St Vincent de Paul Queensland CEO Kevin Mercer told Weekend Today vacancy rates were currently below one percent.
“Almost every region of Queensland, we have rents going up, $50, $100, $200 a week,” he said.
“It’s really having an impact on local people who are being displaced out of homes and communities that they have lived in most of their lives.”
Mr Mercer said many people from NSW and Victoria had relocated to Queensland during the COVID-19 pandemic, putting pressure on the housing market.
He identified key hotspots as the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast, but said the ripple effect had spread across the state, affecting regional centres from Toowoomba to Townsville.
“Unfortunately, for some, there aren’t too many options,” Mr Mercer said.
“They don’t want to live in a tent, they don’t want to live in the back of their car, they can’t afford to live in the community that they currently live in, and they want to provide a home for their family.”
He called on the state and federal governments to provide more social and affordable housing in Queensland.
This content first appear on 9news