By Karl Hoerr -
The City of Sydney has expressed hope that a court’s rejection of a bid to convert a Paddington boarding house into private homes, will protect affordable accommodation across New South Wales.
In a decision handed down on Thursday, the Land and Environment Court found, “The proposal would result in the unacceptable loss of affordable rental boarding house accommodation, and it is reasonable to seek its continued operation.”
The Council, which had knocked back a proposal to convert and subdivide the Selwyn St site, says the Court’s ruling comes too late for the residents of the 32-room facility, who have already moved out.
In her ruling, Commissioner Susan O’Neill said the proposal was unacceptable in the context of the shortage of this form of accommodation. “The evidence before me establishes that there is not sufficient comparable accommodation available in the inner city to satisfy demand and the ongoing cumulative trend is the loss of affordable rental housing for low-income earners.”
There had been 27 men and a caretaker living at the boarding house in November last year, and evidence suggested 12 of them had been there for more than 20 years. All residents were offered financial and other support to relocate but most were forced out of the area, losing good access to services like transport and employment.
“The displacement of the boarding house residents has caused a break down in established social networks, likely to have resulted in social dislocation for those displaced residents and the community they have been displaced from,” noted the judgment.
The Court accepted the site’s continued use as a boarding house was unviable due to its current rental yield of less than 6 per cent, but said this was only due to its current, substandard condition. Necessary upgrades, including fire safety and structural works, would cost $1 million, according to estimates accepted by the Court. With these works, Commissioner O’Neill found “the boarding house should … be viable and able to achieve a reasonable return in this desirable location.”
A spokesperson for the City of Sydney said, “we are hopeful the decision will set a valuable precedent that stops the loss of affordable and diverse forms of accommodation such as boarding houses to private residential development across the state.”
Lord Mayor Clover Moore said she was delighted with the decision. “Sydney should not simply be an enclave for the rich,” she said. The Lord Mayor urged greater action from the NSW Government, including urgently implementing the recommendations from the statutory review of the Boarding Houses Act.
“We’re in a housing affordability crisis, and governments must preserve and deliver affordable and diverse housing – including boarding houses,” said Moore.
