Renters take aim at Hobart housing crisis at Housing Alliance forum

Furious tenants have vented their frustrations over Hobart’s “extortionate” rental prices with some saying the cost it rapidly outstripping wage growth. LATEST + HAVE YOUR SAY >>

Furious tenants came to vent their frustrations over Hobart’s “extortionate” rental prices at a public forum at Mathers Place.

Rent strikes, protests, and union mobilisation were some of the plans of attack hatched at the Housing Alliance gathering on Sunday.

One of the speakers was Tenants Union of Tasmania principal solicitor Ben Bartl, who said the rising house prices were rapidly outstripping wage growth.

“The median rent in Southern Tasmania increased by 45 per cent over the last five years, North Hobart by 42 per cent, and the Northwest by 29 per cent,” Mr Bartl said.

“It’s extremely difficult for renters at the moment, and the concern is more and more renters are facing housing stress.”

Forum organiser Matt Haubrick was rendered homeless earlier this year due the prohibitive cost of living in Hobart.

Mr Haubrick was working two jobs at the time, but was sleeping in the back of his van while searching for a property in his price range.

“A lot of people on these priority lists you see sleeping in their cars have jobs – that’s how hard it is to find affordable places,” Mr Haubrick said.

VAN LIFE: Matt Haubrick was working two jobs, but still ended up homeless and sleeping in his van this year. Picture: Kenji Sato

“You can be someone who on paper has a degree, has a job – all the things that people stereotypically don’t associate with people suffering homelessness.”

He said several of his friends were in similar situations, sleeping on couches or in cars while languishing on social housing waiting lists.

They could expect to be waiting a year-and-a-half to find a vacant social housing spot, according to the latest statistics from the Department of Communities.

Their figures show that the average waiting time for priority applicants was 78 weeks, with over 4500 Tasmanians currently in the queue.

Another one of the speakers was Linda Seaborn, who is the chairman of the Cohousing Co-op in South Hobart.

Ms Seaborn said all of her residents were those who had been priced out of the private rental market and were forced to find alternatives.

“We should go back and have another look at the housing cooperative model,” Ms Seaborn said.

“The cooperatives are democratically controlled by the members so you have a say over your own living environment.”

The Housing Alliance will be protesting the state of the housing market outside parliament laws on Saturday from 11am.

Grim milestone facing Tasmania in housing crisis

A GRIM new milestone has been forecast amid a dire housing shortage in the state, as struggling Tasmanians face unprecedented barriers just to put a roof over their head.

There are now 4506 Tasmanians with an active application on the public housing register, 20 per cent more than 12 months ago.

As house prices and private rental costs continue to skyrocket, there are fears this figure could pass 5000.

The state government’s Housing Dashboard for October has also revealed applicants considered the highest priority were waiting on average 78 weeks to be housed, with a rolling 12-month average of almost 62 weeks.

Labor MP Ella Haddad suggested the problem could become worse, including in Hobart, which is considered the least affordable capital city in Australia to rent.

“The wait list has blown out, and on the government’s projections it’s going to continue to grow to over 5000,” she said.

“They know that, they know this is coming, but they are not doing enough to keep up with demand.

“Added to that is the increasing unaffordability in the private rental market. People can’t afford to rent privately anymore, so they end up on the social housing register where they will now be waiting more than 18 months to be housed.”

More Tasmanians face homelessness amid skyrocketing house prices and rents and another surge in the public housing waiting list. Picture: AAP

Ms Haddad said the government was not building houses quickly enough to meet the rising needs of Tasmanians who were being priced out of the private market.

Greens housing spokeswoman Cassy O’Connor also took aim at the Liberals, saying the public housing waiting list had more than doubled since they won government.

“When the Liberals were elected seven years ago, they inherited from a Greens Minister the shortest housing waiting list in a decade – 2183 applicants,” she said.

“The waiting list has now ballooned to 4506 applicants and counting.

“Priority applicants on the housing register are now waiting for a home for a year and a half on average. Tragically, we’re aware of cases where the wait is much longer.”

But Housing Minister Michael Ferguson defended the government’s response to the state’s housing crisis, saying it was making an “unprecedented and massive investment” to tackle the problem.

“Our comprehensive plan to increase housing supply is the only way to make housing as affordable as possible,” he said.

“Our record investment of $615 million into public and affordable housing, and homelessness initiatives, including our record election commitment of $280 million to extend our building program of new social housing for Tasmanians in need, is the biggest in this state for decades.”

Mr Ferguson said 1228 dwellings were in the pipeline, including 947 new social housing dwellings.

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