House fires disproportionately kill public tenants

Tenants in public housing are much more likely to die in preventable house fires than residents in private homes, previously unpublished data has revealed.

A social housing regulation review, finalised in May 2022 but published by the state government only two weeks ago, listed fire safety as a key issue that was imperative to fix for the most vulnerable Victorians.

Residents of housing commission flats in Fitzroy were evacuated after a fire on the sixth floor in 2017.Credit: Justin McManus

Fire Rescue Victoria data contained in the report revealed that six of 44 deaths in preventable house fires were in public housing between June 2016 and September 2021, amounting to about 14 per cent of fatalities. Public housing makes up just 2.5 per cent of residential stock.

But over-representation of blazes in social housing could be worse than the data makes clear because fires in community housing are not sufficiently recorded to be counted.

Social housing is an umbrella term for public housing, which is owned and managed by the state government, and community housing, which is managed and possibly owned by not-for-profit groups.

The review recommended a regulator monitor fire safety in all social housing, require providers to assess fire risk for every tenant, and record and make findings on fires that occur. The government last month accepted this recommendation in full.

“Social housing providers and the regulator should pay particular attention to fire safety risks and building safety in general, since building factors and tenant factors jointly contribute to the risk and severity of fires,” the report said.

A seventh tenant died in a public housing fire in the overlapping period between June 2016 and June 2021, Homes Victoria, which sits within the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing, also told the reviewers. The department was unable to immediately confirm the reason for the discrepancy, which may have been because that fire was not deemed preventable.

Another 14 people were injured in 800 public housing fires over the five-year period, which caused a combined $60 million in damage.

Almost half the fires were accidents, 8 per cent were deliberately lit and another 25 were suspicious. The rest were listed as “unknown”.

Stoves and other cooking appliances accounted for more than a quarter of the fires. Faulty electrical appliances or wiring, smoking and candles were among other common causes. Hoarding, chronic illness, old age, and mental and physical disability were also factors.

Victorian Public Tenants Association chief executive Katelyn Butterss said she was not surprised by the data, given the state of public housing.

“What we see is the most vulnerable people most often put through public housing, which is in an older, less maintained condition than a lot of the new community housing stock,” she said.

The publicly managed properties often do not comply with new minimum rental standards, which are triggered only when a home is re-let, because of the low turnover rate in public housing. The panel recommended a date be nominated to bring the homes into line with the rules, which the government supported in principle.

Community Housing Industry Association Victoria acting chief executive Jason Perdriau said the not-for-profit sector upheld fire safety obligations and that safety was its top priority. The association welcomed the recommendation to improve records for social housing fires.

Fire Rescue Victoria said the service was working to improve safety for at-risk groups.Credit: Paul Rovere

A state government spokesman said work had already been done to enhance resident voices in decision making and improve the liveability of existing social housing.

“Everyone has the right to live in safe and secure housing and that’s why we’ve taken steps to improve the fire safety of social housing, including the removal of combustible cladding and retrofitting fire detection and sprinkler systems.”

Greens public and affordable housing spokeswoman Gabrielle de Vietri said the fire statistics were disturbing and exposed the state government’s abdication of its duty of care to public housing residents.

“Labor should be ashamed of themselves,” she said.

Opposition Leader Brad Battin said Labor needed to explain why the tenants lost their lives in preventable fires at such a disproportionately high rate.

“Every Victorian deserves the dignity of a safe, secure and affordable roof over their head.”

Fire Rescue Victoria said the analysis up to 2021 remained current. A spokesman said the service was working to improve safety for at-risk groups because of the over-representation of public housing tenants in house fire injuries and deaths.

“They may also meet other ‘at-risk’ criteria and, of particular concern, is the fact that 62 per cent of people who die in home fires in Australia have a disability,” he said.

“FRV also advocates for fire safety improvements by engaging with government, public and private sectors and by actively supporting better safety requirements in building standards.”

London’s Grenfell fire in 2017, which started from an electrical fault in a fridge, killed 72 tenants in the 24-storey tower and made fire safety in public housing a global debate.

The state government commissioned the review in 2020 as part of its $5.3 billion Big Housing Build commitment to create 12,000 new social and affordable homes, which has been delayed three years and altered to cut costs.

Of 44 recommendations, the government supported 20 in full, 20 in principle or in part, rejected three, and deferred its decision on another.

Lack of maintenance was the top concern for residents, particularly in relation to mould, broken windows or rotting frames, vermin and disrepair in common areas. But they were often fearful of pushing for repairs.

Review panel chair David Hayward, an emeritus professor of public policy and social economy at RMIT University, welcomed the government’s response and said the resulting work would centre the needs of vulnerable tenants.

“They’re powerless. They have no choices if things go wrong. It would be reasonable for them to not want to complain,” Hayward said. “Their alternative is homelessness.”

One tenant told the reviewers: “I didn’t feel like I had rights. I never felt that I was respected whilst living in housing. I never felt like I had a voice. I felt like nothing was done.”

The government rejected a separate recommendation to develop regulations for affordable housing, which is a growing sector.

The panel said there was no data about the subsidies for affordable housing providers, and it was unclear whether there was “any form of independent scrutiny to ensure the intended public benefits are delivered”.

“The thing that worries me the most with affordable housing, more than anything else, is making sure that the public money isn’t lost,” Hayward said.

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