Ten cram bedroom
GREEDY landlords are capitalising on a tight rental market by cramming up to 20 residents into a single property.
GREEDY landlords are capitalising on a tight rental market by cramming up to 20 residents into a single property with up to 10 people sharing a bedroom in some houses.
Town of Vincent Mayor and former planning minister Alannah MacTiernan said the residents were mostly overseas students, migrants and temporary- visa holders.
They were living in the substandard conditions, sometimes for more than $100 a week, because they had nowhere else to turn with the state's official rental vacancy rate at just 1.9 per cent.
In the past three months, her council received 23 complaints from ratepayers concerned about people crammed into nearby properties. Most of the offending properties were in inner-Perth suburbs such as Highgate, East Perth, West Perth and North Perth.
"We are about to prosecute four registered lodging houses for substandard conditions,'' Ms MacTiernan said.
"Some of these places are filthy. They are raking in the money, but simply are not prepared to spend enough to preserve basic hygiene.
"We will be putting a big focus on dealing with legal and illegal lodging houses over the next few months.''
Ms MacTiernan said some of the worst cases of people cramming in Vincent included:
* A two-bedroom property with 20 beds.
* A two-bedroom unit with eight double-bunk beds.
* A six-bedroom home with 15 double-bunk beds.
* A four-bedroom home with six double beds and four single beds.
"In some cases people are paying $135 a week for a bed, with eight people in a room,'' Ms MacTiernan said.
"This is massive profiteering. They are making a great deal of money.
"There is a housing crisis and this is proof.
"More and more people are coming into WA and many of these people who we are seeing crammed into these premises are from overseas, whether they are backpackers or on any form of temporary visas or students.
"They are being crammed into some appalling circumstances.
"We, as a council, have supported places being converted to lodging houses, but they are required to meet basic health standards and fire standards.''