Brand new social housing is sitting empty in Melbourne,
Despite being completed more than six months ago and a sky-rocketing waiting list
Mixed housing developments, consisting of social,
affordable and market-rent homes,
have been built in Prahran, Brighton and Flemington as part of a $519 million investment from the Victorian government.
They’re modern and fit for purpose but it’s taking a long time for would-be tenants to move in.
Water consumption data released by Prosper Australia on Saturday found 27,408 dwellings across Melbourne were empty in 2023, and a further 70,453 were barely used.
The empty properties could home those on Victoria’s social housing waitlist twice over, leading to calls to use existing housing to solve the crisis.
Across the three developments, just more than a quarter of the social housing units are uninhabited.
Victorian Public Tenants Association chief executive Katelyn Butterss says the fact so many units are still vacant in the midst of a housing crisis is “incredibly disappointing”.
