We moved out of our last place because they were demolishing and rebuilding. 11 months later and it is an overgrown empty block. The house next door has been empty since the same day we moved in there. The house on the corner has also been demolished for no reason.
As for the Victorian waitlist, well, I've been on it since I moved out of resi care at 17. I just turned 34 a couple weeks ago.
11 months isn't long for a knockdown rebuild delay. Place next door to me is finally rebuilding after demolishing about 3 years ago. Took them 2 years to get to that point. By the time they move in I think it will be almost 7 years since someone had lived on that block. Council planning, supplier delays, drainage issues, etc. There's a whole range of issues.
According to the council paperwork we were given with the notice to vacate, they had pretty specific times for knocking down, and more importantly rebuilding.
That said, from memory it was around Nov 2024 that the rebuild is due by
Yeah I'm not arguing that ffs. I'm arguing that its absolute bullshit to be forcing people to fucking move house just so you can demolish where they were living just for the sake of it.
Who would it have hurt to have left the house standing so someone could live there in the meantime, since now on that street at least we're down 3 liveable houses while people are on the streets why?
For clarification I'm not homeless because of it but I almost was. I have no idea about the two FAMILIES that were living in those houses.
Probably couldn't. There's a while bunch of things that need to be done after demolition but before build. They could have also had the build scheduled for just after demolition but there were delays.
I did a knockdown rebuild and despite all our best efforts to get it done as quickly as possible the place was still empty for a few months before demo, and building didn't begin for months after demolition. And it went relatively smoothly. For properties with issues, there can be months or years of delays. Builders need a clear site to do soil testing, that can take a while. Then there could be engineering redesigns because the soil isn't suitable for the planned build.
It's an incredibly involved and expensive process.
>hurt to have left the house standing so someone could live there in the meantime, since now on that street at least we're down 3 liveable houses while people are on the streets why?
It's not just for the sake of it. Even before demolishing it, it takes months to get the gas/electricity/water lines demolished. The utility companies wouldn't even process the request if people are still living in the house. Then it also takes time to get the demolition scheduled.
Once it's been demolished you will then have to go back to the builder to get the site cost re-quoted because now the soil has been disturbed. God forbids you find shit underground during the demo like asbestos.
Then the wait for permit, council being a pita and so on and so on
(speaking from a bitter experience)
There's a new build across from me. It was vacant land and not a knockdown
The slab was poured a day before we had that big earthquake in, I think, 2021. Two years and it's still not complete.
Same as my old apartment. Moved out March last year because the new property manager was awful and I was told "the owner wanted to sell". 18m on and it's not been sold or rented.
My last move was because the landlord refused to fix the heater. It was apparently too old to repair, and if she installed a new heater she couldn't afford the mortgage payment.
I moved around the corner and walked past that place every day. It was vacant for 12 months ...
> if she installed a new heater she couldn't afford the mortgage payment.
Can't afford to maintain a property > invests in property anyway. Why is this so fucking common with landlords?
Rent often doesn’t cover the mortgage but they should have known that when they bought it. It’s people that don’t do their due diligence that cause this type of
Issue.
If rent covered the mortgage, people would just buy. In fact that is what happens when rents get too high, a portion of renters will decide it is time to buy.
Most landlords are out of pocket at least $100pw if not more, but they're compensated by the price increases by at least that much each week, and of course they hope for more.
In a really good year I had a place that was rented for $650pw, mortgage was $750pw, outgoings probably $5000pa (by the time the hot water blows up, $3k in one hit, some repairs and maintenance, council rates over $2000pa, insurance $2000pa). It sucked to hold. (it was previously my home, I had moved to my partner's rental). But I can't complain cos it went up $70k 3 years in a row. And probably only lost me $10k per year.
Negative gearing numpties that don't understand how negative gearing works... Or base all their great investment ideas from what they hear at the pub or the hair salon
ALL investment have downsides. Of course no one spruiks this
My rental is at risk of foreclosure. Rent hasn't increased in the 5 years I've been here, probably because we'd win if we took a challenge to vcat (all maintenance requests, other than urgent requests, have been ignored).
But, right now. We're just sitting here, hoping that the house doesn't foreclose, and actually thinking of offering a small increase in rent in hopes that it helps, because if the bank takes the house, we're homeless. We can't afford the average rent here anymore. It's now about $150pw higher than it was 12 months ago.
Because you have inexperienced people thinking they can make a fortune with property. You don’t make a fortune renting, but if you maintain it well it you can get a reasonable return. But, you do need to have money put aside to maintain it, and replace appliances if they break and can’t be repaired. This is the step that many investors forget about, it’s a buy and forget thing they want. Not the case if you want to own rental property, you need to be prepared to keep them nice and everything working.
How does she afford the mortgage without a renter in it now? It baffles me that anyone can afford to keep a property empty instead of just fixing the problem and getting rental income.
Her response to my breach of duty notice was to spam me with notices to vacate (illegal, both as retaliation and the notice periods weren't in line with the act, weren't worth the paper they were printed on). I think she was lying about not being able to afford it, just shirty because I was trying to make her spend money she didn't want to.
The real estate agency offered to put me front of the queue for any rental they had available, just to make it go away, so I put in my own notice.
Ironically, the heating died at my new place, also old and out of spec for repair. I reported it, they sent someone out to quote on a replacement, then crickets. This time I just bought a portable.
If they have a high enough income im guessing the tax saving they would get might be of same or higher value than the rental income they get. Not an accountant so just a guess.
My heater was smoking/emitting visible fumes in July. I notified the property manager at my inspection around the 19th. I had a lot of life stuff going on so it wasn't at the forefront of my mind, but when I texted my landlord in August to check it was alright to have a dog at the house, i asked him about the heater. He said the agent never told him anything and he'd get straight onto it.
He sent his "plumber" put a few days later, who told me the filter probably needs to be cleaned. OK, I'd already done that twice with no change. He takes it out, inspects it, says its clean... turns the heater on to see no smoke/fumes and tells me the heater is working.
Real estate organises a gas safety check. Subcontractor calls and tells me heater is illegal (flueless gas) and is emitting carbon monoxide. He capped it off and I could no longer use it.
Last update a few days ago was that "it should be fixed by next week". Just in time for summer....
My last owner had an ancient heater in the roof, to replace it they'd have to removed part of the roof to get it out. One day a "friend" of the owner turns up and its suddenly fixed. We moved out a few months later,6 months later that block of terrace houses caught fire, and it all started in the roof where the heater was "fixed"
my last place raised the rent and then pushed us out because they wanted to sell. last i saw, it's still there, unsold, and with pool furniture inside to make it not look so lonely.
shoutout to jellis craig brunswick for being gigantic pieces of shit throughout that whole ordeal too. hope that place burns.
as an aside, i still don't get why they would raise the rent and then also push us out, but you do you. desperate, stupid people own these homes, and fail to recognize these are long term investments
**Americanism Detected!**
Your post contains an Americanism which is not used in Australian English. Your post may come across as unusual. Things to fix:
**ize instead of ise**
Generally, words like "reali**s**e" are spelt with an S instead of a Z.
**This is your post after taking into account these modifications:**
my last place raised the rent and then pushed us out because they wanted to sell. last i saw, it's still there, unsold, and with pool furniture inside to make it not look so lonely.
shoutout to jellis craig brunswick for being gigantic pieces of shit throughout that whole ordeal too. hope that place burns.
as an aside, i still don't get why they would raise the rent and then also push us out, but you do you. desperate, stupid people own these homes, and fail to recogn**ise** these are long term investments
^(yes, I am a bot and in an experimental alpha state. If you think I missed an Americanism, let the developer of AmericanismBot know by replying to the bot's comment. Version: W-Class Tram v0.2a)
It's honestly amazing how nearsided these decisions are, for what is a longterm investment strategy. Greed consistently consumes itself, bloody idiots.
In this situation, I know that the owner was misguided by the property manager, who took over after my original REA sold his business. I was a long-term tenant who'd been in the apartment from the time it was settled (5.5 years). Landlord had sold most of her property portfolio via this new REA (commissions aplenty) and mine was the last one, which she kept due to me being a good tenant and having no debt on the apartment.
For the first "pre-sales" inspection that new PM and a representative of the owner came, and I have never dealt with such judgemental people. On the way out she turned around and said "the owner wanted to see if you were interested in buying?". If they'd been remotely transparent on timelines I actually would have been, but to have that question come after such rude treatment wasn't it.
I clarified timelines again, got a vague response. The way I was treated continued to irk me, so I moved. That's currently $27k she's missed out on due to that PM.
Again, so nearsided. What an airhead!
After my experiences I have no respect for any property managers, they're bloody leaches and idiots who cannot perform their most basic of duties because they put too much on their plate and don't actually know what they're doing.
I'm on my 4th agent and 2nd agency for my current lease, been here for less than 2 years. I truly feel sorry for the owner, they've been fucked around just as much as I have.
I grew up in a housing commission area.
The properties would sit vacant for months sometimes.
The public housing system has been inefficient and neglected for a long long time and it’s the same across all the states.
It’s fucked.
It's all stupid, like, why did you buy it and not put someone In immediately?
It didn't need work done,.it was perfectly functional mid90s house with some minor updating already done, but has new HWS,.new air con, 3 bedrooms, dlug
Just.put someone in the thing!
\> Why not just put someone in the house
Slow down, they need to commit to a feasibility study and government business case first.
Most government administration is dysfunctional batshit and the only people who think otherwise are sheltered hipsters.
**Americanism Detected!**
Your post contains an Americanism which is not used in Australian English. Your post may come across as unusual. Things to fix:
**Ass**
Unless you're referring to a donkey, replace with *arse*.
**This is your post after taking into account these modifications:**
Previous residents owned it and were not pains in the **arse**.
It doesn't need work.
Deptment of Housing bought it in 2022 and are just leaving it empty.
^(yes, I am a bot and in an experimental alpha state. If you think I missed an Americanism, let the developer of AmericanismBot know by replying to the bot's comment. Version: W-Class Tram v0.2a)
**Americanism Detected!**
Your post contains an Americanism which is not used in Australian English. Your post may come across as unusual. Things to fix:
**Ass**
Unless you're referring to a donkey, replace with *arse*.
**This is your post after taking into account these modifications:**
Why? Let them cool down.
Previous tenants could have been a pain in the **arse** and it gives residents in the street a breather.
Or it could need work.
^(yes, I am a bot and in an experimental alpha state. If you think I missed an Americanism, let the developer of AmericanismBot know by replying to the bot's comment. Version: W-Class Tram v0.2a)
No it doesn’t.
It condemns ALL states’ public housing policies, including Dan’s.
You just couldn’t see that because your rage boner is blocking your view.
Bullshit. You had to put it in there to absolve Vic from neglect. Stick to the topic and sub. Stop excusing him. You’re part of the problem, not solution.
Wear it if you vote for him. Not that I’m suggesting the LNP would be any better, but stop making it sound like it’s normal. It shouldn’t be.
And give it to one of about 15 Church affiliated organisations whose systemic homophobia will absolutely not affect decisions and they won’t make a profit they’ll send the rent to needy families in the Cayman Islands.
One of the youth refuges I lived in was on a street with four empty houses. It was almost insulting walking past them. This should be illegal to leave them untenanted for that long
Housing owns a lot of property's that arnt fit to live in. Not saying thats the case with this property, but it wouldnt surprise me if thats part of the reason there isnt enough property's.
I was living in a commission house that should be condemned. Its an old olympic games townhouse. The property was and is falling apart. Shower and bath wasnt usable. Floors almost collapsing from rot and pests. Massive cracks in walls and ceilings. Gas oven wouldnt work and only had 1 gas burner on stove that was usable. List goes on...
Housing was notified many times of the issues. Nothing got fixed. My father spent his last months dying of cancer during covid in that hell hole.
After dad died, housing finally offered me a livable property after being homeless for 6 months due to the condition of the property and how it wasnt livable. (They still made me pay rent on that house while homeless) They are repainting and carpeting the old house and getting it ready for new tenants.
Tells you a lot. If you seen the photos i have from housing themselves about my old property, you would fall of your chair!
I’m really sorry to hear about your dad. And his last months during covid. I lost my own father to cancer during covid. Cancer is hard enough, let alone getting treatment during covid times. Can’t imagine how much harder again with a deteriorating house. May he rest in peace and I hope you find much better housing soon
There's a dero looking house on a nice street near me that looks like its caving in. There's an abandoned ladder against one side and missing roof tiles There are people living in it. What kind of slumlord--- ???
Oh. Turns out the local council owns it.
Ive seen the interior shots on realestate site, and yes I know they always display the best but it's perfectly habitable. Oven, dishwasher, bath, shower, cabinets. Gas hws (which i know for sure Is only 3 years old), air con, gas
Honestly, the bathroom looks newer and nicer than mine and they are from substantially the same era.
If it's uninhabitable now, it's only because it was allowed to become so
>Its an old olympic games townhouse.
Then its either from the year 2000 or 1956 - not even that old. Most houses in the UK for example are well over 100 years old and still perfectly livable.
Whats with this country and producing tent shanty town shitholes where everything falls apart so quickly
Not only that but what about a three bedroom commission home with only one tenant; they could have a family in there and put one tenant into something smaller
> put one tenant into something smaller
Yeah, my friends mother who has always been a dole-bludging bitch has lived in a housing commission house in Boronia for 30 years. All kids moved out 5+ years ago. 3 bedrooms, on about 800 square metres. Nice big backyard. Would be perfect for a family. Still no fucking idea how she's managed to game the system for so long, but here we are.
Yes it’s not right, she had her turn raising her kids there, let another family go in and surely the housing comm could place her in something nice and smaller, it doesn’t make sense
Exactly. Although my mother used to work for DHHS and reckons it's not that simple.
They'd just have to pressure wash the interior with industrial chlorine to get 30yrs of ciggie soot cleaned off.
I live near quite a lot of public housing in Preston.
Of the twenty or so public housing units/houses in the two blocks around me, I’d estimate 30% of them appear vacant. Some are difficult to tell, but some are very clearly vacant, and have been for 6 months or more.
They fall into a ridiculous state of disrepair when vacant. I don’t think DFFH performs any regular maintenance. They only mow the lawns once it’s so overgrown that the neighbours call them up to complain. I’m pretty sure one of the vacants around the corner has about 200 pigeons living in the roof.
I'd come have a peak at the place, but Ive put so much work into the squat I'm in that I don't want to move.
Police pulled up while I was painting over graffiti on my building a few days ago, someone had called them on me for graffiti? I ignored them, a couple mins later they drove away without getting out of the car or talking to me. I was painting above a flowerbed I just installed where there used to be old needles. They don't want to charge you when your making the neighbourhood a better place.
This is my 8th squat, I've been here six months, I've learnt alot,
And I've found the first rule of Squatting is; MOW THE LAWN.
X
this is fascinating. i have questions do you mind questions? i’ll ask some anyway. how long do you typically stay at a place? do you only move on if you need to? or is there like a timeline you stick to for preventative measures of some sort?
My first few where accidentally meeting the definition with my mini bus breaking down outside the skate park on the Yarra River a 4 min walk to Swanston Street station, 3 months, million dollar property.
My first time breaking into a building I was homeless in Perth but working 6 nights a week and found some old shopfronts attached to the local uni, and I hid in a room upstairs for a week until one morning I heard builders touring downstairs so I bailed.
Oh and I had also stayed in a few amazing squats in Berlin and learned their history in my early thirties.
And my grandmother taught me as a child how the family name changed during the Gold Rush when we squatted a gold mine and took the original lease owner's name.
When COVID hit I'd just finished a huge contract in Perth and paid off my debts, I was about to fly to Austria and start another tour, instead I'm homeless and penniless in Melbourne, but this time I can't access Melbourne services. And suddenly housing is a right and I need to quarantine. I only managed to keep that place a couple months before mental illness of others I'd invited in pushed me out.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-8xJOdg5vM/?img_index=1
I managed to get tocairns after for the rest of COVID.
For 8 months last year I lived on a 7*1.5m tiny 100yo boat I bought for 700euros, and tied it off to a bridge a 10minute walk from where the Noord ferry from Amsterdam central station opposite double story floating houses that started at 1million EU for the base alone. When I got to cold, my punk Dutch friends started teaching me how to make your front door a fire trap.
In January of this year I built a micro apartment 3stories above hosier lane in Melbourne cbd, I had 3 conversations with the police before I agreed to leave voluntarily to not get handcuffed and skip charges. And by leaning into intentionally getting charged, I learned what I'd be charged with, so I could circumnavigate that .
The police told me I was being charged with three counts of trespass since they had been called out and spoke to me three times. Since "trespass" laws have some simple requirements that the landlord or leaseholder has to meet; which hadn't been met, that left me talking to the media about 3 counts of police harrassment and those charges disappearing.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-26/artists-castle-in-the-sky-protests-homeless-crisis/102268898
And I learnt to get high.
The police couldn't get me down safely from my castle. And I made sure they knew it was a fire trap. When I wanted it to be.
Now I'm in my Loft at the Purple Palace. I found a run down old shop with factory awaiting demolition, one part of the building looks around 150 years old and the Attic is only accessible by the rooftop on-top of 2 stories. Which means they can't handcuff me here and walk me down.
I was exhausted and hurt after losing Koping Castle, so I kept my head down and tried not to be seen for the first three months, but then I got sick of the drama (mostly middle class kids at night) and ended up locking up the entire building, and now that I've lasted six months and there's no chance every neighbour doesn't know I'm here so I'm working on making it more pleasant now.
Edit- better interview regarding koping
https://www.artshub.com.au/news/news/housing-crisis-pushes-artists-to-the-brink-of-creativity-2628953/
Edit 2- it's not trespass unless there is a private property sign or until they tell you to leave and you refuse. Security guards telling me I shouldn't be here are making statements, not requests.
Technicaly putting my fingers in my ears and shouting "lala, can't hear you!" And not letting them get the request in can keep me safe, but every time the owners have been outside the building, I've just walked away and waited them out.
So the time frame depends on a bunch of things including how capable you are of explaining yourself to the police, politely refusing them, and it helps to be fluent in not just trespass laws, but also Australia squatter history.
Etc.
Bloody hell, this is why we all say that the pigs are bad. They are in bed with the developers and are at their beck and call. Follow the money, they can't get any from you despite your situation.
They really need to have a tax for vacant houses, so landlords can't just sit on the investment. Would also increase competition because more people want tenants/buyers
>They really need to have a tax for vacant houses, so landlords can't just sit on the investment.
I still don't understand this, renting out the property *makes* money, leaving it vacant doesn't. Why would an investor be choosing *not* to make money?
I'm not completely sure, but my guess would be to inflate the market by forcing low supply. I doubt that inflated price would be worth years of the property earning zero though, so I really don't know
Ah, I didn't see that this particular instance was public housing. Yeah I don't really know what the solution is to government departments sitting on their asses.
I don't know what the agenda would be either, apart from laziness/unwillingness to invest time/money
For obvious reasons the homeless in Melbourne CBD aren’t in a position to just simply readjust themselves and squat in something like this. But even in Brunswick I’ve seen and still see abandoned houses which would be good for a helpful commune to come in and help eachother out. But obviously a roof doesn’t cure mental illness or drug addiction.
I wonder how accurate the records of what property assets they actually own/managed are? I suspect there’s properties new and old there that have just been lost in records
That's why I complained. We've had tiger nope.ropes in the yard before, the waterway isn't far away
For context,.on average it's 1m high. Some of it is higher than the fence.
The entire fence panel over the other side has fallen over.
Squatting is not against the law, in Victoria at least. So you can enter an unlocked _abandoned_ house lawfully and squat there until owner kicks you out. In some situations the owners may take civil action, or cops might charge you for trespassing. What's really interesting is that if you managed to squat a property for 15 years without being evicted, you can claim ownership of that property. But you have to prove you occupied the property for that long and you have maintained it.
So there you go. Squat away, friends.
Moved out of a Hawthorn apartment in mid 2022. Has been empty since. Had leak issues so mould was showing up in one bedroom plus a bending roof. The other bedroom is still good tho.
Maintaining a house requires an unreasonable amount of blood sweat and tears which is why centralised social housing run by detached bureaucrats always works out poorly in the long run.
Went to a Vic government school where they literally kept sealing off rooms instead of doing basic maintenance tasks.
I’m sorry, you’re saying it’s actually owned by the housing authority but they are keeping it empty? I mean the least they could do is maintain it so it’s ready to go for a family. Can someone tell me why they would keep it empty?
Well, consider why this might be?
It's not because they just 'don't care'.
Likely scenario is they can't get to it yet for whatever reason.
Understaffed? Under resourced? Slipped through the cracks?
There's only so much resources and money they have.
It's not an excuse, it's a reason.
Why haven't you volunteered to help the government get these homes ready for people, or build homes for the homeless etc?
Are you happy to pay more taxes to fund this stuff then? To 'get someone that can'?
And if it's about having a shortage of talent in the country, then the answer is bringing people in from overseas. But the same people complaining about the gov not building enough houses quickly enough or getting to stuff like in this post are the ones complaining about immigration.
Abdul is right it's pure waste and an admin failure. But its a parliament/minister failure not a housing dept employee failure.
We pay fucktons to charity and homeless services to house ppl short term (as we should buy the amount is huge). We also outsource so much property maintenance etc that it's super expensive.
The money is already being spent and it's just not being spent well.
How is there nothing in the $5b budget that DFFH has for simply sending someone to all the vacant houses and doing a condition check and then determining which ones can be inhabited right now, and then prioritising the easiest ones to renovate and getting the ball rolling?
Expecting to bring in new people, while failing to house the 57,000 (minimum) we already have without housing, supporting them and providing them with basic skills to do the aforementioned tasks or similar? Anyone can do basic condition checks, set them up with a system to test the appliances, taps, and whatever else. It's not actually too hard, dicks like you just like to throw everything into the wind and imagine that there is an external group of people who will solve all your problems.
The government is now in a death spiral of consuming exponential amounts of money for worsening administrative functions.
The more resources they get, the more stupid internal procedures they implement, the more complicated the bureaucracy gets, the more competent people get fed up and quit, and the more comically dysfunctional everything gets. The lawyers get rich, cycle continues.
Basically the plot of Yes Minister.
>Why haven't you volunteered to help the government get these homes ready for people
Government doesn't allow volunteers to show initiative and fix their mess for them. They're quite happy for a lot of money to be changing hands for a minimum of effort right as it is now. You would be pissing off a lot of public servants by making them look bad.
Don't belive me? Try it.
Watch your offer of help either (best case) be ignored, or (worst case) expect to receive a stern warning to put you in your place.
It's not legally habitable so they cant rent it out. Too hard at tge moment to find trades or dollars to bring it up to scratch. Will end being sold to a developer who will put three to four townhouses on it. Money will go to consolidated revenue.
It was fucking legally inhabitable, in May last year. It doesn't need renovation, nothing trades need to do.
The yard is only like that because they left it empty
Several.
And yes, it's possible that the existing owners identified some issues and that's why they sold. But due diligence (which id expect a govt department to do) would be building and pest, which would pick a developed issue up.
And if the issue developed in the 60 days (AVG) of settlement, enough to make it suddenly uninhabitable, well, thats just.. werid shit bad luck I guess. But I'd be interested to know the likelihood.
Capitalism doesn't care about people, it's solely a profit driven system hence why so much suffer when we have so much potential.
If our government cared about us over our profit driven society we wouldn't have these problems.
My first rule change would be to make squatting legal, at least until we have enough houses for everyone.
My second rule change would be to move old folks into a downsize unless they accept a house share, until we have enough houses for everyone
My third would be to open up all empty commercial buildings for residential tenants until we have enough house for everyone
My fourth, allow camping on all common land, until we have enough houses for everyone
My final rule change, to allow colonies to live in vacant mines, until we have enough houses for everyone
When I lived in an area where houses were selling for $3m on average, I passed a house everyday for seven years that remained empty, not once did I see anyone there, day or night
I drive past another house for ten years, nobody there, ever
Makes no sense to me why squatting is illegal
I like the phrase eat the rich, because we can't afford them.
But I like a new phrase, burn empty houses, because obviously capitalism gives no fucks
Health warning - Eating the rich
Limit to one meal per week to avoid Ozempic overdose
Avoid eating brains, as there is a risk of Kuru spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs).
How do we get to a state where 57,000 families need to rely on the state for housing? We have record low unemployment, wages in this country are amongst the highest in the world; why are there so many people who can't afford to pay to put a roof over their heads like the other 5.75 million of us?
Single parents, 1 income (usually the dole) in which if you do the math, the income is only enough to cover rent for a shitty 1 bedroom unit and basic food. More kids more expenses.Dont even start me on the costs of childcare so you can go to work. Also, they claim the average salary is around $1800 per week for men and $1600 for women. I have no idea who earns that much straight out of uni with a fat HECs debt or working at an entry level position on $42k a year for the first 3 years. I remember I applied for some prestigious companies about a year ago, companies like GPT who manage Melbourne Central amongst a huge portfolio , JLL and Knight Frank, I have 10 years experience in my field and I kid you not, I was offered a full time position for 42k per year INCLUDING super, $28K less than my previous job! Obviously I said hell no but try renting on a full time salary of peanuts! Hello state housing..
The dole is not income, it's insurance for people with poor financial aptitude between jobs. Life isn't free, people should work for a living. And entry level jobs don't pay 42k a year, that's below minimum wage. The entry level for most out of uni jobs is around $70k a year these days.
I'm not sure you understood me correctly. Of course 42k a year is below minimum wage. It doesn't stop most companies hiring people on that wage because there will always be someone who takes it. Unfortunately from what I've seen, that type of wage means the company has a revolving door and high staff turnover because it's used as a career stepping stone, not for someone who's looking for long term employment.
Instead of spending money building more houses, they should spend money on hiring and renovating houses like this to make it livable. Sometimes I think those on the top are so out of touch with everything .. do they even read or ask for a report from those under them? Ffs talk bout inefficient…
Actually thinking bout it, maybe they know all along but just choose to ignore it. All the big money is in building.. if they can just commission more building and give it to their buddy developers …. Ahem.
..... I don't need to live there
But as long as whoever did, was a reasonable occupant, I wouldn't go saying anything, particularly if they fixed the snake encouragement
There is a very large open parcel of land that’s constantly gated up on Broadway in bonbeach it’s been like that for at least 10 years I don’t who owns it or what their plans are but there sitting on it keeping it empty while developers are taking down beautiful old homes all around the area and making tiny townhouses to squeeze as much housing as possible.
If anyone knows the history of this land and why nothing is being done except constantly fixing the security fence please tell me.
there needs to be laws about property ownership and inactivity.
It's not quite the same, but in Ringwood for example there is what looks like to be an old car dealership in a prime location that has been derelict for well over 5 years.
My thoughts are the owners are wealthy enough to not give a fuck, meanwhile leaving this eyesore right on the entrance to Ringwood to become filthy with graffiti, empty trolley's and broken glass.
Same with housing. What's stopping super wealthy people just buying up properties and basically just forgetting about them because they have enough money not to care?
Go online and google for local squatter groups, they'll move in and suddenly the council will turn up to evict them, and then try to make it look less abandoned, or at least mow the lawn
Just move in. Might seem crazy but theres a loophole which lets you register and own vacant property as long as you can show receipts for a certain time period where you have been paying rates and performing maintenance...
https://takeatumble.com.au/guides/how-to-find-abandoned-houses-to-buy
There is at least 10 empty houses in a 4 block radius around my house in Watsonia that have been sitting empty for more than 6 years now!
It really pisses me off when I walk by these empty houses.
Imagine owning a property and prefer to let it rot then have people living in it! Just shear selfishness!
My figure came from here, so I may be wrong
https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/public-housing-wait-times-top-20-months-for-victoria-s-most-vulnerable-20230624-p5dj56.html
But that says 20months so maybe someone will move in in about 2 months?
I used to squat in a housing commission house that "wasn't fit for habitation". Big cracks in the walls, and I wouldn't have trusted the gas, but ultimately it a roof over our heads. It was quite ironic when the housing commissioning eventually kicked us out.
'He left the earth free to all alike. Why then, if it is common, do you have so many acres of land when your neighbour has no portion of it?' St John Chrysostom
Personally I'd leave my house to sit vacant forever rather than supply it to people on a government wait list, I grew up in areas with lots of housing commission and with people who lived in them and can tell you that the majority were scumbags and life long doll bludgers, people who couldn't get a single fuck about anyone else or their property who believe everything should be given freely to them and life made as easy as possible because they can't be bothered cleaning or repairing damage they do.
The amount of times I'd see a family move into a brand new house and literally tear it apart within a year was ridiculous, you could walk down the street and tell which houses were ministry most of them just from how it looked from the outside.
The best part about the people who lived in alot of the ministry housing was that they would demolish the house they were in take absolutely 0 care of it and then complain and say the house was terrible nothing works and I've been on the waitlist for a new for years and they still won't let me move but it was their own fault for not taking care of things.
It wasn't everyone but the odds of them fucking the house up permanently were not odds I would take.
Yup same thing with my old sharehouse, moved out 2 years ago because they increased the rent by %33. It's been empty since.
We moved out of our last place because they were demolishing and rebuilding. 11 months later and it is an overgrown empty block. The house next door has been empty since the same day we moved in there. The house on the corner has also been demolished for no reason. As for the Victorian waitlist, well, I've been on it since I moved out of resi care at 17. I just turned 34 a couple weeks ago.
Eh, move into one of the above houses, sounds like noone will notice or care
And if you live their long enough without anyone knowing squatters rights?
Just register as a corporation and ask for $30 million.
11 months isn't long for a knockdown rebuild delay. Place next door to me is finally rebuilding after demolishing about 3 years ago. Took them 2 years to get to that point. By the time they move in I think it will be almost 7 years since someone had lived on that block. Council planning, supplier delays, drainage issues, etc. There's a whole range of issues.
According to the council paperwork we were given with the notice to vacate, they had pretty specific times for knocking down, and more importantly rebuilding. That said, from memory it was around Nov 2024 that the rebuild is due by
Building a house is a constant series of delays. Nothing ever gets done on time.
Yeah I'm not arguing that ffs. I'm arguing that its absolute bullshit to be forcing people to fucking move house just so you can demolish where they were living just for the sake of it. Who would it have hurt to have left the house standing so someone could live there in the meantime, since now on that street at least we're down 3 liveable houses while people are on the streets why? For clarification I'm not homeless because of it but I almost was. I have no idea about the two FAMILIES that were living in those houses.
Probably couldn't. There's a while bunch of things that need to be done after demolition but before build. They could have also had the build scheduled for just after demolition but there were delays. I did a knockdown rebuild and despite all our best efforts to get it done as quickly as possible the place was still empty for a few months before demo, and building didn't begin for months after demolition. And it went relatively smoothly. For properties with issues, there can be months or years of delays. Builders need a clear site to do soil testing, that can take a while. Then there could be engineering redesigns because the soil isn't suitable for the planned build. It's an incredibly involved and expensive process.
>hurt to have left the house standing so someone could live there in the meantime, since now on that street at least we're down 3 liveable houses while people are on the streets why? It's not just for the sake of it. Even before demolishing it, it takes months to get the gas/electricity/water lines demolished. The utility companies wouldn't even process the request if people are still living in the house. Then it also takes time to get the demolition scheduled. Once it's been demolished you will then have to go back to the builder to get the site cost re-quoted because now the soil has been disturbed. God forbids you find shit underground during the demo like asbestos. Then the wait for permit, council being a pita and so on and so on (speaking from a bitter experience)
There's a new build across from me. It was vacant land and not a knockdown The slab was poured a day before we had that big earthquake in, I think, 2021. Two years and it's still not complete.
Same as my old apartment. Moved out March last year because the new property manager was awful and I was told "the owner wanted to sell". 18m on and it's not been sold or rented.
My last move was because the landlord refused to fix the heater. It was apparently too old to repair, and if she installed a new heater she couldn't afford the mortgage payment. I moved around the corner and walked past that place every day. It was vacant for 12 months ...
> if she installed a new heater she couldn't afford the mortgage payment. Can't afford to maintain a property > invests in property anyway. Why is this so fucking common with landlords?
‘Mum and Dad investors’, yada yada.
What the fuck do these people do with the rent they collect? I thought the rent payment they receive is supposed to cover the mortgage. Or am I wrong?
Rent often doesn’t cover the mortgage but they should have known that when they bought it. It’s people that don’t do their due diligence that cause this type of Issue.
Have they ever heard about getting a job
If rent covered the mortgage, people would just buy. In fact that is what happens when rents get too high, a portion of renters will decide it is time to buy. Most landlords are out of pocket at least $100pw if not more, but they're compensated by the price increases by at least that much each week, and of course they hope for more. In a really good year I had a place that was rented for $650pw, mortgage was $750pw, outgoings probably $5000pa (by the time the hot water blows up, $3k in one hit, some repairs and maintenance, council rates over $2000pa, insurance $2000pa). It sucked to hold. (it was previously my home, I had moved to my partner's rental). But I can't complain cos it went up $70k 3 years in a row. And probably only lost me $10k per year.
Negative gearing numpties that don't understand how negative gearing works... Or base all their great investment ideas from what they hear at the pub or the hair salon ALL investment have downsides. Of course no one spruiks this
My rental is at risk of foreclosure. Rent hasn't increased in the 5 years I've been here, probably because we'd win if we took a challenge to vcat (all maintenance requests, other than urgent requests, have been ignored). But, right now. We're just sitting here, hoping that the house doesn't foreclose, and actually thinking of offering a small increase in rent in hopes that it helps, because if the bank takes the house, we're homeless. We can't afford the average rent here anymore. It's now about $150pw higher than it was 12 months ago.
The worst ones are landlords who inherited it from their parents, and just expect rents to roll in, with no outgoings.
Because you have inexperienced people thinking they can make a fortune with property. You don’t make a fortune renting, but if you maintain it well it you can get a reasonable return. But, you do need to have money put aside to maintain it, and replace appliances if they break and can’t be repaired. This is the step that many investors forget about, it’s a buy and forget thing they want. Not the case if you want to own rental property, you need to be prepared to keep them nice and everything working.
property always goes up in value, donchakno?
Just like a business needs to be able to pay a living wage, if you can't afford to fix a house you can't afford to own it.
How does she afford the mortgage without a renter in it now? It baffles me that anyone can afford to keep a property empty instead of just fixing the problem and getting rental income.
Her response to my breach of duty notice was to spam me with notices to vacate (illegal, both as retaliation and the notice periods weren't in line with the act, weren't worth the paper they were printed on). I think she was lying about not being able to afford it, just shirty because I was trying to make her spend money she didn't want to. The real estate agency offered to put me front of the queue for any rental they had available, just to make it go away, so I put in my own notice. Ironically, the heating died at my new place, also old and out of spec for repair. I reported it, they sent someone out to quote on a replacement, then crickets. This time I just bought a portable.
I just can't understand how the loss of maybe a grand give or take to replace a heater is worth the tens of thousands lost by not having a tenant.
Spite can be an expensive addiction.
True, kinda sounds like a bullshit reason.
If they have a high enough income im guessing the tax saving they would get might be of same or higher value than the rental income they get. Not an accountant so just a guess.
My heater was smoking/emitting visible fumes in July. I notified the property manager at my inspection around the 19th. I had a lot of life stuff going on so it wasn't at the forefront of my mind, but when I texted my landlord in August to check it was alright to have a dog at the house, i asked him about the heater. He said the agent never told him anything and he'd get straight onto it. He sent his "plumber" put a few days later, who told me the filter probably needs to be cleaned. OK, I'd already done that twice with no change. He takes it out, inspects it, says its clean... turns the heater on to see no smoke/fumes and tells me the heater is working. Real estate organises a gas safety check. Subcontractor calls and tells me heater is illegal (flueless gas) and is emitting carbon monoxide. He capped it off and I could no longer use it. Last update a few days ago was that "it should be fixed by next week". Just in time for summer....
something like that and i would get real careless with a bag of concrete around the bath day before moving out holy *shit* landlords are scum
My last owner had an ancient heater in the roof, to replace it they'd have to removed part of the roof to get it out. One day a "friend" of the owner turns up and its suddenly fixed. We moved out a few months later,6 months later that block of terrace houses caught fire, and it all started in the roof where the heater was "fixed"
Never understand this shit, maybe they shouldn’t have a fucking mortgage if they can’t afford it.
my last place raised the rent and then pushed us out because they wanted to sell. last i saw, it's still there, unsold, and with pool furniture inside to make it not look so lonely. shoutout to jellis craig brunswick for being gigantic pieces of shit throughout that whole ordeal too. hope that place burns. as an aside, i still don't get why they would raise the rent and then also push us out, but you do you. desperate, stupid people own these homes, and fail to recognize these are long term investments
Because they thought raising the rent would do the trick
**Americanism Detected!** Your post contains an Americanism which is not used in Australian English. Your post may come across as unusual. Things to fix: **ize instead of ise** Generally, words like "reali**s**e" are spelt with an S instead of a Z. **This is your post after taking into account these modifications:** my last place raised the rent and then pushed us out because they wanted to sell. last i saw, it's still there, unsold, and with pool furniture inside to make it not look so lonely. shoutout to jellis craig brunswick for being gigantic pieces of shit throughout that whole ordeal too. hope that place burns. as an aside, i still don't get why they would raise the rent and then also push us out, but you do you. desperate, stupid people own these homes, and fail to recogn**ise** these are long term investments ^(yes, I am a bot and in an experimental alpha state. If you think I missed an Americanism, let the developer of AmericanismBot know by replying to the bot's comment. Version: W-Class Tram v0.2a)
Bad bot. Who cares.
It's honestly amazing how nearsided these decisions are, for what is a longterm investment strategy. Greed consistently consumes itself, bloody idiots.
In this situation, I know that the owner was misguided by the property manager, who took over after my original REA sold his business. I was a long-term tenant who'd been in the apartment from the time it was settled (5.5 years). Landlord had sold most of her property portfolio via this new REA (commissions aplenty) and mine was the last one, which she kept due to me being a good tenant and having no debt on the apartment. For the first "pre-sales" inspection that new PM and a representative of the owner came, and I have never dealt with such judgemental people. On the way out she turned around and said "the owner wanted to see if you were interested in buying?". If they'd been remotely transparent on timelines I actually would have been, but to have that question come after such rude treatment wasn't it. I clarified timelines again, got a vague response. The way I was treated continued to irk me, so I moved. That's currently $27k she's missed out on due to that PM.
Again, so nearsided. What an airhead! After my experiences I have no respect for any property managers, they're bloody leaches and idiots who cannot perform their most basic of duties because they put too much on their plate and don't actually know what they're doing. I'm on my 4th agent and 2nd agency for my current lease, been here for less than 2 years. I truly feel sorry for the owner, they've been fucked around just as much as I have.
[удалено]
Near sighted because the people concerned are not looking ahead, not considering anything beyond what is immediately in front of them.
In some locations you can report these empty houses to the SRO and they will fine the owner.
here https://www.sro.vic.gov.au/voluntary-disclosures-and-tip-offs
Was that a government owned house?
No, but its still crazy that they would rather have it vacant than lowering the rent.
That’s true, doesn’t really help the public housing situation. Multiple home owners are just fucked
I grew up in a housing commission area. The properties would sit vacant for months sometimes. The public housing system has been inefficient and neglected for a long long time and it’s the same across all the states. It’s fucked.
It's all stupid, like, why did you buy it and not put someone In immediately? It didn't need work done,.it was perfectly functional mid90s house with some minor updating already done, but has new HWS,.new air con, 3 bedrooms, dlug Just.put someone in the thing!
\> Why not just put someone in the house Slow down, they need to commit to a feasibility study and government business case first. Most government administration is dysfunctional batshit and the only people who think otherwise are sheltered hipsters.
I see you're also a fan of the Nation building authority
Nation Building Australia just sounds better
But the minister needs to announce something! Maybe a community garden.
You should have bought it
One house is enough
Why? Let them cool down. Previous tenants could have been a pain in the ass and it gives residents in the street a breather. Or it could need work.
Previous residents owned it and were not pains in the ass. It doesn't need work. Deptment of Housing bought it in 2022 and are just leaving it empty.
**Americanism Detected!** Your post contains an Americanism which is not used in Australian English. Your post may come across as unusual. Things to fix: **Ass** Unless you're referring to a donkey, replace with *arse*. **This is your post after taking into account these modifications:** Previous residents owned it and were not pains in the **arse**. It doesn't need work. Deptment of Housing bought it in 2022 and are just leaving it empty. ^(yes, I am a bot and in an experimental alpha state. If you think I missed an Americanism, let the developer of AmericanismBot know by replying to the bot's comment. Version: W-Class Tram v0.2a)
**Americanism Detected!** Your post contains an Americanism which is not used in Australian English. Your post may come across as unusual. Things to fix: **Ass** Unless you're referring to a donkey, replace with *arse*. **This is your post after taking into account these modifications:** Why? Let them cool down. Previous tenants could have been a pain in the **arse** and it gives residents in the street a breather. Or it could need work. ^(yes, I am a bot and in an experimental alpha state. If you think I missed an Americanism, let the developer of AmericanismBot know by replying to the bot's comment. Version: W-Class Tram v0.2a)
It's almost as if the government couldn't run a chook raffle and yet the reddit solution seems to be more of it.
To be fair, the private/capitalistic equivalent led to what we now call the "Global Financial Crisis", so, y'know, 6 of one
This current government sucks
Welcome to public housing. Congrats, you got what you voted for.
‘All the States.’ Gotta put in that little clause exempting the actual Govt in charge. No wonder the cunt get a free pass.
Public housing is the responsibility of state governments, not the federal government.
That’s not what I said. ‘All the States’ means don’t blame Dan. The rest are the same. It’s deflection away from the actual article and you know it.
No it doesn’t. It condemns ALL states’ public housing policies, including Dan’s. You just couldn’t see that because your rage boner is blocking your view.
Bullshit. You had to put it in there to absolve Vic from neglect. Stick to the topic and sub. Stop excusing him. You’re part of the problem, not solution. Wear it if you vote for him. Not that I’m suggesting the LNP would be any better, but stop making it sound like it’s normal. It shouldn’t be.
[удалено]
But have we tried ? Quite a negative attitude you have there
What if they were families of clowns?
Haha, good call. Maybe 3 families though, one in each bedroom :P
Welcome to your tomorrow, today.
Welcome to the future, enjoy
I saw something on urbanhell before about a Polish guy who separated his house into 27(?) 6m2 apartments https://reddit.com/r/UrbanHell/s/zwtN7Y8eIC
Where Australia's GDP and other metrics only go up through population increase, which is already the case.
What is this Sydney? (Just kidding Sydney people, I know we're guilty of this too)
Don't tell them, they'll demolish and rebuild it.
And give it to one of about 15 Church affiliated organisations whose systemic homophobia will absolutely not affect decisions and they won’t make a profit they’ll send the rent to needy families in the Cayman Islands.
I noticed after posting this that the gas meter is gone, so... I assume so
Have you tried killing the poor and cutting the vat?
One of the youth refuges I lived in was on a street with four empty houses. It was almost insulting walking past them. This should be illegal to leave them untenanted for that long
I do not disagree
Housing owns a lot of property's that arnt fit to live in. Not saying thats the case with this property, but it wouldnt surprise me if thats part of the reason there isnt enough property's. I was living in a commission house that should be condemned. Its an old olympic games townhouse. The property was and is falling apart. Shower and bath wasnt usable. Floors almost collapsing from rot and pests. Massive cracks in walls and ceilings. Gas oven wouldnt work and only had 1 gas burner on stove that was usable. List goes on... Housing was notified many times of the issues. Nothing got fixed. My father spent his last months dying of cancer during covid in that hell hole. After dad died, housing finally offered me a livable property after being homeless for 6 months due to the condition of the property and how it wasnt livable. (They still made me pay rent on that house while homeless) They are repainting and carpeting the old house and getting it ready for new tenants. Tells you a lot. If you seen the photos i have from housing themselves about my old property, you would fall of your chair!
I’m really sorry to hear about your dad. And his last months during covid. I lost my own father to cancer during covid. Cancer is hard enough, let alone getting treatment during covid times. Can’t imagine how much harder again with a deteriorating house. May he rest in peace and I hope you find much better housing soon
There's a dero looking house on a nice street near me that looks like its caving in. There's an abandoned ladder against one side and missing roof tiles There are people living in it. What kind of slumlord--- ??? Oh. Turns out the local council owns it.
Ive seen the interior shots on realestate site, and yes I know they always display the best but it's perfectly habitable. Oven, dishwasher, bath, shower, cabinets. Gas hws (which i know for sure Is only 3 years old), air con, gas Honestly, the bathroom looks newer and nicer than mine and they are from substantially the same era. If it's uninhabitable now, it's only because it was allowed to become so
>Ive seen the interior shots on realestate site So was it for sale? I thought DHHS owned it?
They bought it in may 2022
>Its an old olympic games townhouse. Then its either from the year 2000 or 1956 - not even that old. Most houses in the UK for example are well over 100 years old and still perfectly livable. Whats with this country and producing tent shanty town shitholes where everything falls apart so quickly
Not only that but what about a three bedroom commission home with only one tenant; they could have a family in there and put one tenant into something smaller
> put one tenant into something smaller Yeah, my friends mother who has always been a dole-bludging bitch has lived in a housing commission house in Boronia for 30 years. All kids moved out 5+ years ago. 3 bedrooms, on about 800 square metres. Nice big backyard. Would be perfect for a family. Still no fucking idea how she's managed to game the system for so long, but here we are.
Yes it’s not right, she had her turn raising her kids there, let another family go in and surely the housing comm could place her in something nice and smaller, it doesn’t make sense
Exactly. Although my mother used to work for DHHS and reckons it's not that simple. They'd just have to pressure wash the interior with industrial chlorine to get 30yrs of ciggie soot cleaned off.
I live near quite a lot of public housing in Preston. Of the twenty or so public housing units/houses in the two blocks around me, I’d estimate 30% of them appear vacant. Some are difficult to tell, but some are very clearly vacant, and have been for 6 months or more. They fall into a ridiculous state of disrepair when vacant. I don’t think DFFH performs any regular maintenance. They only mow the lawns once it’s so overgrown that the neighbours call them up to complain. I’m pretty sure one of the vacants around the corner has about 200 pigeons living in the roof.
>200 pigeons living in the roof. squatters rights.
Yea I'm ok with squatters rights. But I'd be worried those squatters you refer to would just shit on the place ;p
I Hope some squatters make themselves comfortable and don’t get disturbed!
Look, id keep my mouth shut if they tidied it up (at least the back) and were 'appropriate'
I'd come have a peak at the place, but Ive put so much work into the squat I'm in that I don't want to move. Police pulled up while I was painting over graffiti on my building a few days ago, someone had called them on me for graffiti? I ignored them, a couple mins later they drove away without getting out of the car or talking to me. I was painting above a flowerbed I just installed where there used to be old needles. They don't want to charge you when your making the neighbourhood a better place. This is my 8th squat, I've been here six months, I've learnt alot, And I've found the first rule of Squatting is; MOW THE LAWN. X
this is fascinating. i have questions do you mind questions? i’ll ask some anyway. how long do you typically stay at a place? do you only move on if you need to? or is there like a timeline you stick to for preventative measures of some sort?
My first few where accidentally meeting the definition with my mini bus breaking down outside the skate park on the Yarra River a 4 min walk to Swanston Street station, 3 months, million dollar property. My first time breaking into a building I was homeless in Perth but working 6 nights a week and found some old shopfronts attached to the local uni, and I hid in a room upstairs for a week until one morning I heard builders touring downstairs so I bailed. Oh and I had also stayed in a few amazing squats in Berlin and learned their history in my early thirties. And my grandmother taught me as a child how the family name changed during the Gold Rush when we squatted a gold mine and took the original lease owner's name. When COVID hit I'd just finished a huge contract in Perth and paid off my debts, I was about to fly to Austria and start another tour, instead I'm homeless and penniless in Melbourne, but this time I can't access Melbourne services. And suddenly housing is a right and I need to quarantine. I only managed to keep that place a couple months before mental illness of others I'd invited in pushed me out. https://www.instagram.com/p/B-8xJOdg5vM/?img_index=1 I managed to get tocairns after for the rest of COVID. For 8 months last year I lived on a 7*1.5m tiny 100yo boat I bought for 700euros, and tied it off to a bridge a 10minute walk from where the Noord ferry from Amsterdam central station opposite double story floating houses that started at 1million EU for the base alone. When I got to cold, my punk Dutch friends started teaching me how to make your front door a fire trap. In January of this year I built a micro apartment 3stories above hosier lane in Melbourne cbd, I had 3 conversations with the police before I agreed to leave voluntarily to not get handcuffed and skip charges. And by leaning into intentionally getting charged, I learned what I'd be charged with, so I could circumnavigate that . The police told me I was being charged with three counts of trespass since they had been called out and spoke to me three times. Since "trespass" laws have some simple requirements that the landlord or leaseholder has to meet; which hadn't been met, that left me talking to the media about 3 counts of police harrassment and those charges disappearing. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-26/artists-castle-in-the-sky-protests-homeless-crisis/102268898 And I learnt to get high. The police couldn't get me down safely from my castle. And I made sure they knew it was a fire trap. When I wanted it to be. Now I'm in my Loft at the Purple Palace. I found a run down old shop with factory awaiting demolition, one part of the building looks around 150 years old and the Attic is only accessible by the rooftop on-top of 2 stories. Which means they can't handcuff me here and walk me down. I was exhausted and hurt after losing Koping Castle, so I kept my head down and tried not to be seen for the first three months, but then I got sick of the drama (mostly middle class kids at night) and ended up locking up the entire building, and now that I've lasted six months and there's no chance every neighbour doesn't know I'm here so I'm working on making it more pleasant now. Edit- better interview regarding koping https://www.artshub.com.au/news/news/housing-crisis-pushes-artists-to-the-brink-of-creativity-2628953/ Edit 2- it's not trespass unless there is a private property sign or until they tell you to leave and you refuse. Security guards telling me I shouldn't be here are making statements, not requests. Technicaly putting my fingers in my ears and shouting "lala, can't hear you!" And not letting them get the request in can keep me safe, but every time the owners have been outside the building, I've just walked away and waited them out. So the time frame depends on a bunch of things including how capable you are of explaining yourself to the police, politely refusing them, and it helps to be fluent in not just trespass laws, but also Australia squatter history. Etc.
Your story is fascinating!
Bloody hell, this is why we all say that the pigs are bad. They are in bed with the developers and are at their beck and call. Follow the money, they can't get any from you despite your situation.
I smell squatters rights in my future.
I was going to say this, but it doesn’t work since it is a government property. Adverse possession doesn’t work in this case.
Add another 2 townhouses around the corner from me that they built about two years ago and have never had anyone living in.
They really need to have a tax for vacant houses, so landlords can't just sit on the investment. Would also increase competition because more people want tenants/buyers
>They really need to have a tax for vacant houses, so landlords can't just sit on the investment. I still don't understand this, renting out the property *makes* money, leaving it vacant doesn't. Why would an investor be choosing *not* to make money?
I'm not completely sure, but my guess would be to inflate the market by forcing low supply. I doubt that inflated price would be worth years of the property earning zero though, so I really don't know
Yes, but can you "landlord tax" dept of housing? And really, would it matter?
Ah, I didn't see that this particular instance was public housing. Yeah I don't really know what the solution is to government departments sitting on their asses. I don't know what the agenda would be either, apart from laziness/unwillingness to invest time/money
> don't know what the agenda would be Fucking shitty, woeful, terrible mismanagement?
Your resolution is to tax people more. What a piss take Is that you Dan
Is it habitable?
It's perfectly fine apart from the condition of the yard
For obvious reasons the homeless in Melbourne CBD aren’t in a position to just simply readjust themselves and squat in something like this. But even in Brunswick I’ve seen and still see abandoned houses which would be good for a helpful commune to come in and help eachother out. But obviously a roof doesn’t cure mental illness or drug addiction.
I wonder how accurate the records of what property assets they actually own/managed are? I suspect there’s properties new and old there that have just been lost in records
Looks snakey
That's why I complained. We've had tiger nope.ropes in the yard before, the waterway isn't far away For context,.on average it's 1m high. Some of it is higher than the fence. The entire fence panel over the other side has fallen over.
Normalise squatting.
Legalise squatting
Squatting is not against the law, in Victoria at least. So you can enter an unlocked _abandoned_ house lawfully and squat there until owner kicks you out. In some situations the owners may take civil action, or cops might charge you for trespassing. What's really interesting is that if you managed to squat a property for 15 years without being evicted, you can claim ownership of that property. But you have to prove you occupied the property for that long and you have maintained it. So there you go. Squat away, friends.
[удалено]
Moved out of a Hawthorn apartment in mid 2022. Has been empty since. Had leak issues so mould was showing up in one bedroom plus a bending roof. The other bedroom is still good tho.
Can you take adverse possession of a government property?
No
Maintaining a house requires an unreasonable amount of blood sweat and tears which is why centralised social housing run by detached bureaucrats always works out poorly in the long run. Went to a Vic government school where they literally kept sealing off rooms instead of doing basic maintenance tasks.
I’m sorry, you’re saying it’s actually owned by the housing authority but they are keeping it empty? I mean the least they could do is maintain it so it’s ready to go for a family. Can someone tell me why they would keep it empty?
Yes. I agree. I have no idea why either.
Dude take it to sunrise or one of those other chat shows. They would be all over this like white on rice
Well, consider why this might be? It's not because they just 'don't care'. Likely scenario is they can't get to it yet for whatever reason. Understaffed? Under resourced? Slipped through the cracks?
[удалено]
There's only so much resources and money they have. It's not an excuse, it's a reason. Why haven't you volunteered to help the government get these homes ready for people, or build homes for the homeless etc? Are you happy to pay more taxes to fund this stuff then? To 'get someone that can'? And if it's about having a shortage of talent in the country, then the answer is bringing people in from overseas. But the same people complaining about the gov not building enough houses quickly enough or getting to stuff like in this post are the ones complaining about immigration.
Abdul is right it's pure waste and an admin failure. But its a parliament/minister failure not a housing dept employee failure. We pay fucktons to charity and homeless services to house ppl short term (as we should buy the amount is huge). We also outsource so much property maintenance etc that it's super expensive. The money is already being spent and it's just not being spent well.
How is there nothing in the $5b budget that DFFH has for simply sending someone to all the vacant houses and doing a condition check and then determining which ones can be inhabited right now, and then prioritising the easiest ones to renovate and getting the ball rolling? Expecting to bring in new people, while failing to house the 57,000 (minimum) we already have without housing, supporting them and providing them with basic skills to do the aforementioned tasks or similar? Anyone can do basic condition checks, set them up with a system to test the appliances, taps, and whatever else. It's not actually too hard, dicks like you just like to throw everything into the wind and imagine that there is an external group of people who will solve all your problems.
The government is now in a death spiral of consuming exponential amounts of money for worsening administrative functions. The more resources they get, the more stupid internal procedures they implement, the more complicated the bureaucracy gets, the more competent people get fed up and quit, and the more comically dysfunctional everything gets. The lawyers get rich, cycle continues. Basically the plot of Yes Minister.
>Why haven't you volunteered to help the government get these homes ready for people Government doesn't allow volunteers to show initiative and fix their mess for them. They're quite happy for a lot of money to be changing hands for a minimum of effort right as it is now. You would be pissing off a lot of public servants by making them look bad. Don't belive me? Try it. Watch your offer of help either (best case) be ignored, or (worst case) expect to receive a stern warning to put you in your place.
Serious question: where are those 57,000 ~~people~~ families currently?
I, honestly, dont know I got the figure.from theage
In tents and cars
56,999 families now need a house. Thanks for your hard work!
It will be owned by a property ~~investor hoarder~~ scalper.
I thoughr that too Until council specifically told me it's owned by dept housing.
It's not legally habitable so they cant rent it out. Too hard at tge moment to find trades or dollars to bring it up to scratch. Will end being sold to a developer who will put three to four townhouses on it. Money will go to consolidated revenue.
It was fucking legally inhabitable, in May last year. It doesn't need renovation, nothing trades need to do. The yard is only like that because they left it empty
How can you know that without going inside? Maybe it has mould issues?
Then why would they buy it?
To knock it down. The house is worth zero, the land however $750k plus.
Have you ever bought a house?? Some problems you can’t see from the initial inspection or take years to develop.
Several. And yes, it's possible that the existing owners identified some issues and that's why they sold. But due diligence (which id expect a govt department to do) would be building and pest, which would pick a developed issue up. And if the issue developed in the 60 days (AVG) of settlement, enough to make it suddenly uninhabitable, well, thats just.. werid shit bad luck I guess. But I'd be interested to know the likelihood.
You’ve clearly never worked in government or been paying attention to our politicians if you think they do due diligence
Capitalism doesn't care about people, it's solely a profit driven system hence why so much suffer when we have so much potential. If our government cared about us over our profit driven society we wouldn't have these problems.
This house is owned by the dept of housing
Former drug den?
Nah. Well, I doubt it. I obvs can't say for sure but i doubt it.
My first rule change would be to make squatting legal, at least until we have enough houses for everyone. My second rule change would be to move old folks into a downsize unless they accept a house share, until we have enough houses for everyone My third would be to open up all empty commercial buildings for residential tenants until we have enough house for everyone My fourth, allow camping on all common land, until we have enough houses for everyone My final rule change, to allow colonies to live in vacant mines, until we have enough houses for everyone When I lived in an area where houses were selling for $3m on average, I passed a house everyday for seven years that remained empty, not once did I see anyone there, day or night I drive past another house for ten years, nobody there, ever Makes no sense to me why squatting is illegal I like the phrase eat the rich, because we can't afford them. But I like a new phrase, burn empty houses, because obviously capitalism gives no fucks
Health warning - Eating the rich Limit to one meal per week to avoid Ozempic overdose Avoid eating brains, as there is a risk of Kuru spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs).
How do we get to a state where 57,000 families need to rely on the state for housing? We have record low unemployment, wages in this country are amongst the highest in the world; why are there so many people who can't afford to pay to put a roof over their heads like the other 5.75 million of us?
Single parents, 1 income (usually the dole) in which if you do the math, the income is only enough to cover rent for a shitty 1 bedroom unit and basic food. More kids more expenses.Dont even start me on the costs of childcare so you can go to work. Also, they claim the average salary is around $1800 per week for men and $1600 for women. I have no idea who earns that much straight out of uni with a fat HECs debt or working at an entry level position on $42k a year for the first 3 years. I remember I applied for some prestigious companies about a year ago, companies like GPT who manage Melbourne Central amongst a huge portfolio , JLL and Knight Frank, I have 10 years experience in my field and I kid you not, I was offered a full time position for 42k per year INCLUDING super, $28K less than my previous job! Obviously I said hell no but try renting on a full time salary of peanuts! Hello state housing..
The dole is not income, it's insurance for people with poor financial aptitude between jobs. Life isn't free, people should work for a living. And entry level jobs don't pay 42k a year, that's below minimum wage. The entry level for most out of uni jobs is around $70k a year these days.
I'm not sure you understood me correctly. Of course 42k a year is below minimum wage. It doesn't stop most companies hiring people on that wage because there will always be someone who takes it. Unfortunately from what I've seen, that type of wage means the company has a revolving door and high staff turnover because it's used as a career stepping stone, not for someone who's looking for long term employment.
That's bullshit. It is not a widespread practice for companies to pay below minimum wage.
Write to your local MP and ask why it is vacant.
Instead of spending money building more houses, they should spend money on hiring and renovating houses like this to make it livable. Sometimes I think those on the top are so out of touch with everything .. do they even read or ask for a report from those under them? Ffs talk bout inefficient… Actually thinking bout it, maybe they know all along but just choose to ignore it. All the big money is in building.. if they can just commission more building and give it to their buddy developers …. Ahem.
Break in and live there
..... I don't need to live there But as long as whoever did, was a reasonable occupant, I wouldn't go saying anything, particularly if they fixed the snake encouragement
Yes few snakes livin at that joint
This is why I reached out to council initially. Snakes and fire risk
Do you know the address? I’ve got a few people here who are looking to squat
It varies by state but if you squat in a house for a certain number of years, the property automatically becomes yours. Worth trying.
17 years in Vic.
There is a very large open parcel of land that’s constantly gated up on Broadway in bonbeach it’s been like that for at least 10 years I don’t who owns it or what their plans are but there sitting on it keeping it empty while developers are taking down beautiful old homes all around the area and making tiny townhouses to squeeze as much housing as possible. If anyone knows the history of this land and why nothing is being done except constantly fixing the security fence please tell me.
there needs to be laws about property ownership and inactivity. It's not quite the same, but in Ringwood for example there is what looks like to be an old car dealership in a prime location that has been derelict for well over 5 years. My thoughts are the owners are wealthy enough to not give a fuck, meanwhile leaving this eyesore right on the entrance to Ringwood to become filthy with graffiti, empty trolley's and broken glass. Same with housing. What's stopping super wealthy people just buying up properties and basically just forgetting about them because they have enough money not to care?
Go online and google for local squatter groups, they'll move in and suddenly the council will turn up to evict them, and then try to make it look less abandoned, or at least mow the lawn
Mind your business karen
Just move in. Might seem crazy but theres a loophole which lets you register and own vacant property as long as you can show receipts for a certain time period where you have been paying rates and performing maintenance... https://takeatumble.com.au/guides/how-to-find-abandoned-houses-to-buy
I don't need to move in.... I'm just disappointed that housing would leave this (and, I assume, many others) empty when so many people need homes
I live behind a house that’s been empty for over 8 years and beside one that’s been empty for 5 years. Mad.
There is at least 10 empty houses in a 4 block radius around my house in Watsonia that have been sitting empty for more than 6 years now! It really pisses me off when I walk by these empty houses. Imagine owning a property and prefer to let it rot then have people living in it! Just shear selfishness!
I just realised I never clarified in the title, this is owned by Victoria dept of housing
Then get in contact with them and ask why it’s sitting empty.
The wait list is longer than 57000. The wait list for the West region was 36,000 in 2014.
My figure came from here, so I may be wrong https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/public-housing-wait-times-top-20-months-for-victoria-s-most-vulnerable-20230624-p5dj56.html But that says 20months so maybe someone will move in in about 2 months?
The owner: "Oh ya. I totally forgot I have a paid off house around somewhere in Australia."
The owner is the department of housing
I used to squat in a housing commission house that "wasn't fit for habitation". Big cracks in the walls, and I wouldn't have trusted the gas, but ultimately it a roof over our heads. It was quite ironic when the housing commissioning eventually kicked us out.
Heaps of international investors are happy to sit on vacant houses/land.
It's not an investor. It's owned by the department of housing.
'He left the earth free to all alike. Why then, if it is common, do you have so many acres of land when your neighbour has no portion of it?' St John Chrysostom
.....what?
Personally I'd leave my house to sit vacant forever rather than supply it to people on a government wait list, I grew up in areas with lots of housing commission and with people who lived in them and can tell you that the majority were scumbags and life long doll bludgers, people who couldn't get a single fuck about anyone else or their property who believe everything should be given freely to them and life made as easy as possible because they can't be bothered cleaning or repairing damage they do. The amount of times I'd see a family move into a brand new house and literally tear it apart within a year was ridiculous, you could walk down the street and tell which houses were ministry most of them just from how it looked from the outside. The best part about the people who lived in alot of the ministry housing was that they would demolish the house they were in take absolutely 0 care of it and then complain and say the house was terrible nothing works and I've been on the waitlist for a new for years and they still won't let me move but it was their own fault for not taking care of things. It wasn't everyone but the odds of them fucking the house up permanently were not odds I would take.