Ross Picton, living out of his car, another human face of the exponential growth in Wagga homelessness

Still, Mr Picton has been unable to find anywhere affordable to rent.

"I've put in for 50 houses and apartments, and still haven't got one," he said.

"Salvos gave me a tent, but when you work late nights like I do, you usually end up sleeping in the car. There's people out here that are homeless, that are working - I don't get it."

Mr Picton said he became homeless after a run of bad luck. He was rendered unable to work for a period after a car accident, and had both his money and identity stolen in a phishing scam.

Part of the problem he is facing getting back on his feet a reported lack of housing supply. Experts say low vacancy rates are driving up costs for buyers and renters alike.

But Mr Picton faces an additional barrier - his therapy dog, Buckets.

"I can't go to charity places to stay because I've got her, but a blind person can take their dog in," he said.

"What's the difference? If you've got an assistance dog for mental health - and I've got certificates from doctors and everything to say I have to have her.

"Before I had her, I was taking uppers and downers to control my anxiety, now I take nothing. The dog controls that - she's trained to do it."

Mr Picton is just one of the exponentially-growing number of people experiencing homelessness in Wagga.

Local service providers report 563 people seeking specialist services - more than double the 251 reported in the 2021 census - a Homelessness NSW report shows. The census in turn showed numbers had more than doubled in the five years prior.

The data indicates 21.5 per cent of people experiencing homelessness were employed, suggesting the effects of the cost of living crisis are driving people to the wall.

Director of Macarthur Real Estate Agency Mark Macarthur said part of the challenge is balancing the needs of people who need housing, and those who own it.

He said while he might put someone like Mr Picton forward as as a good applicant to an owner, they are under no obligation to accept him.

"From a landlord's perspective, if it's a pet that is suited to its environment, then a lot of landlords will say that's fine. But if you have two dogs in an apartment for example, that's where you start to run into problems," he said.

"We had a tenant recently that had a dog they weren't allowed, and now there's animal faeces through the carpet ... the owner had to go through and fork out $40,000 for repairs.

"If there's people we can see that have good references, can afford the rent, have a dog, and the place is appropriate, we have no problem putting them forward to a landlord ... but they get the final say."

All three major parties campaigned on reform around pets in rentals in the recent state election. Prior to forming government, the Labor party said landlords should be compelled to give reasons to applicants that are rejected for having a pet.

Minister for Fair Trading and Better Regulation Anoulack Chanthivong said these reforms were still on the table, and would be looked at.

"Renters are under extreme pressure in a tight market, but they're also saddled with unfair and outdated rules that make life even harder," he said.

"A lack of pet friendly rentals is creating even more pressure for renters across the state - it's a serious barrier to people looking for a new home.

"We're consulting on reforms to modernise the system, including making it easier to have pets for renters. This consultation will give people across the state a voice on what they think of changes to improve stability and fairness in the current rental environment and into the future."

Mr Macarthur said while he understood the need for reforms like these, he was concerned there would be unintended consequences from hastily conceived legislation.

He said landlords could be driven out of the market, reducing the supply of rental properties.

"When it comes to pets, it's hard to make blanket rules," he said.

"It's a bit of a slippery slope ... for a landlord who has provided money into an investment, that's their most valuable asset.

"Then if you go down the rabbit warren of differentiating animals, where does it stop?"

Mr Macarthur said there was definite need for government intervention and understands why people can't part with their animals. He said he would rather see more social housing in the system - both to take stress off the housing market, and give another option to people like Mr Picton.

But without changes to the rules, pets owners like Mr Picton are unlikely to get a look in. Unless reforms prevent real estate agents from asking whether people have pets in the first place, owners may find other reasons to overlook him.

"I have nothing - I have my dad's car, and everything I own inside it, and Buckets," he said.

"I was actually told by a real estate agent to shoot her. To not have her, so I could get a place.

"How can they treat someone with a pet therapy dog like this? It's sad that a town like Wagga has no help for homeless. If you have a dog, you're basically on your own."

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