Tenants of an affordable housing building in Melbourne say they have faced safety concerns and knee-deep piles of uncollected trash since they moved into their government-owned building ago approximately 18 months.

Their experiences with Victoria’s affordable rental program – marketed as a unique alternative to the tight rental market – have led some to wonder whether they might have been better off in private rentals.

The central Melbourne building was among the first to welcome people under the scheme, which typically offers three-year leases in government-owned properties at a price at least 10 per cent below the government rate. walk.

Residents the ABC spoke with generally agreed that their building had served its purpose of expanding their choice of modern housing in competitive, well-serviced areas, saving them money, or at least saving them to spend less on rent over their lifetime. three-year leases.

But some tenants expressed concern over what they described as a gap between the promise of the program and its reality.

The most serious complaint concerned a front door malfunction which prevented members of the public from entering the building without an access card in April this year.

“It just turned into a mall door, where you walk up and it opens on you,” said resident Alexander Clarke.

The building’s rental manager, National Affordable Housing Victoria (NAHV), said it urgently resolved the issue once it was reported.

But Mr Clarke says the problem took several weeks between his reporting and its resolution.

Mr Clarke said someone stole about $1,700 worth of equipment and a garage door opener from his partner’s car while he was waiting for the repair.

Another tenant said a suitcase containing his clothes was stolen from a common area.

A police investigation remains open and CCTV footage seen by ABC shows a masked and hooded person wandering around the building in the early hours of a Tuesday morning.

Mr Clarke said the problem posed a “safety risk to people living in the building”.

The ABC has chosen not to identify the building in case security concerns resurface in the future.

Waste in piles after dissolution of entrepreneur

The ABC spoke to members of four households who raised issues such as a lack of cleanliness in common areas, high staff turnover and maintenance requests dragging on longer than expected.

“We’ve met with six property managers in the year and a half, almost two years, that we’ve lived here, four of whom we weren’t even informed about when they changed,” Mr Clarke said. .

Last winter, tenants were concerned about waste accumulating in the trash room due to a collection problem.

Margie, a resident who wanted her last name withheld for privacy reasons, said she sent NAHV two breach notices as the problem worsened over a two-week period or more.

“It was hard to even get into the trash room,” she said.

“I was just surprised at how distant they were, like, ‘It’s not a problem,'” she said.

Margie said she was eventually told the waste management contractor had become insolvent.

NAHV said it named a new company shortly afterward.

But two tenants said the trash chute remained blocked, creating amenity issues.

The NAHV also confirmed that two apartments were being investigated for mold, but the extent and cause of the infiltration were not known.

At a separate affordable rental block in Cheltenham, which has had problems of its own, residents have been waiting for dishwashers to be installed for almost a year.

NAHV said there had been considerable delays in finding and negotiating with suppliers, but an installation date would be confirmed soon.

Taxpayer-funded program called into question

The State Government has big plans in the coming years to expand the affordable sector to 2,400 properties, using funding from its $5.3 billion social housing fund, the Big Housing Build.

It describes the program as a “unique alternative to the private rental market” intended to support those who earn too much money to qualify for social housing, but who would risk experiencing rental strain in the private market.

NAHV is the lead agency for a consortium of companies executing the program. Having won a $3.3 million government contract at the end of 2022, it currently manages 267 affordable rentals.

But at least one academic has questioned why public housing funding is funneled into this program, which can disqualify applicants who end up spending more than 30 percent of their income on rent.

Hypothetically, that means single applicants might not qualify for a recently advertised one-bedroom house in Coburg at $354 a week if they earn less than about $61,000.

“In a world closer to perfection, where the households that need it most are cared for and housed properly and safely, then by all means focus on moderate-income households,” he said. said Dr Kate Shaw from the University of Melbourne.

“But doing this while there are still people in need who are not housed at all is a real misalignment of priorities.”

A state government spokesperson said applicants could spend up to 40 per cent of their income on rent if approval meant they could save on other expenses.