St Albans Park homeowner tells of Aboriginal Housing Victoria issues

A fed-up homeowner claims he has been left mentally scarred and forced to sell due to the condition and ongoing issues of a decrepit social housing property next door.

Images of an Aboriginal Housing Victoria home in St Albans Park.

A fed-up homeowner claims he has been left mentally scarred and forced to sell due to the condition and ongoing issues of a decrepit social housing property next door.

Geelong’s Ben Slater, who purchased his St Albans Park house more than a decade ago, says he has been left “a shell of a man” after a six-year long battle to improve the condition of a neighbouring Aboriginal Housing Victoria (AHV) dwelling.

He claims it took more than two years for the service, which provides affordable housing for First Nations Victorians, to repair a dodgy gutter leaking water onto his property; with piles of rubbish, decaying wood and rats also a constant source of frustration.

Images of an Aboriginal Housing Victoria home in St Albans Park.

“Having to deal with a rotten facade and house and just having the most basic of requests for assistance and maintenance ignored has been an absolute nightmare,” he said.

“I have been completely ignored, it has affected my quality of life.”

Mr Slater has complained to the Housing Register of Victoria, which oversees AHV, and Housing Minister Harriet Shing, Geelong MP Christine Couzens and the Victorian Ombudsman.

“All of them simply wiped their hands with it,” he said.

“Trying to get anyone to even listen or acknowledge there is a problem here has just been shocking.

“I think there are major issues with maintenance and management of these houses by AHV, and social housing in general.”

Images of an Aboriginal Housing Victoria home in St Albans Park.

It’s believed complaints have also been made against another AHV home in nearby Dulcify St.

AHV provides social housing and manages tenancies for over 1700 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander households across the state.

A spokesman from the organisation said “we do not believe AHV is or has ever been in breach of our duties as the housing provider”.

“We have responded on multiple occasions, particularly over the last two years, to complaints from neighbours regarding overgrown grass, rubbish, leaking gutters and downpipes,” a statement read.

They claim they’ve provided the St Albans Park tenant, who has lived in the house since 2011, “with ongoing liaison” to remove rubbish and clean the yard.

“Multiple property inspections and commission of rectification works, including replacement cleaning of guttering/downpipes and tree pruning (have occurred) since August 2023,” the statement said.

The organisation’s services across the state cover all metro Melbourne, Barwon, Grampians and Western Victoria, Gippsland, Loddon and Mallee and Hume regions.

Originally published as St Albans Park homeowner tells of Aboriginal Housing Victoria issues