a day ago
Queensland public housing tenants to be evicted after three warnings for serious behaviour in a year
Public housing tenants in Queensland who are issued three warnings for serious behaviour in a year could be evicted under a new government policy.
The new policy, which will come into effect in July, will also see tenants who are evicted for committing illegal offences banned from reapplying for two years.
Housing Minister Sam O'Connor said the new approach would allow housing officers to record warnings against tenancies and take action if the behaviour continued.
"It is all about making sure our tenants are as safe as they possibly can be and that the overwhelming majority who do the right thing are protected in their homes and in their communities that they love," he said.
He said officers would have the ability to apply discretion to tenants with complex needs, including disability, mental illness, and those experiencing domestic violence.
Karyn Walsh, chief executive of non-profit organisation Micah Projects, said she was disappointed in the new approach believing it would "not do anything to reduce homelessness".
"I understand the issues that social housing is facing, but I think there are other ways that we need to be addressing it because it disproportionately is going to affect the most vulnerable in our community," she said.
"There is a ripple effect if people aren't eligible for social housing with bans, and then there are other things they are not eligible for when they come to a homeless service."
Under the changes tenants who engage in severe or illegal activities, including assault, drug manufacturing or dangerous behaviour, will be exited immediately and banned from accessing social housing for two years.
Tenants who engage in serious behaviour, including deliberate and persistent damage and aggressive language to others, will be evicted from public housing on their third breach within a year and banned from accessing public housing for 12 months.
Under the changes no verbal warnings will be issued and after receiving a written warning tenants must commit to improving their conduct or they will face formal action to end their tenancy.
More than 12,000 social housing properties were damaged last financial year, according to the government, costing more than $20 million in repairs.
When asked what options were available to those who were evicted, Mr O'Connor told ABC Radio Brisbane there was "a range of products available that the department offers to support them to transition to another option".
"We have got 52,031 people on our wait list who are eligible for social housing and it is not acceptable to have people in the system who abuse that and who deliberately damage and cause significant amounts of destruction to our properties."
The government announced this week from July 1 it would conduct annual rent reviews to determine if social housing recipients were still within the income limit.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Mr O'Connor said changing the income caps for social housing tenants was not on the government's agenda.
