Housing crisis Qld: Govt to crack down on social accommodation

A Brisbane couple earning $200,000 a year are among the well-paid Queenslanders still living in social housing, as the government prepares for a clean-out.

Housing Minister Sam O'Connor in Parliament

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Big-earning Queenslanders quietly living in subsidised public housing could soon get the boot under a major government crackdown.

The so-called “social housing reset” announced by the state government will inspect the annual salaries and eligibility of every person provided public housing across Queensland.

It comes after the state government found shocking examples of tenants — particularly couples — earning healthy incomes and still getting discounted rent a third of what those in the private market were paying.

This includes one couple in Brisbane who earned a combined $200,000 a year, but paid less than $200 a week for a property pegged to be worth $675 a week.

In another example, a Townsville family earning a combined $160,000 a year was found to be paying just $190 a week in rent — even though a similar property in the area pulled rent of $500 a week.

Another household in City of Moreton Bay earning nearly $3500 a week was paying around $270 a week. The median rent for this property should be $650 per week.

Housing Minister Sam O’Connor revealed from July 1 this year, all public housing tenants would undergo a rent review.

Those earning above the income threshold or found to be ineligible for social housing will be charged market rent rates and given six to eight weeks to find other housing options.

And tenants found to pay less than the required one-quarter of their household income will have their rents increased no more than $15 per week.

Mr O’Connor said the reset would help the government find housing for Queensland’s most vulnerable and help address the 50,000-person waiting list.

“We are making sure social housing is for vulnerable people and families, not those earning more than $200,000 a year,” he said.

“Labor turned a blind eye for years. They stopped checking if people still qualified for social housing, and they let rent reviews fall by the wayside.

“It’s unbelievable they let people on six-figure incomes stay in social homes for years while others in urgent need were left on the social housing waitlist.”

According to the government yearly rent reviews have not been conducted in Queensland since the Covid-19 pandemic, when social housing eligibility and payments were dealt with on a case-by-case basis under the former Labor government.

During the Covid-19 emergency, then housing minister Mick de Brenni placed a moratorium on evictions to protect tenants experiencing income loss or financial hardship.

Under the state government’s reset, public housing tenants living in homes too large for them will be incentivised to voluntarily downsize to more appropriate units.

Government housing data shows more than 8000 tenants were in homes where they didn’t use two or more bedrooms.

Freeing up that space is intended to help families waiting on the social housing register.

The reintroduction of annual rent reviews in Queensland will not change current social housing eligibility criteria.

Originally published as Housing crisis Qld: Govt to crack down on social accommodation