Lane Cove mayor’s plan to turn empty homes waiting for redevelopment into emergency housing for women, children

Empty homes waiting to be redeveloped could be turned into temporary shelters for women and children fleeing domestic violence as part of a council plan to address Sydney’s emergency housing shortage.

Empty homes waiting to be redeveloped could be turned into temporary shelters for women and children fleeing domestic violence as part of a council plan to address Sydney’s emergency housing shortage.

A bold approach to provide a boost to the amount of readily available crisis accommodation is on the cards as the NSW Government scrambles to build thousands of new social housing homes for families and households in need.

Lane Cove Mayor Scott Bennison wants the council to contact owners of homes that are vacated for residential redevelopment projects such as knock down rebuilds.

He said the proposal would involve entering into agreements to use the properties as temporary housing before they are demolished.

“There’s a time period after a development application is approved before it’s knocked down which can often be around six months so we’d say to owners who have moved out ‘can we let that house for a limited period’,” he said.

Empty homes could be turned into crisis accommodation as part of the proposal.

“It could benefit women fleeing domestic violence and also suit families who may not be able to pay their mortgage and are kicked out of their home.

“Not everyone will say yes but it’s saying we have a crisis, our refuges are full, and it’s the ability to free up those houses temporarily to give people a breather and somewhere to stay.”

The proposal has been backed by five Lane Cove councillors – meaning it has the majority support required to be passed at Lane Cove’s next council meeting this week.

The proposal would involve agreements with homeowners before residential development works take place.

The proposal could also involve the council seeking agreements with developers who purchase properties that remain vacant during pre-development stages.

Mr Bennison said it was intended that property owners would not incur any costs or liabilities and that the council would work with housing agencies on logistics such as proving furniture and lease agreements.

“We’d like to see a situation where the homes are potentially provided rent free and if it’s successful it could be a blueprint for other local government areas as well,” he said.

Lane Cove Mayor Scott Bennison.

“There’s a misconception that because Lane Cove is an affluent area there aren’t people in need in our community, but there are families in our postcode that don’t have housing or food and it could capture those people and allow them that chance to get on their feet again.”

Yvette Vignando, chief executive of north shore non-profit Mary’s House which supports women and children experiencing domestic and family violence, said the Lane Cove proposal had merit but cautioned it may not provide a silver bullet to Sydney’s emergency housing needs.

“It’s not just councils that should look at this, it’s also developers who often have homes standing empty for 12-24 months and don’t want them to be tenanted because of factors such as cost,” she said.

Mary's House CEO Yvette Vignando.

“The caution is that it’s quite resource intensive to set up a house to be both comfortable and safe for women and children who have come out of crisis and are usually in trauma and often leave their homes with nothing.

“Because of the resources involved, ideally there would be a minimum of six months for a house to be available.

“But the concept itself is brilliant and if there’s a home that’s fully furnished it’s better to put that to use than have a woman sleeping in her car which is what usually happens.”

The proposal comes after the NSW Government announced plans to spend $5.1 billion over the four years to build 6200 additional social and affordable homes across the state.

More than 57,000 NSW families are currently on waiting lists for social housing with waiting time in some parts of Sydney topping 10 years.