<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>When Deidre Hill and her mother Valerie Smith first moved into their Bondi unit in Sydney's east 40 years ago, they were paying just $80 a week in </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/rent" rel="" target="" title="rent"><span>rent</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Since then, the pair has seen the iconic Aussie suburb transform, with all of the older housing options on their street slowly disappearing to make way for new townhouses and luxury penthouses. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>By the time Deidre and Valerie were hit with an eviction notice in November last year, the pair was paying $900 a week for that same modest apartment.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/deflated-renter-says-cost-of-rent-for-tiny-studio-apartment-is-insane/6ff0f2d1-f45f-4006-99aa-278053caccb7"><strong><span>Deflated renter says cost of rent for tiny studio apartment 'is insane'</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Deidre, 65, works part-time as a food merchandiser for a bread company, and her 83-year-old mother is on the disability support pension.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Despite their low income, they were able to pay the rent on their Bondi apartment by taking in a boarder in their spare bedroom. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Then came the sudden eviction notice.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/mum-and-daughter-evicted-from-bondi-apartment-after-40-years/356afee0-2084-4cd6-8739-abeb5b257229" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"There were four units, and we all got the eviction notice because the owner said there was urgent structural work that needed to be done," Deidre said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The tenants appealed their case at the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, and were able to get an extension, giving them until June 8 to move out.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Deidre and Valerie applied for urgent social housing when they were given the eviction notice, but have been told they are ineligible for support because their income is around $100 above the weekly $1100 threshold. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Since then, the pair have been unable to find another private rental they can afford, and have found themselves unexpectedly homeless.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The mother and daughter have been forced to rely on the kindness of their friends. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We have been separated. I went to stay with one friend on their couch and my mum went to stay with another friend," Deidre said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Deidre said it had been incredibly hard to live away from her mother, who she described as her "best friend".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But their perilous housing situation had been even tougher on Valerie, her daughter said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The stressful and expensive process of having to put all their belongings in storage proved too much for her, Deidre said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It was horrendous and Mum didn't handle it well. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"She was hospitalised a couple of weeks ago. She just had a turn.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"She was so frightened that she lost her voice.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The ambulance was called and when I got to the hospital and explained, they said it's probably the stress."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Her mother had regained the use of her voice now, but the situation remained incredibly traumatic for her, Deidre said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"She just keeps crying. We are trying to look at finding another private rental around this area, because she has got her friend, doctor and support network here, but they are all at least $1200 a week, so we just can't do that," Deidre said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Deidre and Valerie have been getting some help from the Wayside Chapel in the form of food vouchers and some assistance with storage costs for their belongings.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Wayside Chapel case worker Sean Haughian said Deidre and Valerie represented a new face of homelessness, where previously stable tenants were suddenly unable to find housing due to an unforeseen change in circumstances and the city's cutthroat rental market.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"They're not your typical people who you would expect to be at risk of homelessness," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It's a particularly awful case, with no one to blame, really, it's just the system."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>While the case worker was trying to liaise with Homes NSW for emergency temporary accommodation, he said it felt like he was running out of options.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We have tried to get them into temporary accommodation. But, even if they got temporary accommodation, they would not be put together, as far as I know, and it would not suit them. They need to have a stable environment," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Wayside Chapel is currently appealing for donations for its </span><a href="https://donate.waysidechapel.org.au/winter" rel="" target="" title="winter campaign"><span>winter campaign</span></a><span>.</span></div></div>