The number of Victorians evicted from their homes and seeking help from homelessness services has more than doubled in five years, during which time stamp duty collected by the state government almost doubled to $6 billion.

In the 2016-2017 financial year, 43,751 people sought assistance from charities and housing services because they had recently been evicted from their home, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. This was either through forcible eviction or rent or mortgage arrears.

The numbers have risen dramatically since 2012, when 17,930 people reported they had been evicted into homelessness.

Meanwhile, the amount of stamp duty collected by the state government during the same period rose from $3.77 billion to more than $6 billion. According to the mid-year state budget, the Victorian government is set to pocket $6.57 billion in stamp duty revenue this financial year.

The Council to Homeless Persons, the peak homelessness body in Victoria, said the two sets of figures were closely linked.

Chief executive Jenny Smith said higher rents flowed on from higher house prices, impacting people on low incomes.

“It is a high-income earner’s world,” she said. “It’s really a game of musical chairs and when the music stops, the poor are the ones without a roof over their head.

“If you have been evicted … it’s a black mark against you in terms of trying to compete with others for the small number of rentals that are available.”

Ms Smith said the rental market was more competitive than ever, partly because people saving for a house deposit were also seeking the most affordable rentals.

“That is then reducing the number of properties available to people on low incomes, because people on middle incomes are renting them to save money to get into the mortgage market.”

The median rent for a one-bedroom unit in metropolitan Melbourne is $360 per week while a two-bedroom flat has a weekly rent of $420, according to the latest Department of Health and Human Services rental report.

The cheapest areas to rent a two-bedroom flat are: Melton ($260), Pakenham ($280), Dandenong ($290), Werribee ($290) and Whittlesea ($290).

Mim, a 53-year-old youth worker, has spent months trying to secure a two-bedroom flat to share with her adult daughter.

Over the past two decades, Mim has lived in government housing and crisis accommodation. She also lived out of her car with her three children when she fled domestic violence. She now lives in temporary housing in Taggerty, south-east of Seymour, and drives two hours each way to work in Burwood.

Mim, a cancer and stroke survivor, has applied for 30 rental properties in the south-eastern suburbs since Christmas.

“It’s like going for a job interview but there’s a thousand job applicants,” she said. “It’s ridiculous, it’s so unfair.”

With a low income, casual job and a history in public housing, Mim has had no luck securing a private rental.

“If someone’s poor, we really judge them,” she said. “Part of the reason why people find it so hard to find housing is because there’s so much judgement and not much support.”

In its state budget submission, the Council to Homeless Persons called for the government to commit to building 14,500 social housing units over the next five years at an estimated cost of $3.8 billion.

Ms Smith said the state government had already announced a pipeline of 6000 social housing properties over the next five years, a welcome move, “however, given that we have 35,000 people on our public housing waiting list, we’re calling on the state government to recognise that stamp duty has done well, and to triple that investment”.

The Andrews government has committed to $2.1 billion to the social housing sector and $800 million to address homelessness and rough sleeping.

Housing minister Martin Foley said the government was making housing more affordable and helping vulnerable Victorians secure accommodation.

“We are also providing a much needed helping hand for those who find themselves in a difficult situation – to help them get their lives on track.”

But Mr Foley said a national approach was needed. “If the Turnbull government doesn’t finalise the national partnership of housing and homelessness, we face services being cut and more people being forced into homelessness.”

The federal government wants to introduce a new National Housing and Homelessness Agreement with state and territory governments, however it has not committed to any additional funding.