Wednesday, 2 April 2025

Housing

Evan MULHOLLAND (Northern Metropolitan) (12:11): (880) My question is to the minister for housing. Minister, your government has claimed that only 1.8 per cent of social housing was unoccupied as of March 2024; however, the most recent data shows that as of 30 June 2024 there were 4935 unoccupied public and community housing dwellings, representing a significantly higher proportion. Can you clarify how your government arrived at the 1.8 per cent figure and explain why thousands of homes remain empty while nearly 42 per cent of greatest needs households have been waiting for more than two years for housing?

Harriet SHING (Eastern Victoria – Minister for the Suburban Rail Loop, Minister for Housing and Building, Minister for Development Victoria and Precincts) (12:12): Thank you very much for your question, Mr Mulholland, and for your interest in social housing and the importance of making sure that as we upgrade, rebuild, build and repair social housing, we are bringing additional homes online to meet that need.

As you have correctly identified, as at 28 February this year, 1.8 per cent of public housing was vacant and in the re-tenanting pipeline. Being in the re-tenanting pipeline is about that turnover that is required upon exit of one resident and entry of another. You would appreciate, Mr Mulholland, that when people are living, often permanently, with very few breaks throughout the day for leaving their home there is more than the usual wear and tear to those homes. Therefore when people exit a property there is often additional work required and there may well be structural repair or upgrade required as well.

The 1.8 per cent which you have identified in your substantive question compares to a private market vacancy rate of 2.5 per cent in metropolitan Melbourne and 2 per cent in regional Victoria as at September last year. An additional 2.7 per cent of public housing properties are not suitable for renting, even in the short term, due to asset management reasons, and of these properties 1.4 per cent are no longer suitable for renting because they are being prepared for redevelopment or sale. Again, that is a subcomponent of the overall discussion on vacant properties. So the remaining 1.3 per cent are currently undergoing upgrades, being reviewed or will be developed.

The total number of vacant properties has reduced by almost 24 per cent, or 889 properties, over the 20 months from 30 June 2023 to 28 February 2025. As I also pointed out to you, Mr Mulholland, we do have a process of assessment at the end of each tenancy. We want to make sure that where work is identified to bring properties to a modern, habitable standard, that work is able to be assessed and then undertaken prior to tenanting. Properties that are in the process of being assessed go through that standard vacated maintenance process as well before the new occupants move in. We also want to make sure that in accordance with the standards prescribed by the Residential Tenancies Act 1997, we are meeting those standards that apply and should apply to people within the social housing system.

Most of these properties, as I indicated in the statistics provided to you at the outset, are able to be tenanted within 28 days. What I would also say, though, is that in some instances – for example, in the high-rise towers – it often takes a very long time to re-tenant those properties simply because people do not want to live there.

Evan MULHOLLAND (Northern Metropolitan) (12:15): Given the high number of unoccupied homes, what specific steps is your government taking to expedite the allocation of these properties to families in urgent need and why has there been such a delay in making them available?

Harriet SHING (Eastern Victoria – Minister for the Suburban Rail Loop, Minister for Housing and Building, Minister for Development Victoria and Precincts) (12:15): I do not accept the second part of your supplementary question about a delay. We work really hard to make sure that properties are able to be re-tenanted as quickly as possible. As I have indicated to you as well, we do work very hard to make sure that the total number of vacant properties is reduced by a significant proportion over time, and we have seen 3743 properties vacant over the 20 months from 30 June down to 2854 to 28 February 2025. We want to make sure that we are putting people into homes that are fit for purpose and that meet the standards prescribed by the Residential Tenancies Act. This means that the work we have done compares favourably to a private market vacancy rate of 2.5 per cent in metropolitan Melbourne and 2 per cent in regional Victoria. As I said, that is comparably 1.8 per cent of public housing vacant in the re-tenanting pipeline as at 28 February this year.