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Refugee Khorsand Yousofzai vividly remembers the day he fled Afghanistan, leaving behind his family and the career he built in professional soccer.
As the US withdrew and the Taliban took over in August 2021, the crowds at the Kabul airport meant his family couldn't say goodbye as he boarded the plane.
"That moment was really scary for us and everyone," he said.
"Everyone wanted to get into [the] airport and go outside Afghanistan."
After a three-year wait, Mr Yousofzai has been reunited with his wife, parents and siblings in Newcastle, New South Wales.
But the family of six has not been able to find a permanent home with the four bedrooms they need, living in a hotel and then temporary accommodation since their arrival in June.
"We searched a lot … [and asked] the people that we know, a lot of networks that we have," he said.
"It's really hard to find and we are struggling with this problem."
In 2021, international advocates scrambled to sort out visas for female athletes who were fleeing Afghanistan after the Taliban took control.
Mr Yousofzai was the owner and head coach of the Afghan Women's Premier League team, Royal Kabul FC, and was able to get an emergency visa to enter Australia.
He has continued coaching in Australia and helps organise overseas trips for young players.
Landlords get to be 'picky'
After being separated for so long, Mr Yousofzai is determined to live in a home with his whole family.
But he said there was "no control of renting prices" and securing affordable housing was even more difficult now than when he first arrived.
"The real estate … after each contract, they're asking for higher rentals from the same house that you're living," he said.
His mother Deeba, a physics professor who previously worked for the Women's Affairs Ministry in Afghanistan, said they were "not looking for a palace … just enough rooms".
"We are an educated family, and we will try to find [a] job, and we do not hurt any person, but for now we are facing the problem to find a house for six person," she said.
Hunter Tenants Advice Service coordinator Nicole Grgas has worked in the sector for more than two decades.
She said it was not uncommon for culturally and linguistically diverse families to live in larger multi-generational households, but that it could pose additional challenges.
"We frequently see landlords say only two people can live in a house that's got four bedrooms," Ms Grgas said.
"Which is really under-utilising these properties, but they can because they own the property and tenancy law says you can say how many people can ordinarily live there.
"A lot of our refugee families are extended families, or they have a large family complement and so that actually adds an added difficulty in the current climate."
'Historic trauma' triggered
Jawaid Pardehi is the Settlement, Families and Communities manager at Mosaic Multicultural Connections, which aims to support refugees and migrants.
Mr Pardehi recently moved to Newcastle and applied for more than 20 rental properties.
"I don't have any language barrier, I know the system very well," he said.
"So now you can imagine how difficult [it is] for those people, they don't know language, they don't know services."
Mr Pardehi said the housing crisis could affect the mental health of refugee families, who were sometimes forced to split up to secure a home.
"When they come here and find out they cannot live together, that historic trauma is again triggered," he said.
"Children not focusing on school while they study, when the parents go for English class, they don't concentrate on the English class … they don't communicate well with the wider community.
"They are not feeling happy living in their houses, just because they are not living together."
Calls for change
In New South Wales, there are no enforcement guidelines on what information can be collected and accessed in a rental application form.
The NSW government recently appointed its first rental commissioner, aiming to reform the market.
The state's housing minister Rose Jackson said eligible refugees on permanent visas were able to apply for government-managed social housing properties across the state.
"Everyone has a role to play when it comes to ensuring people can access safe and secure housing," she said.
"We want to make it clear — if you're struggling, we can find you a safe place to sleep while we work on building more homes to tackle long-term homelessness."
Ms Grgas said discrimination was something that happened in the rental sector, but a lack of regulation in the application process made it difficult to prove.
She said there needed to be greater regulation "where everybody is required to provide the same information, [and] the same information is taken into account".
Mr Pardehi said standardising the process will allow service providers to improve how they support refugees in finding homes.
"Leasing agency is actually not giving us direct feedback on why they refuse to give that house," he said.
"We don't have access directly to owners to explain to them and to educate them about the refugee journey."
As Mr Yousofzai continues to apply for rental properties, he believes government intervention is the solution to the housing crisis.
"It's really good decision for Australian government, they help the people that really struggling overseas," he said.
"But some of the problems at the inside, like housing problems, they can fix that.
"Every issue has a solution."
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