Tenants at Brighton St, Biggera Waters unit block told to leave after it’s bought for social housing, insider says department a ‘shambles’

An insider claims a Gold Coast unit block debacle is just the tip of the iceberg at a government department buckling under the strain of a ballooning social housing crisis. READ WHAT THEY SAID

The Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy is a “complete and utter shambles”, is buying units for “astronomical amounts” and is struggling with an IT system that barely functions, a state government insider says.

The whistleblower, who until recently worked at the department, also said staff were under huge stress and suffering burnout as they struggled to deal with a ballooning social housing list.

As of June 2021, 27,933 applications had been made for public housing in Queensland. The ex-staffer said that figure had since blown out to 35,000.

The insider spoke out after the Bulletin revealed the department had sent eviction notices to battler residents of a unit block in Biggera Waters after buying it for $3.45m. Housing Minister Leeanne Enoch ordered officials to allow the tenants to stay after receiving Bulletin questions.

“The waiting list has blown out,” the ex-staffer said. “There are 35,000 people on the list.

“The poor battlers they tried to evict from those units, how were they ever going to find something with 35,000 on the waiting list?”

Housing minister Leeanne Enoch. Picture: Liam Kidston.

The whistleblower claimed the department owned big tracts of land, but was buying and selling existing properties while the land was left undeveloped: “All those (suburbs) that are going through the roof at the moment, they’re selling off the three-bedroom houses that they have in those areas, but they were failing to buy new stock.

“So the criticism came, ‘fine, you’re selling off this stuff for millions, but where’s the new stock?’ So then they’ve gone and done this stupid shit (buying the unit block at Biggera Waters).

“They have been buying up units in Fortitude Valley, really, really nice ones. Could you imagine if you paid $2m-3m on your penthouse and you have to get into a lift with someone who’s in the state? You’d be so angry.

“They bought (the units) up for astronomical amounts.”

The former employee also claimed the department had spent tens of millions of dollars on an IT system that “does not work”. “It’s mind-blowing,” they said. “The whole department has slowed down (as a result).

“It (the system) is called Reside. On the front line, the people who are actually trying to physically house people can’t do their job because the system is that slow.

“It’s a web-based system, but they can only have one page open at a time. They can’t store documents properly.

“The arse doesn’t know what the elbow is doing.”

The Brighton Waters building on Brighton St in Biggera Waters.

The whistleblower also said they were suffering “PTSD” from their time at the department, where staff were under enormous strain.

“We have a saying there, ‘I feel December’. It means that when December comes you’re so tired, you’re just in a heap.

“I spoke to a manager recently and they said to me, ‘I feel December’. And it’s only February.”

A spokesman for the Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy said the government was “committed to increasing social and affordable housing stock” and was spending $2.9bn “to address current and anticipated housing market conditions”.

“We are building, buying, refurbishing, and redeveloping social housing where it is needed,” the spokesman said.

TENANTS WORRY THEY’LL BE HOMELESS AFTER GOVERNMENT’S ANTI-SOCIAL MOVE

THE state government bought a unit block to help ease the city’s housing crisis.

But in order to give long-suffering vulnerable people a roof over their head, they issued eviction notices to fellow battlers who had nowhere else to go.

One resident even left the city.

In a stunning about turn following a series of Bulletin questions on Tuesday, Minister for Communities and Housing Leeanne Enoch told her department to “immediately halt” any further action against the tenants.

It brings to an end months of government and property manager letters and “tears” and “worry” for tenants of nine units in Brighton Street, Biggera Waters who feared they were about to be made homeless.

COMMENT: STATE GOVERNMENT DECISION THAT HAS LEFT RENTERS LIVING IN FEAR

The Brighton Waters building on Brighton St in Biggera Waters. Picture: Keith Woods.

The Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy bought the building for $3.45m on November 11.

Tenants – aged from their 40s to 80s – were told the following month that their homes would be used for social housing.

“The State of Queensland (represented by the Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy) is the ‘buyer’ for the properties at 1-9/3 Brighton Street, Biggera Waters,”

a letter from a department official read.

“The change of ownership will not affect your current lease contract. However, the State of Queensland has purchased the aforementioned properties of which you are the legal tenant/s with the intention of using these for social housing stock.”

The Brighton Waters building on Brighton St in Biggera Waters.

A source said the tenants, who had been on six-month contracts, later received letters informing them that their leases would not be renewed.

“Nearly all of them are on low incomes, long-term residents and stand little chance of finding affordable replacement rental properties in the current climate,” the source said.

“... My friend who lives there and is being evicted, can’t find anything, is worried sick, can’t sleep and is likely to be homeless soon.”

The average cost of rent for Biggera Waters units rose 16.2 per cent last year to $521 per week amid vacancy levels of just 0.6 per cent on the Gold Coast.

The Brighton Waters tenants, who were paying in the region of $400 a week, told the Bulletin they had been unable to source alternative rentals in the area.

“The people being forced out have all experienced the same thing, it’s not easy to get a place,” one tenant said.

“When I came to this place four years ago there were three or four people going for the same unit. Now it’s 20 or 30 people. There’s just nothing around.”

The man said he was hopeful he would find somewhere eventually, but older neighbours were out of options.

“My next door neighbour, she got to the point where she threw out all her furniture because she was moving down to NSW.

“She was in tears. On a scale of one to 10 of how upset she was, she was on 10.”

View from a balcony in the Brighton Waters building.

Another tenant said: “I pay exactly right every week, I think I am a good tenant. I look after the unit. I am always cleaning.

“It’s not fair.”

The woman said she had been unable to find anywhere else to live in the area.

“I don’t know where I’ll go,” she said. “I’m looking every day, I apply, but I either don’t get to inspect, the price is too high or it’s in very bad condition.”

Following inquiries from the Bulletin, Minister Enoch said she had told her department to “immediately halt” any further action against the tenants.

“I am extremely concerned at these reports,” Ms Enoch said.

“I have instructed my department to immediately halt any further action regarding these notices to leave, and to ensure they work closely with all remaining tenants regarding their individual circumstances.

“I have also asked the Director General to provide assurances that a situation like this is avoided in the future.”

Housing minister Leeanne Enoch. Picture: Richard Walker.

Bonney MP Sam O’Connor said he was shocked the state government had issued eviction notices to the tenants.

“People should not (be) punted from their homes by their government,” Mr O’Connor said.

“Ironically, with our private rental vacancy rates so low, this would have been likely to push these tenants onto the social housing wait list or tragically make them homeless.

“Finding housing is hard enough without the state government entering the market like this and evicting tenants.

“Buying properties like this does not solve our housing crisis. What we need is new social housing built on the Gold Coast.”

There are 4971 people on the social housing waiting list on the Gold Coast – up 40 per cent from 2940 in 2017.

In that time, the number of social housing bedrooms on the Gold Coast has risen 2.12% from 8178 to 8351.

Follow @keithjwoods