As the tight rental market puts the squeeze on Australians, one country town in Queensland is tackling the problem for pensioners a different way thanks to an unlikely landlord who provides new homes for $200 per week.
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00:00 Raising money for local causes is standard fare for Lions Clubs.
00:07 But this one in Far North Queensland has a side hustle, building homes for aged pensioners.
00:14 How are you?
00:17 Gail Kuchman has just moved into one of its brand new units.
00:21 They're just so airy and there's a lot of cross-breed and yes, the community itself is lovely.
00:29 The 77-year-old had been living on an old bus, then a small unit on a rural property.
00:35 It was a tin shed. Look, it was liveable, but it was very cold in the winter and very mouldy and I developed a lung condition.
00:48 The Melanda Lions have built five units in recent years.
00:52 We've gone to put solar on the roof because power is a big cost for pensioners.
00:58 Rent is kept as low as possible, currently $200 a week.
01:03 It's not about money, it's about care.
01:06 Since I've moved into this one, I don't want to leave.
01:09 The club started building units for pensioners back in the 1960s and is 18 in the town.
01:15 It funded its latest project by remortgaging its older properties.
01:20 Lions clubs do run caravan parks, retirement villages and provide short-term accommodation for people receiving medical treatment.
01:28 But the Melanda club is one of the only ones in the country to offer long-term rental housing.
01:34 The town has just two rental vacancies and about 20 pensioners on the Lions waiting list.
01:40 We've got applications from people now that are in dire strait and it's really sad.
01:46 There was a woman the other day rang me and she's living in a car, has been for three months
01:52 and I just can't help it because I don't have anything available.
01:55 The club plans to keep building, starting with two more units next year.
01:59 [BLANK_AUDIO]