**Housing Solutions Explored Through Boarding Arrangements in Australia** In February 2024, Ellen Linke opened her home to Anoop Thapliyal, a newly hired chef at the Portland Memorial Bowling Club. With no formal agreement or house rules, their arrangement was based solely on trust. "I thought, well, if he's good enough to be employed by them, I think I can offer him a place," Linke said. This decision provided Thapliyal with immediate housing after relocating from Abu Dhabi to country Victoria. Thapliyal felt comfortable living with a stranger. "The very first day when I talked to her, I just realized that she's a really nice lady, so I was depending on that thing only," he explained. His wife, Renu, later joined him, and by October, they had secured their own rental. Beris Campbell, who helped establish the peak body for homesharing in Australia and New Zealand, believes that boarding could be beneficial for both hosts and boarders, especially when facilitated through a paid service. "Being a matchmaker is a very skilled and difficult, challenging situation because you are trying to bring people to live together," Campbell said. Jacinta Duffy, who runs a business that vets and supports boarding arrangements, noted that her father might have lived longer if boarding had delayed his move to residential aged care. "I'm swamped with people who want to be home companions," she said, highlighting the growing demand for affordable housing options. According to census analysis by Queensland University of Technology's Lyndall Bryant, Australia has approximately 13 million spare bedrooms. Bryant, who leads the university's Housing Security Research Group, stated that boarding is a "real grey area" that requires clearer regulations and tax incentives to encourage older Australians to host boarders. "There's no silver bullet for the housing crisis, but every little piece will help," Bryant said. The federal government aims to construct an average of 240,000 homes annually until 2029, but current completion rates are lagging. Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Michele Bullock emphasized that the housing crisis is not solely about supply but also about "declining household size." Research from property analyst Cotality revealed that most houses have at least three bedrooms, while many households consist of fewer than three people. Eliza Owen, the company's Australian head of research, suggested that incentivizing downsizing could help address this issue. However, boarding arrangements come with risks. Ben Cording, a lawyer with Tenants Victoria, pointed out that private boarding situations are not covered by the Victorian Residential Tenancies Act, which outlines obligations for renters and landlords. "The key defining difference for those two things is what's called exclusive possession," he explained. Cording advocates for amendments to housing laws to protect boarders from potential exploitation. "There's got to be a balance that we want people to be hospitable, but we also want to absolutely make sure that we're not exposing people who have no other alternative to housing to be exploited," he said. The Victorian Minister for Housing did not respond to requests for comment regarding these issues.