Public housing residents already being impacted by relocation

As the first of Melbourne’s public housing towers begin to be vacated, clients are reportedly experiencing distress throughout the process, according to a lawyer involved in the class action appeal.

Earlier this year, Inner Melbourne Community Legal (IMCL) argued in the Supreme Court of Victoria that Homes Victoria’s decision to demolish the public housing towers in Flemington and North Melbourne failed to properly consider residents’ human rights before the decision was made.

However, in April, the court ruled that the government was not legally required to consult with residents prior to deciding to demolish the towers. IMCL has since lodged an appeal, with the hearing set to begin on October 27.

Since residents have started to vacate their homes, a number of IMCL clients are already said to be struggling with the impacts of relocation or the stress of insecure tenancies.

Some tenants have already moved and are content, but many are not. We’ve had clients return to us expressing deep dissatisfaction and wanting to investigate their right to return, said Louisa Bassini, managing lawyer, housing and tenancy at IMCL.

Ms Bassini noted that the process had been unclear and inconsistent, with some residents receiving inadequate relocation offers – or none at all.

“The relocation forms allowed tenants to nominate whether they wanted to receive offers for public housing, community housing, or both,” she said. “Many weren’t aware of the implications of those choices – some didn’t even know they had moved into a different housing system.”

There are significant differences in tenants' rights between the housing models. For example, disability modifications are often not funded by community housing providers, and residents may be required to pay for them out of pocket.

The decision to appeal the Supreme Court’s ruling was not taken lightly, Ms Bassini said.

“It was made on the advice of counsel that there are reasonable grounds – including concerns about procedural fairness and breaches of human rights.”

“We believe the government’s decision to demolish these homes is hugely significant and should be further tested by the legal process,” she added.

“We’re not advocating for a specific outcome for the towers, but we are arguing that residents should have been properly consulted – that they deserved an opportunity to be heard on what would happen to their homes and communities.”

IMCL is also working with former Supreme Court judge Kevin Bell and the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law on a submission to the United Nation’s Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing, which is expected to be completed by October.

In a submission to the parliamentary inquiry into the demolition of the public housing towers, Mr Bell stated that the Victorian Government had approached the demolitions in an inhumane way.

“[The Victorian Government] has acted as if it were just the landlord of public housing tenants in property over which it has the full power of ownership and which it can redevelop as it sees fit,” he said.

“It may have acted as a democratically elected government can, but it has treated the residents of the towers in a way that … is an insult to their human dignity and in violation of their international human rights.” •