Jaxen
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Jaxen, in his early 60s, has a progressive neurological disability and problems with his spine that cause chronic pain and make it difficult to move and walk. For a long time he lived in social housing with his father, but when his father died several years ago the housing providers tried to get him to move out.
Jaxen had asked to be re-housed in accommodation that didn’t have steps and would be easier for him to access. The providers agreed, but when a suitable property became available they allocated it to someone else.
Then they asked Jaxen to undergo a medical examination to assess whether he was able to live alone. Jaxen believes they hoped the assessment would find he couldn’t, providing an excuse to get him to leave. Instead, it found he was capable of living independently.
It took more than a year, but finally the providers found a place for Jaxen to move to. The relocation was a big job as Jaxen had not only his own but his father’s and another family member’s possessions to deal with.
‘So I had to sort through that and it was every, oh my god, it went on, I think it took 10 weeks for me to move out.’
Jaxen thought that was okay, because when he signed the lease the housing provider representative told him he could take his time.
‘I actually said, how long have I got to move, and her words were … “as long as it takes”.’
She told Jaxen that until he was re-settled he would pay $10 a week rent for the new place and the existing rent on the old place. ‘I thought that was reasonable,’ said Jaxen.
Instead, the providers started charging Jaxen full market rent on the new property just two weeks after he signed the lease. The letter informing him of the changed financial arrangement was sent to his new address, not to the one where he was living. It was sent several weeks after the providers started charging the increased amount, so Jaxen was already in arrears when he received it. Essential repairs on the new property to make it liveable had not yet been carried out.
Jaxen paid no attention for a while.
‘I didn't understand what they were trying to do. I was going on the verbal contract agreement of what was said at the lease signing … If you say something, I've got to take your word for it.’
As the weeks went by he accrued a debt of thousands of dollars. The housing providers sent another letter. It said they were pursuing the debt through a tribunal process.
At the hearing, the woman who’d made the arrangement with Jaxen about the lease wasn’t there. Jaxen successfully argued the hearing shouldn’t proceed without her.
At the rescheduled hearing, no-one from the housing provider turned up and the case was dropped. Jaxen is now living in his new home.
He is still angry with the housing providers, who he believes discriminated against him because of his disability, treating him like a ‘piece of crap’.
‘I'd like a copy of their policies because what they give you, they say in their – “We're very accommodating for disability”, well, I'd strike that one out, you know what I mean? … They just treat you with contempt. That's about it.’
Disclaimer: This is the story of a person who shared their personal experience with the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability through a submission or private session. The names in this story are pseudonyms. The person who shared this experience was not a witness and their account is not evidence. They did not take an oath or affirmation before providing the story. Nothing in this story constitutes a finding of the Royal Commission. Any views expressed are those of the person who shared their experience, not of the Royal Commission.