Health issues drive tenant’s unit battle
A BELMONT social housing tenant has moved into a hotel because she says her landlord won’t complete $2500 worth of work that will make her unit safe and comfortable to live in.
Pamela Clark, who has a range of health issues and is partially paralysed, said social housing provider genU had known about issues at her McKenzie Street rental since March.
“I am so frustrated. I am sick of it. I am not an unreasonable woman but they have made me miserable,” she said.
Ms Clark, who uses a walker and returned to her unit in April after a stint in hospital and at the McKellar Centre, said genU had not completed a risk assessment or a safety check of the property.
“It is not safe. I’ve got the correspondence from (the McKellar Centre) to the property manager and she’s done nothing,” she said.
Ms Clark, who is asthmatic, said the property’s backyard needed to be concreted and its carpet needed to be replaced with flooring.
She moved into a hotel for respite last week and said she felt unsafe due to the standard of her home and anti-social behaviour from other tenants.
“We’ve had dreadful problems with alcoholics and junkies,” Ms Clark said.
She said one resident had recently moved out after their front door had been kicked in.
A genU spokesman did not respond to questions relating to Ms Clark but said the organisation was in constant communication with her. “GenU has engaged additional professional security services at the site and we have had regular meetings in person and over the phone to address residents’ specific concerns,” he said.
“GenU is committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of all of our residents and will continue to follow up on any issue our residents may have.”
He said genU was committed to redeveloping the McKenzie Street site for the continued use of social housing, as well as sites in South Geelong and Geelong West.
Ms Clark said genU and its predecessor had kept multiple social housing units at the McKenzie Street property vacant for years, and foregone income that could have been used to improve the units.
According to the City of Greater Geelong’s Social Housing Plan 2020-41, the area faces an estimated need for 13,500 new social housing dwellings by 2041, while also replacing 1500 ageing public housing dwellings.