With no exceptions, her rental applications have all gone ignored.
Annie, who asked for her real name to be withheld due to privacy concerns, told 9news.com.au that while her rental history was excellent, she suspected she was being discriminated against because of her general circumstances.
A screenshot showing the bond question being asked in a rental application form. (9News)"I'm a single mum. I have four kids, and one has a severe disability, so I'm on a carers payment," she said.
"I knew it would be a battle to find a new rental, but I've got a great reference from my current agent, who I've been with for almost four years. I've always paid my rent in full and on time and I've never been blacklisted.
"I was hoping that yes, OK, I might have a few things that people might turn their nose up to, but they would see that I'm a good tenant."
As her rental applications continued to fall flat, Annie said she never thought she would find out exactly why she was being rejected - until she got a call from a real estate agent last week.
The real estate agent noted Annie had ticked 'yes' in her rental application to a question about whether she would be using a government RentAssist loan to cover her bond.
"I chose in my applications to answer 'yes' to this question," Annie said.
"I can afford to move without using this but figured just in case if life happens then I still want to maintain some savings in my account."
Renters are being asked if they plan to use the government's RentAssist scheme to help pay for their bond. (iStock)Annie said the real estate agent then made a blunt admission.
"She told me that agents prioritise full-paying applicants over part-paying applicants and told me that this is why I have not even been processed for the rentals that I had been applying for.
"She mentioned that full-paying applicants are put into category A and that category B (part-paying applicants) will only ever be processed or considered if there are only category B applicants that have applied for the property."
The real estate agent told Annie she would submit her application to the landlord if she could provide proof she was able to pay for her bond in full.
With her current rent having gone up by $140 a week in the last 18 months, Annie said she needed to move out and agreed to pay the bond upfront if it meant securing a new property.
However, she said she was outraged at the unfairness of the situation and believed real estate agents and RentTech platforms shouldn't be allowed to ask the question.
"This shows that agents are finding ways to discriminate against anyone accessing this government assistance … it's being weaponised against them," Annie said.
"If they're constantly just being denied on the basis of that, they're not being given a fair chance and are going to end up homeless."
Ben Cording, a lawyer from Tenants Victoria, said there was nothing stopping real estate agents or RentTech platforms from asking whether potential tenants planned to use government assistance to pay their bond under the state's rental laws.
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It was legal for real estate agents to decide who to offer a rental property to based on their answer to that question, he said.
Current legislation only prevents rental providers or agents from asking four things. Firstly, they can't ask rental applicants about whether they've ever taken any legal action against a rental provider or responded to an action or dispute against them.
Secondly, they can't ask about their rental bond history, including whether a claim has ever been made against their bond.
It is also illegal to ask for a bank statement showing daily transactions. While they can ask for a statement as proof of income, any other transactions can be redacted.
Finally, they can't ask about any personal attributes protected by anti-discrimination laws, like an applicant's ethnicity, gender identity or disability. If they do ask, they must provide a written explanation justifying the request.
These protections were drafted back in 2018 and there were some loopholes that needed be addressed, Cording said. This includes the type of questions asked on rental application forms. He said that applicants should really only be asked to show they could pay the rent and look after the property.
"It's certainly an area that needs to be tightened up. We're seeing these issues not only with single parents and others eligible for support but also in family violence cases."
"We've had to tell some people, 'Don't talk about where your bond's coming from until after you've signed the rental agreement.' We want people to be able to freely use rent bond loan assist programs without feeling that there's going to be some sort of retaliation."
Cording said renters were often forced to answer these questions when filling out online rental application forms. "You can't get that through the application without answering yes or no - it doesn't let you proceed."
"A savvy person might lie and then get consent after they've got the agreement, but people shouldn't be forced into that situation. What we need is a system where people have fair access to an essential service. Where you get your bond from shouldn't stop you from getting access to safe and secure housing."
*Name has been changed.
