Four Young Children & Their Mother Forced Into Homelessness

I am a 30 year old mother of four. Three daughters aged 7,9,11 and a 4 month old son. I was renting with my real estate for almost 2 years and on Monday 24 March I came home to find that a hot water pipe burst at no fault of my own but due to lack of attention and maintenance of the property. The real estate has stated the house is now uninhabitable and is not assisting with emergency accommodation and has pushed me and my children out on the streets deeming us homeless claiming that according to consumer affairs, it’s not their responsibility. We have lost almost everything but the worst being a stable roof over our heads. I am also due to have surgery on Wednesday this week to remove cancer cells from my body and remove my tubes. The real estate knows this, all my family live out of town and I have no support and nowhere to go despite so many attempts and running around and making so many phone calls this past week. I reached out to Haven many times only to be told all they can do is one night in a motel so it’s pointless to help me and stated it should be the real estates job to help accomodate us alternatively as it’s not my fault, so it’s a constant back and forth with everyone and now we’ve ran out of resources here in Bendigo other than actively applying for other rentals which we were doing anyway with no luck. The real estate has given me 3 weeks to remove all my belongings most of which are all water damaged now anyway. which also now falls on my daughter’s 10th birthday. They also said if I choose to stay in the house even though unsafe they will continue to charge me rent. We have not been staying there as it is disgustingly wet and smells soo bad still due to the flooding of hot water and the condensation right up to the ceiling. The carpets are still all through the house saturated and haven’t even been taken out. It was found it was probably running water into the unit for over 24 hours as I was away volunteering and had only just gotten home on the Monday afternoon having left on the Sunday morning. I reported to the real estate issues with water leakage in the ceiling months ago and other things such as mould in the flooring and more but clearly the maintenance was not tended to properly. There have been many issues with blocked pipes throughout the tenancy. I am currently sitting at a motel in Bendigo outside while my four children asleep, crying my eyes out unable to see any way out of this. Orange Door has paid for a motel until Tuesday but then with surgery on Wednesday and no plan after that, we are uncertain of where we will be then. Spending hundreds of dollars on petrol and food already living day by day mostly living in the car since, it’s all continuing to get too much. I’ve always been able to put a roof over my kids heads with multiple real estate agencies but this one in particular has done me and my children so so wrong and we need help. I will not be naming and shaming them, it won’t do anything. I just need any help to keep surviving in motels until I can find something more long term for me and my young children. I’m struggling.