Waterloo, Bankstown to the south coast, NSW’s notorious squatters
From million dollar mansions to western Sydney garages, squatters in NSW have moved into almost any empty housing they can find... and won the right to stay.
The South Coast News
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From garages to empty million dollar mansions, squatters have found their way into almost anything left vacant.
While most are moved on, some people have been allowed to remain at the property due to a quirky law.
In NSW a person can apply to gain the right to adverse possession of the property, commonly referred to as squatters’ rights, if they have remained in the same property for a minimum of 12 years.
We reveal some of NSW’s most notorious squatters.
BLACKTOWN SQUAT BURNS
Residents of a Blacktown housing commission in a western Sydney block, concerned squatters were taking over ground-floor garages, were shocked when one of the notorious squats was burned to the ground.
Squatters had been living in one of the garages when a 4WD burst into flames in 2019, putting five people from the apartments above in the hands of paramedics due to smoke inhalation.
But firefighters also discovered a mattress and barbecue were set up in one of the block’s garages amid putrid conditions.
Dozens of cigarette butts could be seen on the ground among broken glass, filthy clothing and takeaway food containers.
Police later confirmed people had been sleeping rough in the garage and had been ordered to move on following the fire.
A woman living at the garage’s corresponding unit said the group of young men had persistently returned for two years despite repeated attempts to get them out.
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REDEVELOPMENT OF WATERLOO
Waterloo’s notorious Joseph Banks block, one of the six housing department behemoths dubbed ‘Suicide Towers’ by those living nearby, and notorious with squatters, has been earmarked for redevelopment.
Local government has said gentrification of the area and a greater police presence has lifted security and moved squatters on.
The six 70s-era blocks also became notorious due to the high number of suicides.
A decade ago, the Joseph Cook tower was barely half full, with its reputation for rampant drug use, drunks and violence too much for local residents.
The NSW Land and Housing Corporation has now lodged plans with the City of Sydney Council to build 3000 units in towers at Waterloo South, which is being revamped alongside a future metro rail station.
The plan is to relocate around 2500 residents to make way for a higher density mix of social, affordable and private homes.
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BILL GERTOS AND ASHBURY SQUATTER RIGHTS CASE
A squatter who scored a Sydney home for absolutely nothing sold it last year for an astounding $1.4 million.
Property developer and tax agent Bill Gertos rented out the Ashbury home, in the city’s inner west, for two decades and successfully claimed legal ownership after winning a Supreme Court appeal.
The three-bedroom home became property of Mr Gertos due to the quirky law which allows for individuals to be granted ownership of properties they have openly occupied for more than 12 years without permission of the owners.
After discovering the home in 1998 while visiting a client on the same street, Mr Gertos occupied it for the next 19 years before making an application in 2017 to claim squatter’s rights with the NSW Registrar-General.
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BELLEVUE HILL MANSION
In 2019 a bunch of brazen squatters were busted living and partying in a $6 million eastern suburbs mansion while the oblivious owners were overseas.
Five men aged in their 20s moved into the luxury Bellevue Hill house with its five bedrooms, three bathrooms, theatrette and pool after seeing it empty.
They were sprung when plumbers arrived at the Streatfield Road address to do some prearranged maintenance work.
One of the youths claimed they were friends of the owners and were looking after the place.
But when asked the owners’ name they gave the answer Smith, which was the previous occupant’s surname, and nothing like that of the current owners who were away in Hong Kong.
Four of the five squatters fled the property before the police could apprehend them.
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OAKLANDS HOMESTEAD TARGETED BY SQUATTERS
A historic house in Sydney’s north became the target of squatters last year.
The Oaklands homestead dates to the 1920s, and is tucked into bush at Warriewood, on Sydney‘s northern beaches.
In 2015 developers Warriewood Vale Pty Ltd bought the land and submitted plans to develop 81 apartments and townhouses.
While the Northern Beaches Council rejected the application, NSW‘s Land and Environment Court reversed the decision in 2017, ruling it must be retained and upgraded.
Kristin Zindel, who lived in the property until 2017, said it had been trashed by squatters, with graffiti covering every room and the floorboards removed.
Walls were kicked in and doors and windows were shattered. Rubbish littered the historic property and there was evidence fires were being lit inside.
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COAST PROPERTY GOES TO SQUATTER’S KID
Two sons will inherited a Sydney house and a vacant block of land near Nowra after their mother assumed control over the land under squatters’ rights.
Kurt and Ralph Pauperis were made administrators of the properties in the Supreme Court of NSW late last year after their mother Lieselotte’s death.
Lieselotte first assumed control over the properties after the original owner died in the 1960s. There was no will and no one attempted to claim the property as part of the original owner’s estate.
She paid rates and rented out the Sydney property, however failed to make a claim under adverse possession to become the legal owner of the land before she died.
In 1988, Kurt moved into the Sydney property with his wife however the mother was recorded as the person responsible for the property. The couple also looked after the block of land near Nowra.
The couple applied to become the registered owners of the land under and successfully became the true owners of the land.
The court held Lieselotte intended to maintain possession of the property, and her ownership interest passed to Kurt as the deceased’s executor.
“Possession is a legal concept. A person who has possession of land is entitled at law to exclude others from the property, and to resist being excluded by anyone else, apart from a person having better title at law … the deceased [Mrs Pauperis] manifested an intention to assume dominion over the properties to the exclusion of others,” Justice Guy Parker said.
PENRITH CARPARK OVERRUN
Judges Place carpark in Penrith’s CBD has been turned into a makeshift home a number of times over the years.
The latest incident saw close to 20 people occupy a section of the carpark with mattresses, chairs and barbecues in 2018, sparking concerns from residents and local shopkeepers.
Administration errors with Centrelink to hard luck stories saw the unemployed and homeless seek refuge in the Penrith carpark.
In 2018, for the first time, Wentworth Community Housing, Christ Mission Possible, Platform Youth Services, NSW Family and Community Services Housing, Housing NSW and Mama Lana’s Community Foundation worked to devise a plan to rehome the homeless.
The six-week plan was based on the successful work of Canada’s Iain De Jong, who started The Homeless Hub.
Wentworth Community Housing community services divisional manager Jenny Ranft said the agencies strived to ensure the people were treated with dignity.
It involved building trust, sourcing temporary and permanent housing, individual needs assessments and visual prompts such as council signs.
“Nobody chooses to be homeless but people do adapt to being homeless,” Ms Ranft said.
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