HomeGround Tenancy and Property
The Tenancy and Property team is responsible for the management of approximately 340 fully-furnished transitional properties throughout the inner metropolitan local government areas of Port Phillip, Stonnington and Yarra.
Suburbs in these local government areas include:
City of Port Phillip: Albert Park, Elwood, Middle Park, St Kilda, South Melbourne and Port Melbourne
City of Stonnington: Armadale, Glen Iris, Malvern, Prahran, Windsor
City of Yarra: Abbotsford, Clifton Hill, Collingwood, Fitzroy, Richmond
Our aim is to assist tenants to move towards a successful long-term housing outcome, working collaboratively with support agencies to identify and pursue such an outcome with the tenant.
As such, it is a requirement that all tenants are linked to a support worker from a support agency, to actively pursue their long-term housing, and other identified support goals.
Support Agencies
Transitional Housing offers limited lengths of stay, during which time three-monthly reviews occur involving the tenant, support worker and TP worker.
It is important to note that access for clients to properties is only made available through referrals from a support agency with a current Inter-Agency Agreement or protocol with HomeGround.
Currently there are approximately 60 different support programs with protocols to access HomeGround THM properties. More than two-thirds are Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP) agencies and the remainder is a mixture of health, migrant, church and community services.
For more information, telephone the TP team on 9537 7999.
The Properties
The properties are mainly two-bedroom flats, with a small number of one-bedroom flats and a few three and four-bedroom houses. All properties are fully furnished with the necessary basics such as beds, crockery, cutlery and fridges. Unfortunately we are not able to provide storage for tenants where they have household items of their own.
Tenancy Management
The minimum rent that a household could expect to pay in transitional accommodation is 25% of the gross household income. In some cases, there are certain exceptions where further subsidies are available to households.
The THM guidelines require that, as Landlords acting on behalf of the Department of Human Services, all tenancies are managed in accordance with the Residential Tenancies Act (1997). This means:
1. entry to tenanted properties must be pre-empted by correct service of a 24-hour Notice of Entry by a Landlord. Emergency access for support agencies is not possible
2. evictions are only pursued when there are grounds under the Residential Tenancies Act, and
3. length of stay issues are followed-up based around progress on a Housing Exit Plan discussed at each three-month review.
What is transitional housing?
The Transitional Housing Management Program (THM) is a short to medium term accommodation program funded by the Department of Human Services through the Office of Housing (OoH) in Victoria. There are 15 THMs throughout the State who are funded to provide both transitional housing, and housing information and referral services to their local community.
The focus of the THM program is on working in collaboration with support agencies who are assisting households who are homeless, or at risk of homelessness. The program focuses on four broad client groups; young people (under 25), women & children escaping domestic violence, people addressing their alcohol and drug use, and a general client group experiencing housing difficulties.
The following forms are only for use by Support Agencies with current HomeGround protocols for access to TP transitional properties.
Assessment for Internet Vacancy