Failing our homeless: Public homes sit empty for years as the State considers whether to keep or sell

This State Government home in one of Perth’s most exclusive suburbs has been sitting empty for years, with bureaucrats pondering its future while families sleep rough. The Inglewood property is among the thousands of empty public-housing homes prompting questions over the State Government’s management of its property portfolio. The long-term vacant house is among 308 empty social-housing properties which are subject to “further assessment for future use,” while another 1693 sit vacant for renovations. But property advocates and local residents say faster decisions and repairs are desperately needed, with evidence that decisions are — in some cases — taking more than four years. An Inglewood resident complained that the State Government’s failure to either fix or sell the house meant a homeless person, or someone wanting to escape domestic violence, was missing out. “It’s heading to winter and to think a family can’t have this home is heart-breaking,” the resident said. The West Australian initially photographed the Inglewood home in question — which has been deemed unfit for habitation — as a vacant property in September 2023. The Department of Communities confirmed it is still empty, but refused to reveal when it was last occupied by a social-housing tenant. A department spokesman said the house required extensive works before it would be fit to live in and that repairs were difficult in older homes in heritage areas. “The Department of Communities is considering the well-located site for future redevelopment,” a spokesman said. The office of Housing and Works Minister John Carey said the department was also thinking about selling the home. But there was no explanation as to why it had not made a decision either way over the past two years. The Minister’s office did not answer a question about why the Government had not sold the Inglewood property — with land worth an estimated $1.1 million — with the proceeds used to spot purchase other social housing. The spokesman said the State Government was already adding significant one and two-bedroom stock in the Inglewood area. More recently, the State Government had announced a tender for more than 1000 social and affordable homes across the State under the $443 million housing initiative being delivered in partnership between the Albanese Government. The 1693 homes being renovated would be returned to stock for public housing tenants, the spokesman said. While there are no figures on how long social housing properties sit empty for repairs or assessment of future use, housing advocate Dani Summers said a house in her regional hometown Pingelly had been vacant for more than four years, with no signs of a decision. She blamed government neglect for failing to deal with the matter earlier, warning several other vacant government housing properties in the town risked becoming dormant for years. Meanwhile, there was a growing list of vulnerable people who could not afford private rentals. ShelterWA chair Kieran Wong called for speedy action. “With more than 20,000 Western Australian households on the waiting list, we are very concerned that hundreds of social housing properties are sitting vacant whilst decisions about their future are made,” he said. “These homes should either be renovated as promptly as possible or redeveloped to build even more social housing.” A new Anglicare report highlights every that every house is vital, with many welfare-earners forced to live in cars or couch-surf because not even a room in a share-house is affordable on their income. Its research shows only two Perth rentals are affordable for a welfare-earner. There are currently 21,772 applications — which can represent multiple people — on the years-long wait-list for government housing in WA. Opposition housing spokesman David Bolt said it was important to carefully manage existing stock while addressing issues affecting new supply, such as delays in electricity connections which hold up new developments. Mr Bolt said he had spent the morning talking to people who can not get affordable rentals. “Some of these people are on the verge of giving up,” he said.