Tenants had a long wait until February to get more details about what they could expect. On February 18, 2016 Social Housing Minister Brad Hazzard spoke to a packed room of concerned Waterloo residents about the plans. Many welcomed the minister’s statement at the meeting that he would “absolutely guarantee” that people could move back to the area once redevelopment was completed. Other details – such as when tenants would be expected to move, when they can return, and what social services and infrastructure would be provided to support them – are yet to be announced.
Minister Hazzard stressed that the community would be consulted about major details of the plan. Redfern Legal Centre’s Inner Sydney Tenants’ Advice & Advocacy Service, along with many other organisations and tenants’ groups, hope that tenants will be consulted about the impacts that the decision could have on their welfare, health and community.
Any consultation should involve a comprehensive assessment of the social impacts of the decision, and a plan that allows tenants to maintain their ties to community. That consultation should also consider how the decision could impact on the housing system in general, and particularly on tenants outside of Waterloo who have been waiting significant lengths of time for transfers.
Although we welcome the guarantee of return for Waterloo residents, our experience advocating with tenants facing relocation raises some concerns about the Waterloo redevelopment plan.
We are concerned that there are no firm commitments to increase the number of public housing dwellings in Waterloo. Though Minister Hazzard has pledged an increase in social and affordable housing, he has not yet specified what percentage of housing would continue to be owned by the government.
The term “social housing” includes both public housing and community housing. Public housing refers to government-owned and managed properties, whereas community housing, and “affordable housing”, is run by non-government providers. Tenants in community housing often find their housing less secure and decisions of their landlords harder to challenge.
We have defended a large number of tenants at threat of eviction for no reason from affordable or community housing, a practice that is rarely if ever used in public housing. We oppose the trend towards the sale and transfer of public housing to community housing providers in the inner Sydney area. It is vital that links to community and services be maintained for tenants.
The rights and responsibilities of Housing NSW when they relocate tenants for redevelopment are set out in the Residential Tenancies Act and in Housing Policy. The Act says that Housing NSW can end a tenant’s lease if the tenant rejects offers to relocate.
However, tenants facing relocation also have rights – to be made reasonable offers that match what they need, to choose the area they relocate to, and to challenge decisions about their relocation if Housing do not follow the rules.
Lindsay Ash is a Solicitor at Inner Sydney Tenants’ Advice and Advocacy Service at Redfern Legal Centre
