Sharp increase in proportion of public housing properties being sold

The Andrews government is offloading two public housing properties every week despite the rising number of vulnerable Victorians joining the wait list for somewhere to live.

The Andrews government has been accused of letting down vulnerable Victorians by the mismanagement of public housing stock. Picture: Sarah Matray

The Andrews government is selling off an average of two public housing properties every week despite waiting lists blowing out to almost 70,000.

New figures have confirmed 67,000 applications for public housing were pending as of December 2022, including 36,459 deemed urgent.

Now the Herald Sun can reveal the government has offloaded almost 200 properties since 2020, including 119 last financial year.

In the same time it purchased 844 properties.

The state government has offloaded almost 200 properties since 2020. Picture: Valeriu Campan

However the figures show a sharp increase in the proportion of properties being sold.

In 2020-21, 18 per cent of transactions were property sales, while in the last financial year that figure rose to 25 per cent.

In the last term of government the overall number of public housing properties increased by just 74.

Shadow Minister for Housing, Richard Riordan, said vulnerable Victorians were being let down by the mismanagement of Victoria’s public housing stock.

“The Andrews government’s mismanagement of Victoria’s public housing stock means far too many Victorians are struggling to get a roof over their heads,” he said.

“Quality and stable housing is critical to give vulnerable Victorians the best chance to reach their potential, yet under this government, waiting lists continue to grow while housing stock remains stagnant.

“With Homes Victoria $250m in deficit, the Andrews government must explain why it continues to sell off so many public housing properties and what it is doing with the money raised.”

Daniel Andrews at a media event announcing the completion of a social housing project. Picture: Alan Barber

Greens leader Samantha Ratnam said that with growing number of applicants for public housing, the government should be holding on to all stock.

“Yet this Labor government has hitched itself onto the privatisation bandwagon and is selling off public housing and outsourcing its responsibility to ensure Victorians can access affordable housing,” she said.

“Labor’s privatised model of housing has failed and is making the housing problem worse.

“While thousands of Victorians struggle to cope with record high rents and are plunged into homelessness, Labor is allowing developers to make big profits at the cost of building more public housing and keeping public land in public hands.”

A government spokesperson said properties were sold for a variety of reasons, including because they were in poor condition, did not meet environmental and accessibility standards, or were poorly located.

“As all government departments and entities do, Homes Victoria may choose to sell a home that is no longer fit-for-purpose, with every dollar from the proceeds reinvested by Homes Victoria to improve, renew and grow social housing,” she said.

“This is an important part of an ongoing program to refresh and renew the social housing portfolio to ensure it continues to meet the needs of our renters and community.”