Sydney full-time worker Paul Grajewski forced to live in his van due to cost-of-living crisis

A man working full-time has been forced to live out of his van amid the nation’s ongoing housing and cost-of-living crisis. 

Sydney man Paul Grajewski, 44, was made homeless after a painful back injury left him unable to work as an arborist.

Mr Grajewski now has a full-time job but has run out of savings with the rise in rental prices forcing him to sleep in his van.

Rentals in Sydney for under $400 a week have hit record lows – plunging from 21 per cent of all rentals to just 9 per cent between 2020 and 2023 – according to Real estate research firm Proptrack.

‘I’m just basically living in my van at the moment. That’s my living situation,’ Mr Grajewski told 7News. 

Mr Grajewski was receiving Centrelink benefits but said it was not enough to buy food and cover the rent on his Sydney home.

He said he was getting ‘just over $14,00 a month on Centrelink’ but was paying over $1,200 a month on rent and bills, and was left with ‘about $60 a week to feed myself’.

So Mr Grajewski decided in July last year the best option was to move into his van, which he had renovated during the Covid pandemic in 2020. 

‘I thought I’d just be using it to go on camping trips and what not,’ he said.

Mr Grajewski said his current job as a meter reader might allow him to secure a rental property but the current price of rentals could potentially leave him in more financial difficultly.

He said he would prefer to save money while living in the van in case his injury worsened or his employment situation changed.

‘What I fear now is that if I find a place now and start renting, that with the amount of money I’m making now, I wouldn’t be able to save anything,’ he said.

‘I’m just going to be put in a situation where I’m just going to be full of anxiety’.

Mr Grajewski is able to maintain his gym membership, which allows him to access the physiotherapy he needs to treat his spinal injury, and can also use the showers there. 

However, Mr Grajewski stressed that living in his van was not easy and the van itself was starting to fall apart.  

He also said the solar-powered van battery was not holding much charge, and with his make-shift kitchen fridge out of action has been forced to live off non-perishable items. 

Mr Grajewski said is is more financially viable to live out of his van than to rent in the current expensive rental market 

There  has been a 34 per cent increase in the NSW homeless population in the last year

Mr Grajewski is one of more than 1,623 people sleeping rough in NSW, according to the NSW Street Count, which says there has been a 34 per cent increase in the state’s homeless population within the last year.

In the City of Sydney alone, 277 people were found to be sleeping rough —  a 23 per cent increase from the previous year. 

In addition, there were 294 locations where there was evidence of street homelessness such as makeshift camps, sleeping bags or personal belongings. 

Byron Shire accounts for the largest cohort of rough sleepers in NSW, and recorded 300 people sleeping rough – a whopping 117 per cent increase compared to February 2022

The Albanese government is attempting to get a $10billion housing package through parliament but community support organisations are calling for more urgent action.

Trina Jones from Homelessness NSW said there are more than 57,000 households on the waiting list for temporary short term accommodation, which was particularly concerning considering the current cold temperatures across the state. 

Mr Grajewski is one of several people who are part of a growing demographic known as the ‘working homeless’.

The working homeless refers to people who have stable full-time jobs but can still not afford basic necessities because of price hikes.