NSW Govt driving sky-high rental prices
Another stuff up from the minister for people having no rights – Linda Burney
The NSW Government’s Housing Department, Housing NSW is driving the lower end of the property rental market skywards -and subsidising some shonky landlords while doing so. Many older, low income people, including those who accept #wageslavery rates and have been in long term boarding houses are being asked to vacate as Housing NSW acquires leases over rooms, low-cost motels and cheap units -creating homelessness.
A recently homeless man reports that, according to his landlord his room was needed to fill Housing NSW’s shortage -and they were prepared to pay top rates for it,well above his current rent. Many who have been put into short term,housing funded rooms & motels report bedbugs, filthy communal shower facilities, dangerous appliances in kitchens at the places Housing NSW send them to. Do Housing NSW check these premises, prior to paying above market rentals using your tax dollars?
Another disturbing report from a man placed in Edward Eagar Lodge as transitional accommodation – again at a premium to what the Uniting Church run business charity previously charged. Room again replete with bedbugs. Edward Eagar is also well known to us as a specialist in exploiting homeless and marginalised people as income generators, and attempting to keep them rotating from one related income generator unit to the next. Their building is well past its use-by date, reportedly badly maintained, cockroach infested -and NSW Housing puts people here at top dollar-using your money.
Delving further, we find that Housing NSW is now part of Human Services with Linda Burney as Minister.
Housing NSW is the biggest owner of residential property in NSW, and the biggest tenant of residential properties, when its network of NGOs is taken into consideration. Again, despite assurances from government, these properties are being leased at huge premiums to the local market -driving property rentals up, and private tenants out of the market.
We have found that Housing NSW has contracted certain realtors only to provide these houses. We ask why Housing NSW does not rent on the open market, from other independent realtors , or private investors ? Why are Housing NSW not checking Health & Residential Tenancy compliance on Rooms, Motels etc?
17/05/2010
SydneyHomeless
Sydney Homeless 
6 responses to “NSW Housing; Govt driving sky-high rental prices”
Rosaria
August 22nd, 2013 at 12:29
Good day! This post could not be written any better!
Reading this post reminds me of my good old room mate!
He always kept chatting about this. I will forward this write-up to
him. Pretty sure he will have a good read. Many thanks for sharing!
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September 13th, 2012 at 18:27
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Patricia Hooker
January 27th, 2011 at 07:59
What I don’t get is that while people are homeless I know a man who claimed to have a brain tumour to get a house at windsor.His claim was that he only had a certain amount of time before he died and he needed that accomodation to have access to his children. What housing didn’t know was the man moved his partner and 2 children into the housing place the day he got it and then his partner got pregnant again and had a 3rd child in july last year. But it’s ok people his partner made out that she was living at the central coast and had the baby at hunter hospital toa authenticate the fact that they are not “together” . Theses people have taken accomodation from people who really need it and all because he throws a tantrum and claims that his “brain tumour” is at a dangerous level. I also know of several people who live by themselves and are in 3 to 4 bedroom houses when there are families who would be better off in those houses instead. Where’s the justice in that? Where’s the dept of housing working to improve the lives of the homeless? And further more I can’t get my disabled 24yr old son a place and have been told he has to wait 10yrs before they even look at getting him a house. Yet I watched a woman up the road kick her just turned 16 yr old out into the street and that child is getting emergency help in 2yrs. What a joke…….
fred
June 8th, 2010 at 15:13
Whats even more tragic about this shocking story and independent views supporting that this story is true is the fact that this is supposed to be a democracy and Labor is supposed to be for the battler!!!!
This rhetoric would be hilarious if the situation wasnt so dire! I sincerely hope that the good people of Canterbury vote Ms Burney out in right royal fashion!
If THAT woman got 10 votes from friends as the sum total of election votes that would be sweet justice at long last.
nchristiana
May 17th, 2010 at 22:30
I am homeless single female, and have had this same disgusting experience at a motel I was sent to by Housing NSW for emergency temporary accommodation.
Apart from the filth and unsafe power points literally hanging out of the walls, I was treated like a second rate citizen by the staff and stalked by some other man who worked there who claimed to be “the security guard”.
You can’t speak up or complain because on the last page of the agreement Housing NSW has with this motel is a clause that basically says if your behavior is not to the liking of the temporary accommodation provider (the motel) they can kick you out, report you to Housing NSW and potentially you can be blacklisted. I thought stability and safety would be paramount in helping a homeless person escape the cycle of homelessness….. ???
The only positive note here is that NSW Housing pay less per night for this particular motel than it’s online rates, not sure though if other charity run services use this motel or what they pay.
I took photo’s of the motel in question and will post them to my blog….when I find somewhere stable to live.
sydneyhomeless
May 18th, 2010 at 12:18
The fact that Housing NSW pay less than the internet advertised rate is blurred by the reality that almost everyone pays less than the “official” internet rate.Many motels,particularly at the upper end of the market, publish their standard rates table on their own website at rates of up to 50% higher than market price- then allow bookings agents, who drive sales, to sell at what appears to be a discount. This would probably be the rate housing pay.
It is in nobodys interests for NSW Housing to pay less, if your personal safety is compromised.In addition, their placement of “emergency” clients in physically dangerous or unhealthy housing is not only unacceptable, but possibly illegal.
The Housing Agreement (which sounds like one which I have not seen) seems weighted in their favour, unacceptably onerous,and threatening (blacklisting.)
Housing NSW have not been able to confirm to us that the blacklist exists, will not tell you if you are on it,and will not specify what criteria are set to “become a blacklisted person.”
If you are pregnant, or have a baby in the near future , I would suggest NOT having the child in NSW. NSW governments “whole of government” approach makes it likely that your future child will be #StateAbducted at birth- even in 5 years time, under current conditions. If you currently use a HomelessnessYouth or Family Services “Social Worker” the info they collect can & will be used against you- sometimes in distorted form, in a Court where you don’t have the option of knowing who made the report,or questioning them-
Be Safe & Take Care