Ricci Bartels, from the Fairfield Migrant Resource Centre, said when the costs of living increase and the number of available houses decreases, migrants are the first to feel the pinch.

``We're finding often new arrivals are paying between 54 and 68percent of their income on rent, so they're often falling behind in utilities and accruing other debts,'' Ms Bartels said.

``It's the highest goal of migrants to secure their own home, so they're often the target of loan sharks and other irresponsible loan schemes. Only a few weeks ago a local came to the centre with a contract he was about to sign to own his own flat in Parramatta, but when we looked at the paperwork they'd asked him to sign it with no details like the price or the repayments on it, saying they'd fill in the details later.''

The Migrant Resource Centre recently launched its Tenancy Check DVD, which is dubbed in Dinca, Swahili, Kirundi, Sudanese Arabic and Arabic and available through the centre.

General manager at ACL Government Programs, Michael Cox, said housing difficulties facing new arrivals were being tackled through a partnership with the Integrated Humanitarian Settlement Strategy (IHSS), Immigration and Citizenship Department and Resolve FM.

``Resolve FM and ACL work closely with refugees, enabling the development of a tenancy reference for refugee families, which is crucial for them once they start applying for their own rental property,'' Mr Cox said.

Since 2005, the consortium has helped settle 375 refugee families in Fairfield and offers ongoing support with emergency accommodation, tenancy training on property care, maintenance and residents' rights as well as long-term housing.

Resolve FM and the Migrant Resource Centre are part of the newly formed Fairfield Housing Task Force, which aims to tackle the shortage of available housing as well as high repossession rates across the city.