More than 200 social housing properties in Clarence ‘under-utilised, unoccupied’, figures show

The battle for the upper house seat of Pembroke is heating up, with Labor MLC Luke Edmunds blasting new figures revealing the number of “under-utilised” social housing properties in the electorate.

Pembroke Labor MLC Luke Edmunds. Picture: Linda Higginson

New figures have revealed more than 200 social housing properties in the Clarence municipality are under-utilised and 16 are unoccupied altogether, prompting Pembroke Labor MLC Luke Edmunds to call on the state government to rectify the situation.

The data, obtained by Labor under Right to Information laws, has been released as Mr Edmunds attempts to fend off challengers in a Legislative Council election campaign for the Eastern Shore seat.

He is facing off against former Pembroke Labor member Allison Ritchie, who is currently the Deputy Mayor of Clarence and is running as an independent, as well as Tony Mulder, another independent candidate and ex-MLC.

New figures show that more than 200 social housing properties in the Clarence municipality were “underoccupied”, while 16 were unoccupied altogether as of the start of 2025. Picture: NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

The housing statistics for Clarence show that as of the start of 2025, 208 social housing properties with 3 bedrooms or more were classified as underoccupied, while 16 were unoccupied, including eight three-bedroom properties, three two-bedroom properties, and five one-bedroom properties.

However, of the 16 unoccupied dwellings, 11 were undergoing maintenance. Repair work is undertaken on social housing properties as a result of damage from fires or other incidents which may require residents to temporarily relocate.

Underoccupied properties include those that are tenanted but with a spare bedroom or bedrooms.

According to Homes Tasmania’s latest housing dashboard, there were 5043 applicants on the social housing waiting list at the end of February, which was a 7.2 per cent increase over the previous 12 months.

Luke Edmunds, Labor member for Pembroke. Picture: Caroline Tan

Mr Edmunds, who was elected to the seat of Pembroke in 2022 following the resignation of Labor’s Jo Siejka, said access to housing was “an issue that people … raise with me again, and again, and again”.

“Making better use of our existing public housing supply is something that can be done straight away,” he said.

“Every vacant and under-utilised house is a missed opportunity for somebody who desperately needs a place to call home.

“It’s hard to understand how vacant and under-utilised public housing persists in a system where the need for affordable homes is so apparent. It’s yet another example of complete mismanagement from [Premier] Jeremy Rockliff’s hopeless Liberal minority government.”

Housing Minister Felix Ellis.

Housing Minister Felix Ellis said the government was investing $20m into the maintenance of social homes “to ensure we can get safe, secure roofs over the heads of Tasmanians as quickly as possible”.

“Our investment … underpins our nation-leading maintenance satisfaction rates, which are 8 per cent higher than the national average,” he said.

“When a tenant vacates a home, maintenance is conducted to ensure the next tenant to move in is walking into a home that Tasmanians deserve.

“It’s important to note that despite maintenance being required on homes from time to time, 98 per cent of social homes across Tasmania are occupied.”