Separated couples forced to keep living together amid housing crisis

For the past four months, Robyn Symes's family home has felt like a financial prison.

When her marriage of almost 15 years abruptly collapsed in December, the Gold Coast mother of two started searching for a rental.

But despite a revolving door of house inspections and more than 50 applications, her hunt has been fruitless.

And most rentals are outside her price range anyway.

"While I'm paying a mortgage, I physically can't afford $700 a week," Ms Symes said.

Instead, Ms Symes has been forced to navigate the painful process of separation and mediation while living under the same roof as her ex.

"There's no real space for either one of us to heal," she said.

"It's been the hardest and darkest four months I've ever experienced."

'They simply don't have any other options'

Ms Symes is among a growing number of Australians continuing to live alongside their ex because of the housing crisis.

According to Relationships Australia, there has been a "significant increase" in this trend nationally in recent years.

Federal court data has also shown a gradual rise in the number of divorce applicants reporting they are continuing to live with their ex-partner post-separation, from 15 per cent in 2020-21 to 19 per cent in 2024-25.

Ruth Jeffers, a family law partner with firm Robbins Watson, said this was likely just the tip of the iceberg, with housing pressures impacting people of every age and gender.

"The property market, particularly on the Gold Coast and particularly since the pandemic, is really challenging," she said.

Couples fear losing 'bargaining power'

The Gold Coast currently has a vacancy rate of just 1 per cent, and has recently surpassed Sydney as Australia's most expensive rental market.

The city's property prices have outpaced every capital, jumping 80 per cent in just five years.

But this housing boom extends beyond the Gold Coast.

Ms Jeffers said many Australians were leaving relationships only to find they had been priced out of their own neighbourhood.

Others were choosing to continue living with their ex because of fears they could lose "bargaining power" if they moved out.

"The person who remains may be less inclined to negotiate, while the person who has moved out may experience tremendous cost, pressure and competition in attempting to secure a property," Ms Jeffers said.

Cohabitation makes financial sense but carries 'ongoing risk'

Relationships Australia national executive officer Nick Tebbey said, given the current economic climate, it was increasingly making "financial sense" for separated couples to continue living under the same roof.

He said this was often for a finite period, while couples sorted out the division of assets or child-custody arrangements.

However, he warned this cohabitation could come with significant challenges, and it was crucial ex-partners set clear expectations from the beginning.

"Know how you're going to deal with issues of finances when conflicts arise. And make sure your children understand what's happening," Mr Tebbey said.

He said there was also an "ongoing risk" of people staying in unsafe living situations because of housing pressures.

'There's a lot of tension'

Ms Symes never dreamed she would be in this situation.

"I don't know if this is going to be a three-week process, a four-month process, or an 18-month process," she said.

"There's been days that I've got to work, and I've just bawled my eyes out."

She said co-parenting her two sons with her ex had also become increasingly fraught.

"Often the children don't know who to go to for what answer," she said.

But as a home owner on a middle-class wage, Ms Symes knows there are many other Australians even more desperate than her.

"How are other people that have younger children, children with disabilities [or] multiple children … finding anywhere to live?" she said.