Tammy Majeed has applied for more than 30 rental properties over the past few months without any luck.
The single mother of twin boys, who have both been diagnosed with autism, says the family could become homeless if they do not find housing before their lease ends in March.
The 33-year-old said she had been desperately applying for help, but housing and support services have told her they can't do anything until they no longer have a roof over their head.
"I've got severely disabled sons that need a roof over their head," Ms Majeed said.
"We can't live in a car or on the street … I've just really run out of options."
The family must move out of their rental next month. (ABC Gold Coast: Danielle Mahe)
Her struggle comes as vacancy rates on the Gold Coast sit at about 1 per cent, making accommodation for her and her 11-year-old boys, with diagnoses of severe intellectual disabilities and autism, difficult to find.
"We've had multiple discussions with homeless centres," she said.
"All of which have advised that, because we still have some time left on the lease, that they wouldn't be able to assist us.
"Essentially stating that we would have to be homeless in order for them to step in."
Time running out
In an ideal world, Ms Majeed said living in robust Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) — which is funded by the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) — would be the perfect fit for her family because it was designed for individuals who may damage property or pose a risk to themselves or others.
The accommodation features durable walls and doors, laminated windows, soundproofing, reinforced fixtures and secure outdoor areas.
Ms Majeed said one of her boys exhibited aggressive behaviours and had caused extensive damage to her current property, which they have rented for six years.
"Damages include holes in the walls, holes in the windows,"
Ms Majeed said.
Tammy Majeed has spent thousands of dollars fixing damage caused by her son over the years. (Supplied: Tammy Majeed)
She said she had spent thousands of dollars patching holes in the rental property.
However, she said her boys did not meet the strict criteria for SDA because they did not live with an extreme functional impairment.
Call for state government action
Autism Awareness Australia chief executive Nicole Rogerson said it was a sad reality that families with children with disabilities often faced severe housing challenges due to the lack of accessible, affordable and suitable rental properties.
"This is really tricky, and to be fair, this is not an area that the NDIS funds," Ms Rogerson said.
Nicole Rogerson is calling for the state government to intervene. (ABC News: Billy Cooper)
She said state governments needed to take more responsibility, and that some rules preventing families from accessing emergency accommodation while in the private market could be "silly technicalities".
"If this mum is having no luck in the private rental market, and I can understand why, then really she needs to be considered for social housing," Ms Rogerson said.
"The grown-ups just have to be grown-up here and come and solve this problem for this woman."
Queensland's Gold Coast-based Housing Minister Sam O'Connor referred questions from the ABC to the Department of Housing and Public Works.
The department said it could not comment on individual cases but encouraged anyone experiencing homelessness to contact it.
"We ensure customers are continually offered referrals to appropriate funded services, rental products and emergency accommodation," the spokesperson said.
from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-23/gold-coast-mother-autistic-twins-face-homelessness/106349720