Is our public housing being wasted?

CRAIG WINTER

SOCIAL housing - otherwise known as ‘Housing Commission’ - generally gets a bad rap.

People who have never needed Department of Housing assistance view the tenants as rough, poor and possibly criminals.

The reality can be much different though.

The Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy provides homes to some of the most vulnerable people in our community, including a mixture of aged, ill and those on very low incomes.

There’s no secret to our current housing crisis with rental availability at an all time low (less than .4% in Maryborough) so when the public sees a Department house with two or more bedrooms being used by a single tenant, questions get asked.

The Sun approached the Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy to find out why we sometimes see singles in large houses.

“We balance our responsibilities as the landlord of a large property portfolio and as a frontline human services agency.” said a Department spokeperson.

“We do this by adopting a proactive and personcentred approach to social housing tenancy management and portfolio management.

“Properties may become under occupied due to changes in household circumstances, including when children leave the family home, when joint applicants separate or the death of a household member.” they said.

The Department’s policies do address the issue of under-occupied homes and make best use of the housing pool, but this needs to be tempered against the needs of the tenants.

The Department spokeperson said that they are ‘continuing to realign’ the social housing portfolio to best match the needs and requirements of the individuals and families on the Social Housing Register.

“The intent of the underoccupancy policy is to ensure that tenants are living in homes that meet their current needs and optimise the use of our social housing homes.

“Where a property is being underoccupied, the Department works with the tenant to determine their current and future needs and offers support to transition them into alternative social housing or into independent living in the private market if they no longer need social housing support.” they said.

This is a tricky juggling act where aged or ill clients can inadvertently be rehoused alongside ‘undesirables’, forcing them to cope with antisocial neighbours and harassment.

Tenants who have previously been living a peaceful and happy life with their spouses can find themselves suddenly relocated to a smaller unit once their partner dies.

Added to their grief can be the impact of a new home, in an unknown neighbourhood, cut off from their established

friends and support group.These are all things the Department needs to consider, and why sometimes it’s best to leave the single tenant in a two bedroom home where they can continue to live surrounded by some familiarity.

The State Government is currently investing $2.9 billion under the Housing and Homelessness Action Plan 2021-2025, including the establishment of a new $1 billion Housing Investment Fund.

According to the Department, this is the largest concentrated investment in our history. As part of the Action Plan, the Queensland Housing Investment Growth Initiative is promising to deliver accelerated social housing supply by commencing 6365 new social homes by 30 June 2025 and additional affordable homes.

This is in addition to the 2480 new social homes already commenced under the Queensland Housing Strategy.