Grieving daughter astonished to find group of squatters had changed the locks on her late father’s home and thrown out all his belongings

A woman’s ‘grotesque’ squatter dilemma has sparked a fierce debate over home ownership in Australia – as outspoken writer Clementine Ford picks an unlikely side.

Victorian woman Carol called into ABC Melbourne Mornings to seek some advice on a group of squatters who had taken up residence in her late father’s home. 

‘I had a terrible thing happen to me on the weekend and I don’t know what to do,’ Carol, from Westmeadows in the city’s northwest, said on Tuesday. 

‘I turned up at my father’s house, which has been mostly vacant for the last 12 to 15 years, and my key didn’t work.

‘I’ve been a carer of my mother for the last 12 years and was renovating the house prior to that. My mother passed away and I’d not been to the house for nine weeks.

‘Someone broke in, changed all the locks, they removed absolutely everything that was in the house – furniture, clothing, personal belongings, toiletries, everything in the kitchen, everything in the garage.’

Carol became emotional as she recalled the items taken by the intruders, including  precious relics belonging to her late father and mother.  

‘The police attended, I proved I owned the house, they talked to my neighbours who said, ‘Yes it’s Carol’s house’, and they called a locksmith who broke in,’ she said. 

Carol said the locks at her home had been changed by the squatters and all her personal possessions had been cleared out – including those belonging to her late parents (stock photo)

‘[The squatters] weren’t in there but they had moved furniture in – they’d moved a fridge in, they’d moved a washing machine.

‘…I don’t know who these people are.’

Lawyer David Whiting recommended Carol hire a security guard to challenge any new arrivals at the property and confront the squatters when they return.

He also recommended she ‘make an appointment’ for the squatters to remove all of their possessions from the home and change the locks. 

Outspoken feminist advocate Clementine Ford weighed in on the debate after hearing Carol’s story on the radio. 

‘I was just listening to the ABC and a woman called up with a “very distressing story”, in her words,’ Ms Ford wrote.

‘Now, disclaimer, I do understand why she felt upset – but the story also illustrates some huge failures with rental rights in this country.’

Ms Ford sympathised with Carol’s recent loss of both her parents but noted her sympathy did not extend to her squatter situation.

Homelessness has been on the rise in Australia with the number of older women seeking help services increasing by 40 per cent in the last decade (stock)

‘Listen, I understand why someone who has lost both parents – and who has probably given a lot of her adult life to caring for them – feels upset and violated to have her things interfered with like this,’ she said.

‘But this is the problem with the dire rental market and absence of renters’ rights here.’

The ‘revolution’ of Australia’s attitude towards vacant properties has been spearheaded by far-left commentator Jordan van den Berg, best known by his social media handle ‘Purplepingers’.

Mr van den Berg often encourages squatters to move into empty properties he advertises on his social media platforms.

Ms Ford said the commentator had done ‘an amazing job of exposing’ the brutal reality of Australia’s rental market. 

‘We are all f***ed as renters – even as absurd numbers of people are competing to pay other people’s mortgages on overpriced, mould-ridden s***holes, there are empty houses all over this country that are being used as either crash pads for rarely-there owners or tax loopholes.

‘It’s disgusting. So why shouldn’t a house that has been mostly empty for 15 years be used to actually house people?’

Ms Ford then reflected on Australia’s overall attitude towards property as an investment instead of a  basic right, adding the consequence of that attitude has resulted in rising homelessness – particularly among ageing women.  

The ‘revolution’ of Australia’s attitude towards property has been spearheaded by far-left commentator Jordan ‘Purplepingers’ van den Berg (pictured)

The government’s Specialist Homelessness Services Annual Report 2022–23 found there had been a drastic rise in the number of older women seeking help for homelessness in the last decade.

‘The experience of homelessness has become increasingly widespread among older women, growing by almost 40 per cent between 2011 and 2021 to about 7,300 older women,’ it said. 

‘While the shortage of affordable housing and the ageing population has contributed to the rising number of older people experiencing homelessness generally, lower lifetime earnings and savings is especially relevant to many older women’s experiences of homelessness. 

‘Given women are more likely to take leave from the workforce and return to paid employment on a part-time or casual basis, the amount of wealth accumulated is generally lower compared to men.’ 

Ms Ford noted she could be left without a stable home in her elderly years due to her inability to secure a home loan. 

‘The idea of investment properties is grotesque anyway, but in a country where renters essentially have no rights, it’s foul that property owners are catered to as if their ‘investment’ isn’t the same as any other kind of high-stakes gamble,’ she said.

Ms Ford (pictured) described the notion of investment and/or vacant properties as ‘grotesque’

‘I have been paying rent for 25 years but because I don’t have a ‘stable’ job nor any inheritance coming my way, I am probably never going to be able to buy a place of my own.

‘Even if I could one day have enough to get a deposit for a small flat, what bank will give a close to 50-year-old woman with non-reliable sources of income a loan?

‘Meanwhile, how many other people’s houses and flats have I helped to purchase so they can have their retirement plan?’

Ms Ford said Australia’s property was in ‘crisis’ and called for investors to face harsher laws to ensure no homes sit vacant. 

‘We have a crisis in homelessness among women over 65 in particular, but the government response to all of this is to throw some band-aid policy solution at the wall and do absolutely nothing to curb the insane rights handed out to property investors,’ she said.

‘If you own multiple properties – and I mean two or more – you should be required by law to offer fixed-term rental leases with an option of long-term leases of 10 years or more.’