Amanda Mentiplay has seen firsthand how rents have risen in regional Australia.

The 53-year-old and her two children live in Norlane, a northern suburb of Victoria's regional city Geelong, in a four-bedroom house with two bathrooms.

While it is the ideal size for her family, it has some problems, including poor insulation, peeling paint and broken windows.

But Ms Mentiplay, a part-time worker, said she loved her "quirky house" and wanted to stay.

"We couldn't get anything similar to what we have here for less than at least 500 bucks a week," she said.

Yet in the four years she has lived there, her rent has climbed twice, initially costing $350 a week and now reaching $400.

While she said she could afford the jump, she cautioned that if the rent continued to rise, she would have no ch

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