Melbourne’s notorious and squats and hellholes: Berkeley Living, Ambassador Hotel among worst
You wouldn’t wish your worst enemy to live in these filthy hellholes. Here are some of Melbourne’s most squalid abodes.
Melbourne City
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Melbourne’s world record COVID-19 lockdown has spiked homelessness and left properties usually habited by travellers and international students empty, causing a perfect storm of squatting.
Key stakeholders including homeless advocates and landlord representatives are calling on all level of governments to take action to save lives and protect community safety.
Council to Homeless Persons chief executive Jenny Smith said people were “feeling the crunch” from the high rents, inadequate income and unemployment ignited by lengthy community lockdowns brought on by the pandemic.
Ms Smith said it was “basically impossible” for a single person on a low income to afford private rental.
She said a huge whack of Jobseeker payment could barely cover the rent on a one bedroom flat in Sunshine let alone a more expensive part of Melbourne.
“To fix the problem we need Governments to build more social housing,” Ms Smith said.
“The state government has made a big commitment, but to make sure that over time we get closer to everyone having a home.
“The federal government needs to come to the party.”
Western Homelessness Network co-ordinator Sarah Langmore said the homelessness support sector was “very under resourced”.
Ms Langmore said there were only 423 government-funded crisis beds in the whole state but services in just Brimbank and Melton already need to source 1200 beds a year.
Ms Langmore said the pandemic turbocharged an existing problem where people relied on poor quality, low end private accommodation such as hotels and rooming houses.
“Consumer experience of many of these hotels and rooming houses is that they do not feel safe and that services are unclean and lack facilities,” Ms Langmore said
“As a sector we continue to advocate for an improved and appropriate crisis accommodation system.
“During lockdowns in Melbourne the government has increased funds to purchase crisis accommodation about tenfold.
“However, funds are only available during lockdowns. In between lockdowns, the only option for many consumers, particularly those who are single, is to return to rooming houses or sleeping rough.
“The lack of safe and appropriate accommodation options and constantly changing lockdown arrangements has meant that many consumers have lost faith in the capacity of the homelessness sector to respond to their needs.”
LANDLORDS CALL FOR ACTION ON TRESPASS LAWS
Property Owners Association of Victoria spokesman Phil Spencer has called for the state government to legislate harsher penalties for trespassing squatters.
“Every owner during the course of their ownership has had to deal with squatters,” Mr Spencer said.
“Police won’t prosecute and are loath to get involved so its up to the owners to intervene which causes dangerous safety issues.
“It’s a dangerous matter all round not just trying to remove squatters – who can get quite aggressive – but also the potential hazards squatters create.
“It causes a public health issue but the government is like if they are not on the street then it’s not a problem but they leave properties filthy, unhealthy and very unsafe.
“They’ll (the government) would do a lot of good if they moved to enforce criminal trespass for a public health issue.”
Mr Spencer said it was often left to owners to cough up money to secure vacant properties with deadlocks, CCTV and sometimes even guard patrols.
“They get in there and leave a mess, trash the property and sometimes they even use empty properties to grow drugs like cannabis,” Mr Spencer said.
“They can also get the power switched on without landlord approval and sometimes bypass meters … it becomes a liability, if the place burns down you’ve lost the lot.”
Mr Spencer said the Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the issue on two fronts with more people sleeping rough due to loss of income and more properties remaining empty due to lack of travellers and international students.
Mr Spencer said inner city properties in Collingwood, Carlton and Fitzroy usually occupied by Airbnb guests and international students remain empty and squatters have moved in.
A Victoria Police spokesperson said it was a “priority” for members to link people who are homeless or sleeping rough to the services available to them.
“Victoria Police continues to work closely with local councils and other support agencies to address rough sleeping and those experiencing homelessness,” the spokesperson said.
“This preventive approach with our partner agencies compliments the law enforcement activity and assists in reducing the need for police resources to be solely tasked to these duties.”
Police advised property owners should report any concerns to their local council.
MEET THE BLOKE WHO PREFERS SQUATTING
George has been squatting in a Sunshine property for about two months, but had been moving between vacant houses in the area for much longer.
He said he had been moving between Melbourne and Sydney for some years, but was originally from Newcastle, where he had family.
George said he’d been offered help in making contact with housing services when he’d been moved on from squatting in houses before, but mistrusted the services.
“I don’t trust the services, they won’t provide a better environment for me,” George said.
George said he hadn’t found a nearby service to be very helpful either and they had simply suggested he look for a job.
George said he’d received some letters from the owner of the property he was occupying, but they had not attempted to speak with him directly.
DERELICT DANDENONG HOUSES
A series of fires at abandoned Dandenong buildings sparked urgent police calls for owners to properly secure empty properties.
The Stud Rd ambulance depot, an abandoned Pickett St house and an abandoned Scott St house were all ablaze just days apart in mid-2019.
A Greater Dandenong crime unit spokesman said at the time all three buildings were poorly secured.
“Police encourage all owners to keep derelict properties secure to limit access to squatters or people who use them to do drugs,” the spokesperson said.
The Dandenong CFA was called out to the Scott St unit three hours before it went up in flames to find a squatter had lit up a steel drum to keep warm.
Acting Commander Josh Redfern joined police in calling on owners to secure vacant buildings.
“Keeping these properties properly secured will make the community safer,” he said.
Furious neighbours of another derelict house at Cleeland St said at the time the eyesore was a drug den and are calling on authorities to take immediate action.
The vacant house is near the bustling Dandenong Market and neighbours said it was a “haven for junkies, drug dealers and squatters”.
THE FRANKSTON SQUATTER INVASION
Hard-nosed Frankton coppers went on a rampaging war with dozens of squatters who had nestled in at prime foreshore property in late-2019.
The sophisticated squatter network was uncovered by police after a spike in thefts and burglaries in the Nepean Highway area.
The squatters had converted the empty commercial buildings — which are still connected to power — into mini-communities complete with beds, kitchens, laundries and communal notices.
Notes pinned to walls urged squatters to dispose of drug needles safely “to avoid being named and shamed”.
Police issued multiple squatters with warnings for trespassing after moving them on from the site near the corner of the Nepean Highway and Wells St.
Squatters were shifted from the old Pancake Parlour and Pint & Pickle Tavern also on the Nepean Highway.
Frankston CIU boss detective Senior Sergeant Steve Fyffe said at the time the securely sheltered vacant properties complete with power were a “squatters’ paradise”.
He said police issued trespass warnings because of concerns for community safety.
“One of our main concerns was fire,” he said.
“If it’s cold and they light a fire, then it could spread to highly flammable materials and we could potentially have a life-threatening situation. They also use those little gas burners for cooking.
“We could end up with an inferno in the middle of Frankston CBD.”
The operation came shortly after the nearby Ambassador apartment block was exposed as a cesspit for drug use and a hotspot for criminals fresh out of jail.
BERKELEY LIVING RETIREMENT VILLAGE
The former Patterson Lakes retirement village was a squatter’s paradise before a fire ripped through the “crime-riddled” cesspool earlier this year.
Berkeley Living estate neighbours including some members of the Casuarina Villas unit community feared for their children’s safety while the southeast hellhole was in full flight.
Police and other emergency services were called to the troubled Gladesville Blvd site multiple times.
There has been so many fires at this hellhole that it wouldn’t shock to find a copy of Industrial Society and its Futureamong the filth and garbage.
A fire which ripped through the site last year sparked angry residents to say enough was enough.
“It’s totally trashed, there are people breaking in there and causing mischief,” neighbour David Butten told the Leader at the time.
“I am concerned for my son if he were to be wandering around at night,” Mr Butten said.
“There was also an incident where one neighbour who abuts the property had someone climb onto her balcony.”
MOONLIGHT RECEPTIONS
Squatters invaded the old Fitzroy North reception centre earlier this year after the building’s owners struggled to keep the site secure.
The Spy versus Spy type battle between squatter and owner played out for months with contractors boarding up entry points only for new access points popping up like a severed head of Hydra the next day.
The situation seems to have stabilised with the latest reinforcement measures the Nicholson St site currently at Fort Knox-like levels.
Local Lauren Bickley said the Moonlight squatters were the “worst-kept secret in Fitzroy North”.
“I always see dodgy-looking people at night, who seem to be squatting in the old building (Moonlight Receptions) at the end of the street,” Ms Bickley said.
“I’ve seen people sleep on the door step and there was a tent set up in the back alley at one stage.
“I personally haven’t had any trouble but it’s probably better for everyone if people aren’t squatting in old buildings.”
Ms Bickley added she was “unsure” if there was a “homelessness or hipster” issue in the area
“Most blokes in North Fitzroy are bearded and filthy,” she said.
HAYS INTERNATIONAL HELLHOLE
Squatters and vandals turned abandoned international school buildings into a nightmare for neighbours with emergency services often called to put out fires lit in badly damaged rooms.
Youths committing illegal and dangerous acts at the former rooming house and arts centre of Hays International College has reportedly increased during the Covid-19 pandemic, despite the college abandoning both buildings more than five years ago.
Leader visited the former rooming house on Wednesday and found graffiti, broken glass and rubbish spread throughout the old boarding house and across the courtyard, along with mattresses and evidence of squatters.
Neighbour Cathie Coates, who has lived near the site for 13 years, said youths had been gathering at nearby Box Hill skate park, crossing Gardiner’s Creek, and breaking in with poles and sticks in broad daylight.
“It’s been absolutely horrible, the situation has got worse with the amount of brazen things they do in broad daylight,” she said.
“Our kids shouldn’t be able to sit there and watch other kids damage it, and every other week there are fire trucks down here.”
RINGWOOD GATEWAY BRIDGE
Homeless people set up a shanty town beneath a notorious Ringwood bridge which was exposed back in 2018.
Mattresses, trolleys, couches, piles of cigarettes and rubbish found at both ends of the Ringwood gateway bridge next to Maroondah Highway and EastLink.
About 100m away, an abandoned car and a vandalised shed was filled with trolleys and rubbish was found next to power lines and Hungry Jack’s.
Senior Sergeant Colin Andrews confirmed at the time that police were aware of people sleeping rough at the bridge.
Sen-Sgt Andrews said it was not illegal for people to sleep on the EastLink trail and they would offer to refer any homeless people they found there to welfare agencies.
HIGHETT DRUG DEN
A Highett house turned into a rotting squatter infested drug den which was left to simmer for at least a decade.
The former Highett Rd property caused angst among locals who said the property was a “major safety risk”.
Neighbour Robert Cuskelly called for the house to be demolished “immediately” back in 2018.
“I really want the council to knock it down because I’m constantly worrying about someone burning it down and putting my home at risk,” he said.
“It’s not well secured so anybody can get in.”
Mr Cuskelly said he bought what he thought was his “dream retirement home” after raising concerns with his real estate agent about the “eyesore squalor” next door.
“I was assured there was a plan to knock the house down ‘shortly’ which I thought reasonably soon but it’s been six months and as you can see the house is still there,” Mr Cuskelly said.
Mr Cuskelly said he hadn’t noticed anyone inside the property but often heard “strange noises at night”.
The homeowner’s wishes came true after the property was finally demolished in 2019.
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