Boarder shake-up

By Casey Neill
FERNTREE Gully’s troubled Avenue boarding house district is set for a welcome shake-up thanks to looming rooming house regulation improvements.
Premier John Brumby announced on Friday 30 October a $77.2 million package to boost accommodation supply and tighten operator regulations.
Mr Brumby said the changes would improve rooming house quality and ensure the most vulnerable Victorians had access to safe and comfortable accommodation.
“There is growing evidence of illegal and unscrupulous behaviour by some landlords,” he said.
The government established the Rooming House Standards Taskforce in July to examine ways of governing the boom in privately run boarding houses.
It brought together tenants, operators, community groups and local government to identify ways to improve their quality.
Mr Brumby last month said the government would adopt all 32 taskforce recommendations and would now consult with key parties to determine the best way to implement them.
These changes will include mandatory operator and premise registration, improved safety and amenity standards, stronger compliance and enforcement and an increased rental housing supply.
The government will increase Consumer Affairs Victoria’s power to act on rooming house operators in breach of their responsibilities, provide $1 million to help families move out of rooming houses and into social housing and $2.5 million to help rooming house residents find long term, stable, private rental accommodation.
Ferntree Gully resident and former Dobson Ward councillor Karin Orpen said the rooming house situation “needed to be looked at” and welcomed the “long overdue” improvements.
“It’s certainly a great start,” she said.
“It’s bringing the plight of people who need assistance with housing to the fore and putting operators on notice.”
Ms Orpen and Knox Council advocated strongly for reform over the past three years.
There are five boarding houses in Ferntree Gully’s “avenue’’ precinct, near Station Street.
Nearby residents have raised concerns about their safety and the well-being of boarders and called on the State Government to help following several violent incidents.
“The issues were not just about neighbourhood amenity, they were about quality care for those people,” Ms Orpen said.
“I think it’s a great step forward.”
“Shoddy practices won’t be tolerated any more.”
Dobson Ward councillor Sue McMillan said the new regulations would tighten up what was required of boarding house operators and go a long way towards improving the system.
“The improvements they’re going to make will help cut out the less than reasonable boarding house operators,” she said.
“There are a lot of people out there who take advantage of those who are less fortunate.”
Municipal Association of Victoria president Bill McArthur supported the announcement.
“Councils have reported and explosion in rooming house numbers as a result of insufficient affordable housing alternatives, the tough economic climate and the tight private rental market,” he said.
“A new registration system for operators to be linked to a statewide register will improve the ability to protect tenants’ rights and enforce public health and building standards.”
Opposition housing spokeswoman Wendy Lovell said hundreds of vulnerable Victorians were being exploited by rogue rooming house operators.
“The Brumby Government has now announced it will undertake further consultation before acting on recommendations of the Rooming House Taskforce,” she said.
“These people require urgent, immediate action to ensure rooming house standards are improved.”
There are about 500 registered rooming houses in Victoria accommodating more than 4500 people, according to the latest census.