If you've spent the past few weeks of coronavirus shutdown in a sharehouse, chances are you're crawling up the walls right now.
Steve and his friends certainly are -- quite literally. The household of avid rock climbers knew they wouldn't last weeks without their sport of choice, so they figured that what their landlord didn't know wouldn't hurt them, and built a crack simulator -- which is probably not what you think it is -- in their garage.
When The Feed asked how social isolation was going so far, Steve sent us this video.
Other sharehouses aren't so lucky.
In late March, with the details of Australia's COVID-19 shutdown evolving daily, The Feed asked Australian sharehouse residents to tell us about their experiences, good and bad. Some, like Eloise, were forced to make snap decisions to move out before the shutdown escalated, forfeiting more than a month's rent. Others, like Matt, had no choice but to bunker down with a nightmare housemate who refuses to wash, clean or follow social distancing guidelines.
Others had it much harder still: M'leigh, who is immunocompromised following a kidney transplant, lost both of her jobs when it became unsafe for her to remain in public. She's now confined to the house, keeping her distance from her housemates to lower her risk of infection, and trying to work out how the group will be able to afford to pay rent.
Most of the sharehouses we heard from are facing a lot of uncertainty right now. Government announcements about income support and rental assistance have arrived slowly, and official advice is changing constantly. Support available for tenants struggling to pay rent differs from state to state, and both tenants and landlords across the country are confused about their rights.
These are some of the stories we've received from sharehouses across the country. If you're also in a sharehouse right now, these might just be a good reminder that you're not alone.
"Right now I'm in a bit of a dire situation. I think everyone's feeling it right now."
M'Leigh Breu is 37, and currently living in a sharehouse in the Sydney suburb of Arncliffe. Before the coronavirus crisis escalated, she split the rent with four housemates; in the space of a few weeks, "one left and went back to Japan, one lost his job yesterday, and the other one's basically getting three hours a week. So yeah, we don't know how we're going to pay rent."
To make matters worse, M'Leigh also recently lost her own jobs working in a bar and as a live musician, on account of the fact that she is a kidney transplant recipient. That puts her at high risk of developing a serious infection if she contracts COVID-19, so for her own safety she made the decision to enter isolation well before the government announced the shutdown.
"I don't know if you know much about the Centrelink system, but it's a bit wibbly wobbly," M'Leigh told The Feed.
"I have a couple of other issues, I'm a diabetic too, so I'm kind of on this jobseeker slash disability payment. I get some money from that to help cover things, but right now I'm in a bit of a dire situation. I think everyone's feeling it right now."
Financially, M'Leigh is "getting to the point where I'll have to have a conversation with my landlord". She was hoping for a little more clarity from the government before making that move, but when we spoke last week NSW had yet to release the details of its rent relief package. A $440 million package was announced this week, but clear details that will help renters like M'Leigh understand how they can negotiate with landlords are yet to arrive.
M'Leigh lost her job as a performing musician when the COVID-19 crisis hit. As a transplant recipient, she had no choice but to self-isolate early. Source: The Feed
Finances are only part of the picture -- right now, M'Leigh is also focused on the challenges of living in a sharehouse as an immunocompromised person. Thankfully, her housemates are supportive.
"Our house is pretty big -- I spend a lot of the time in the backyard gardening and trying to keep myself active, but we generally keep our distance," M'Leigh said. "I've always had a separate towel to wash my hands, and we all have our own areas of the kitchen and the bathroom, so they're kind of used to it anyway. I disinfect the house twice a day, and so far, so good."
As stressful as life is during a pandemic, M'Leigh was matter-of-fact about how things could be -- and have been -- much worse.
"When I was 25 I had my autoimmune disease really attack my body, and I got told I had six months to live," she said. "That was pretty scary. The way my autoimmune disease works, it can flare up, and once it flares up it's hard to put back down."
So no, this isn't scary. I tend to not get scared until I'm in a hospital bed and the doctors are telling me they don't know what to do. My line of where I draw scary is different to most people's, I think.
Those past experiences mean M'leigh is more than happy to take self-isolation seriously, though she would appreciate some support on the financial side of things.
"I am lucky, I got a second chance at life, I got given a kidney so I'm not going to waste it," she told The Feed. "If it means locking down for a year, it means locking down for a year.
"I don't want to be in one of those beds when they're at peak. I don't want to be a burden when there could be other people there. If it means I have to be boring and poor, then so be it."
"I'm so lucky that a friend came to the rescue."
Eloise and her housemate's lease was supposed to end in late April. Unfortunately, the coronavirus had other plans.
As the crisis escalated in March, the pair saw a lockdown looming, and decided to act. "We made the call to leave on Wednesday night and were totally out by Saturday," Eloise told The Feed a few weeks ago.
"It means that we are paying double rent for at least a month, but we were terrified of being locked down in an apartment we didn't need. Had we been forced to stay on indefinitely, if the lockdown became more severe and we couldn't access movers and bond cleaners, it would have decimated my savings."
As it is, the five week period of paying rent on two houses is costing Eloise an extra $1250. Finding a new place to live was also tricky.
"My roommate moved in with her partner, but I am from Queensland so I can't go back to live with my family because the state shut its borders," she said. "I have no idea when I'll get back to see my family again."
"I was due to sublet an apartment from a couple who were going to be travelling overseas but that obviously fell through. I'm so lucky that a friend came to the rescue and let me rent her spare room indefinitely."
"He doesn't wash his clothes -- ever!"
Matt is 40, and lives in a sharehouse with four housemates aged 24-39, plus one dog. He actually lives in Canada, but many Australians will relate to the story he has to share.
"Four of [my housemates] totally get social distancing, but one of us is a dud," Matt told The Feed. "He goes out to house parties seven nights a week."
"The rest of us have been extremely careful regarding cleanliness, cleaning surfaces including doorknobs constantly, keeping our distance, and coughing into our sleeves. One housemate bought a Nintendo Switch, so Animal Crossing has become a part of our daily lives. We're all working from home and trying to be productive at least most of the time."
"But the one who goes out every night is also the one who has no sense of hygiene. He doesn't use soap. He doesn't wash his clothes -- ever! He stinks like body odour and cologne all the time. He leaves garbage lying around. We used to talk to him, try to help him to develop new skills for how to behave in the kitchen, bathroom, etc., but, to be honest, he's useless."
Matt and his roommates Sara and Nureen practising social distancing on their couch. Source: The Feed
"Since he'll be moving out at the end of April anyway, we've decided to keep cleaning up after him and then celebrate when he finally leaves."
Things became pretty tense, however, when Matt came down with "what appears to be a mild case of COVID", which he suspects has something to do with his housemate's adventures. He's since recovered from the illness, though, and reports that "that dud of a roommate does seem to be going out less".
"My housemate and I have lived together for approximately 12 days...which is 12 days since I started my isolation after returning from overseas."
Tahlia and her housemate moved in together just as the coronavirus shutdown began -- Tahlia, who had just returned from overseas, immediately went into mandatory self-isolation in her new home.
"Luckily we knew each other prior, otherwise it might have been more difficult," she told The Feed.
"But we're both registered nurses and she has still been going to work, and yesterday we received the dread news that she had come into contact with a positive patient, which means that she starts her 14 days of isolation today. And if she becomes symptomatic, that's another 14 days for me."
"So, you know, things have been very close. We just had an argument about whether it's a 'slither' of cake or a 'sliver' of cake. So there's not much to talk about."
"We tried to get a rent reduction, and the real estate agent and owner were very understanding, but we haven't heard back."
Clair lives with her sister and two friends in a sharehouse in Mullumbimby, near Byron Bay. The coronavirus shutdown has impacted the household's finances significantly -- Clair has lost her nannying and retail work, another housemate has also lost her retail job, and a third is a self-employed tradie whose work keeps being put on hold. Only Clair's sister, a nurse, is working her usual hours right now.
Clair and another housemate have applied for Centrelink for the first time, and are waiting to hear whether they're eligible. They've also requested a rent reduction from their landlord, but they're not sure if that will come through either.
"The real estate and the owner were very understanding, but this was two to three weeks ago and we haven't heard back," Clair told The Feed. A few emails were exchanged, and last she heard the owner of the house was speaking to the bank about his mortgage.
In the meantime, the housemates are still paying the rent. One housemate's parents are helping her stay afloat, while Clair is dipping into her savings, "which are getting very low".
"It's all a bit of a waiting game and up in the air," she told The Feed.
"Some days I'm like, it's fine. Other days it gets a bit much. At the beginning when it all started happening and getting worse and worse it freaked me out a little bit, and a lot of my friends were on their phones and reading the news 24/7, and it was a lot."
"I've been trying not to overload myself, and just be patient and take the time to focus on other things like meditation, yoga and art. But it's hard not to worry or stress."
"Overall, living in a sharehouse during these strange times has been a blessing, keeping us all sane."
In response to The Feed's callout for stories from sharehouses under the shutdown, Steve Wilson emailed through a video of four young men dangling from a series of wooden contraptions in a suburban garage, utterly absorbed in a routine of pull-ups and rock-climbing finger-strength exercises.
The household of university students has approached self-isolation as a challenge -- all keen rock climbers, they decided to build a training circuit in their garage to keep themselves entertained.
"The setup took about an afternoon, and it cost about $100 for all the supplies from Bunnings," Wilson told The Feed.
"We're into a form of rock climbing called crack climbing, so we call that 'The Crackenator 3000'. No injuries so far -- you'll get pressure wounds if you use it too much, but we consider that like a warriors' mark, if you use it enough for that."
When they're not on The Crackenator, the household has been watching Netflix together, and playing games like murder in the dark.
"I'm really grateful that everyone we live with is, it seems, on the same wavelength, and working to make the best of the situation," Wilson said.
"Overall, living in a sharehouse during these strange times has been a blessing, keeping us all sane."
People in Australia must stay at least 1.5 metres away from others and gatherings are limited to two people unless you are with your family or household.
If you believe you may have contracted the virus, call your doctor (don’t visit) or contact the national Coronavirus Health Information Hotline on 1800 020 080. If you are struggling to breathe or experiencing a medical emergency, call 000.
SBS is committed to informing Australia’s diverse communities about the latest COVID-19 developments. News and information is available in 63 languages at sbs.com.au/coronavirus
