Inside North Richmond’s housing commission flats that residents say are ‘worse than prison’

Fed-up residents of North Richmond’s housing commission flats say it’s “worse than prison” as they weather death threats and open air drug dealing and usage. Take a look inside.

Living in Melbourne’s troubled housing commission flats is just bearable at the best of times.

But when residents are forced to dodge syringes, drug users, rubbish and urine in their own hallways, living in the high-rise towers is “worse than a prison”.

Long-term residents of the flats in North Richmond say they can only leave their apartments during daylight hours as the fear of being attacked in a lift or stairwell is all too common.

Lenient security guards allow visitors to basically come and go as they please, conducting heroin and ice deals in residents’ rooms or even in the hallways and foyers.

Sonja, who has called block 108 home for nearly 25 years, said living inside the housing commission flats was “worse than prison”.

She said the lack of security and a licence for guests to come and go as they pleased made the facilities less controlled than a jail.

“Living here is worse than a prison, to be honest, because everyone’s got free reign here, there’s no protection, there’s no safety here,” she told the Herald Sun.

“Every day and every night there’s people just coming in and out, these are people that you don’t want to see in your worst nightmares.

“I had a death threat note left on my car, it’s like a war zone around here.”

Some residents left their waste on the floor below the rubbish chute.

This is what residents see when they exit the lift of block 108.

And are met with urine and other substances in the stairwells.

When the Herald Sun visited housing blocks 106, 108 and 119 on Elizabeth St this month, the grim reality of life inside government housing was laid bare.

Hallways were littered with human urine, bags of food scraps, used wipes and cigarettes.

Dimly-lit stairwells were equipped with syringe disposal bins on each level while graffiti lined much of those walls.

Outside, in the foyer area of block 108, a man sat on the ground injecting drugs into his forearm about 10 metres from the entrance.

Another woman sat on the footpath in block 119 and injected a substance into her foot just after 3pm.

The flats were built in the 70s and will soon undergo renovations. Picture: David Caird

Construction of the Housing Commission flats in Richmond, circa 1972

“Fun times” at block 108.

Another resident, who has lived in several of the flats for more than 20 years, said the nearby injecting room contributed to the “disgusting” and unsafe living conditions.

“There (used to be) a lot more morals, a lot more respect. The place was clean, the parks were beautiful. (But now) it’s not safe at all,” she said.

“You go into the lift, somebody has vomited in the lift, you can’t avoid it.

“I would clean the communal laundries before I used them, because there have been times where there was faeces in the laundry trough.”

The Department of Families, Fairness and Housing said there was at least eight security guards patrolling the precinct each day and night.

“High-traffic areas at high-rise towers such as ground floor foyers, lifts and public toilets are cleaned daily,” a spokesperson said.

“All other non-ground areas are inspected daily to remove rubbish and offensive substances and cleaned on a fortnightly basis

“We take all resident concerns, incidents and safety matters extremely seriously, and do not tolerate anti-social behaviour or crime in homes we manage. All criminal conduct reported to us is referred to Victoria Police.”

Originally published as Inside North Richmond’s housing commission flats that residents say are ‘worse than prison’