Sydney City Council leaves Oxford St units vacant amid housing crisis

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore has left 14 residential units empty for two decades despite warning the city is “in the midst of a housing and homelessness crisis”.

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore has left 14 residential units empty for two decades despite warning the city is “in the midst of a housing and homelessness crisis”.

“It is scandalous,” Sydney City Councillor Dr Kerryn Phelps said.

“These units could have been used for affordable housing for the last 20 years.”

The 14 units are above shops at 120 Oxford Street in Darlinghurst and were last used for low cost housing in 2021.

They were taken over by the council in 2004 when it amalgamated with South Sydney Council.

One of the empty units at 120 Oxford Street.

“There are affordable spaces there with kitchens and bathrooms that could have kept people off the streets,” Dr Phelps said. “We haven’t had a women’s refuge in the City of Sydney for years.”

She said the apartments could also help with the revitalisation of Oxford Street by bringing people to live in the area.

“They have been empty throughout the COVID-19 pandemic when people have been struggling to find accommodation,” Dr Phelps said.

At the height of the pandemic a year ago Ms Moore wrote on Twitter: “Every night, over 116,000 people are homeless across Australia. We are in the midst of a housing and homelessness crisis, and it’s particularly evident in our capital cities, like here in Sydney.”

Current figures show there are 217 people sleeping rough on the streets of Sydney.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore has said: “We are in the midst of a housing and homelessness crisis” but despite this Sydney City Council has left 14 residential units at 128 Oxford Street sitting vacant for nearly 20 years. The units had been used as low cost housing until they were transferred to the Council by South Sydney Council.

Sydney City Council chief executive Monica Barone last month provided councillors with a written response to questions about the empty apartments saying they were “in a dilapidated condition” when the council took ownership.

She said the apartments required a “substantial upgrade”.

“Refurbishment of the upper floors for the previous residential use could not be pursued without considerable intervention and cost in addition to impacting the retail tenants below,” she said.

A spokeswoman for the City of Sydney spokeswoman confirmed: “Currently these spaces are not deemed suitable to be occupied for residential use.”

She said the buildings had now been leased with the tenant taking responsibility for investing in the site.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore.

Sydney City Councillor Kerryn Phelps.

“Securing investment and restoration of these properties to further activate the Oxford Street precinct was a key reason the City put them up for lease,” she said.

Dr Phelps said photographs showed the apartments only needed “sprucing up” to be habitable and there was no reason for them to lie dormant for two decades.

“A simple refurbishment of these 14 apartments twenty years ago would have provided 20 years of emergency or affordable accommodation for at risk youth, women escaping domestic violence, homeless people and many other groups,” she said.

“To leave them empty for two decades is inexplicable and unforgivable.”

Originally published as Sydney City Council leaves Oxford St units vacant amid housing crisis