Sale of public housing questioned

A Hobart woman says she is “heartbroken” her mother’s long-term public housing property was placed on the private rental market after she died instead of going to a family in need.

House owned by Housing Tasmania being offered for sale, 5 Hawthorn Road Risdon Vale. Picture: realestate.com.au

A HOBART woman says she is “heartbroken” her mother’s long-term public housing property was put up for sale on the private market after she died, instead of going to a family in need.

Joy Voss said she was told by Housing Tasmania that her mother’s three-bedroom Risdon Vale home would likely go to a family on the 3233-person public housing wait list after she tried to buy the property for herself.

Ms Voss agreed the home was better placed with a family in need of public housing. But she said she was shocked when the property was advertised for sale at more than $295,000.

“I was devastated, Oh my god,” Ms Voss said.

“I just don’t understand why they didn’t put a family in it when there’s so many of them in need.”

Franklin Labor MHA David O’Byrne said the decision to sell the home was confusing in the midst of a housing shortage that has the Government booking hotel rooms for people facing homelessness.

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Human Services data shows people assessed as being in most need of housing are waiting an average 56 weeks for a property.

“We understand from time to time public housing has been moved into the private market, but at a time when waiting lists are so long and the crisis so acute the Government need to explain why a perfectly good three-bedroom home that a family could move into today is being sold on the private market,” Mr O’Byrne said.

The Risdon Vale property is one of 11 listed for sale on the Human Services Department website.

One Sandford home — a former Housing Tasmania property — is listed for sale at $520,000.

Clark Liberal MHA Sue Hickey told the Sunday Tasmanian her office had received complaints about the sale of public housing properties.

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The Speaker said she had questioned Housing Tasmania on the sale of one property only to be told it was “surplus to the Government’s needs”.

“You think under the current circumstances they’d be utilising every property they have,” Ms Hickey said. “I’d want a good explanation as to why it’s surplus to needs.”

Communities Tasmania and Housing Minister Roger Jaensch did not respond to a request for comment this week.

The Government recently announced it would use $5 million from the 2018-19 budget surplus to address the state’s housing crisis.

Solutions included booking accommodation for people in need, and buying or renting prefabricated units to expand capacity at existing homelessness shelters.

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