says that applicants are a mix of local residents seeking immediate emergency housing, with recent arrivals to Queensland looking to get on their feet. There are also people who have been displaced by flooding.
Caravan Parks Association of Queensland chief executive officer Michelle Weston told the Guardian that parks were stretched to capacity across the state, but also from a sudden uptick in tourism.
“People haven’t been travelling internationally, so camping and caravanning has become sexy again,” she said. “Operators are having to weigh up their ability to provide that long-term accommodation with the strong demand for tourist accommodation.”
At places like Brisbane Holiday Village, long-term residents often share the limited space with short-term holiday sites, which make considerably more money for parks. The Guardian reports that long-term residents tend to pay around $340 a week to stay, while holiday cabins can reach $250 per night for a family of four.
General manager, Geoff Illich, said he has a wait list of nearly 300 applications for long-stays at the mixed-used park, 15 minutes south of the city.
He told the Guardian that many people assumed they could rely on using caravan parks as an emergency housing option, but that was no longer the case and he didn’t want to give people false hope.
“I think 60% of the people we’re getting are from interstate now, but when they get here they can’t find a place to rent, or they’re waiting for their own homes to be built, so they’re extending their stay,” he said. “Some families are ready to stay in tents … it’s getting scary.”
Noosa River Holiday Park manager Karen Dineen said her office received up to 30 calls a day from people they couldn’t accommodate.
“They do ring and ask about work options in the area, but we can’t help them … I don’t turn them away: I do try to offer other suggestions,” she told the Guardian. “But if they get here at six o’clock and I go, ‘well, we’re full and the two at Tewantin are full and the Sunshine Coast parks are full’, then they’re going to have to drive two and a half hours to Hervey Bay.”
I am one of those forced into nomadic caravan life due to an unexpected chronic health issue and disability not being enough to rent my own house for the past 3 years. I try to make the best of a challenging situation but having to constantly move on as all caravan parks have time limits on stays and most no longer accept permanent residents takes its toll on my health and sense of wellbeing for sure! It also makes it really hard to maintain friendships, have any sense of community or support or to receive much-needed consistent, regular health care.
My specialist gets really cranky at me!
Sadly, I notice a lot of “us and them” mentality between typical self-funded grey nomads and permanent caravan park residents especially on wikicamps reviews such as: Nice park, shame about all the permanents” etc. and that really makes me feel crappy.
You don’t know those people’s story. I was once married and had no money worries at all… until he left me. Then I was a successful self-starting energetic business owner before my sudden chronic and progressive illness hit me at 45. I also suffered a traumatic event that gave me PTSD. By 50 I was homeless and on disability. Alone, scared and grieving for my former life.
I bought myself an old caravan so I would at least have a roof over my head.
Please be kind to the “others” out there doing it tough.
It’s usually not their fault.
My husband and I are currently managing a park in Murray Bridge in SA. We are a small park with only 22 sites and currently there are 14 long term guests staying here. By long term I mean a month or more. People are desperate for accommodation and looking more and more to parks such as ours to assist in the their time of need. Unfortunately with sites booked for long weekends, school holidays and the like we are very limited to what we can offer.
I feel for all those who need accommodation but do get very tired of the abuse that can and does come with my having to say no when we have no availability. I know it happens the other way as well but understanding from both sides is needed