Homeless wait for more than 10 years for housing in the Riverland

HOUSING SA’s provision of urgent accommodation to Riverland residents has come under fire as statistics show wait times for some applicants is 10 years or more.

HOUSING SA’s provision of urgent accommodation to Riverland residents has come under fire as statistics show wait times for some applicants is 10 years or more.

The Advertiser can reveal 30 people in the Riverland have waited for a decade or longer for public housing and two people were classed as category 1 — the highest priority.

People classed in the most urgent category included those who were homeless or at risk of homelessness, and victims of domestic violence.

Overall, 324 Riverland residents were on the public housing waiting list as of June 30, up from 290 residents at the same time last year.

The Opposition, which obtained the statistics under Freedom of Information laws, said the large list and waiting times showed “something seriously wrong with the system”.

“Clearly, the Riverland’s lack of public housing is exacerbating the issues with homelessness,” Chaffey MP Tim Whetstone said.

“I’ve been out on patrols with local service groups who assist rough sleepers and it’s frightening to see how many people live on the river’s edge.”

Shelter SA determined the “southern region”, which included the Limestone Coast, Fleurieu Peninsula and Riverland, was the worst regional area for homelessness and about 3000 people sought help last year.

Shelter SA executive director Dr Alice Clark said the lack of public housing was widespread across the state.

“There is less housing in the regions and across the state and what we know is that public housing is the only affordable option for some of these people,” Dr Clark said.

About 20,500 people are on the public housing register across the state, despite some Housing Trust homes being vacant for more than a year, as revealed by The Advertiser in August.

Housing SA said the average wait time for tenants to be allocated a property in the country last financial year ranged from six to 12 months, depending on the applicant’s need.

This was compared to a wait time of seven months to two years in the city.

A spokesman said numerous factors contributed to waiting times, including that the area requested may have low vacancy rates, or lack of appropriate accommodation, such as a four-bedroom home for a family.

“In some cases the applicant may have been offered a property but refused it,” the spokesman said.

He said the two Riverland applicants deemed category one, which had waited for housing for 10 years or more, were originally classed as category three — people with housing affordability issues.

The applicants were listed in the most urgent category in 2013 and 2015.

He said Housing SA responded to category one applicants as “quickly as possible” and 89 per cent of housing allocations last financial year were to people with urgent needs.

He said if a property were not immediately available, they offered support services and financial help to enter into the private rental market, which included a bond and two weeks’ rent payments.