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Warren Wheeler is adamant the housing system is broken and says NSW government policies further entrench disadvantage for social housing tenants.
The Illawarra and South Coast Tenants Advice and Advocacy Service team leader said policies such as the bedroom tax, where tenants with spare rooms were forced to pay higher rent, were designed to get more money out of public tenants who could ill afford it.
‘‘The policies place the onus on social housing tenants to kind of dig Housing NSW out of this financial problem they have found themselves in ... and we don’t think that is appropriate,’’ Mr Wheeler said.
The service has made a submission to the NSW Parliament’s Public, Social and Affordable Housing Inquiry, arguing that new policies introduced by Family and Community Services Minister Pru Goward have forced tenants to pay more.
Mr Wheeler said one of the worst policies implemented was the rent increase.
‘‘Traditionally Housing NSW would put out rent increases based on a valuer’s report. Now valuers have been told not to take into account that the properties are social housing properties and to value them at market rate,’’ he said.
‘‘As a result we have had tenants in social housing get rent increases of up to $150 a week. Now, $150 a week is a lot out of anyone’s budget, let alone someone struggling on a limited budget.’’
A case in point is Warilla resident Judith Harrington.
Last September she was informed her rent was going up by 30per cent, jumping from $260 to $340 a week.
Ms Harrington, who has lived in the Warilla house for 14 years, is fighting the rent increase in the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal. The tribunal recently ruled in her favour, but Housing NSW has appealed the decision.
Mr Wheeler said the service also used its submission to ask the government to increase funding for property maintenance and repairs, invest in social and affordable housing stock, and ensure funds from the sale of public housing stock are reinvested into existing stock or creating new stock.
Meantime, the Southern Joint Regional Planning Panel has deferred a decision on a proposed 18-storey affordable housing development in Auburn Street, Wollongong.
The project includes four levels of affordable housing and 10 levels of flats, above three commercial and retail floors, on a 2171-square-metre site.
Wollongong City Council staff recommended the $32million development be rejected as ‘‘contrary to the public interest’’ because it didn’t comply with the affordable housing policy’s floor space ratios.