Tenancy and Property |
Tenancy and Property
HomeGround’s Tenancy and Property Service performs a key role in providing accommodation for people on the journey from homelessness to having a long-term, stable home.
The service manages 330 transitional or medium-term housing properties in the local government areas of Port Phillip, Stonnington and Yarra. The properties provide a vital housing alternative to homeless people who may otherwise sleep rough or be forced to use potentially dangerous and expensive private boarding house accommodation.
The transitional housing properties are affordable, fully-furnished and owned or leased by the Office of Housing with HomeGround as the ‘social landlord’. Tenants have the same rights and responsibilities under the Residential Tenancies Act as other tenants. HomeGround works in partnership with more than 60 support agencies, which refer clients to HomeGround for transitional housing and provide support to clients.
It is a requirement that all people in this program are linked to a community-based support worker who can help the tenant work towards finding permanent accommodation.
As landlord, HomeGround liaises with tenants around property issues and manages relationships with the Office of Housing, real estate agencies, body corporates and
neighbours.
In the last year there was an 8% decrease in the number of transitional housing properties due to the tight rental market. This occurred in conjunction with escalating demand for this housing and increasing difficulty in accessing long-term housing options, either public or private.
Assessment for Internet VacancySarah*, a woman in her mid 20s with a one year old son, was referred to HomeGround’s Tenancy and Property Service by a women’s refuge in October 2007.
Sarah was escaping a violent relationship and her only income was a single parenting payment. HomeGround provided Sarah and her child with a transitional housing flat and the refuge continued to provide her with support services.
At the time of referral, refuge staff told HomeGround that Sarah might have difficulty with the responsibilities of being a tenant because of her fragile mental health. This proved to be the case. During the first two months of her tenancy Sarah repeatedly called HomeGround to discuss maintenance issues that had already been resolved. HomeGround liaised with Sarah’s support worker to coordinate ways to reduce Sarah’s anxiety and confusion but her mental health continued to deteriorate.
This was followed by the Department of Human Services removing Sarah’s son from her care. Three months into the tenancy, the Crisis Assessment Team was called to help Sarah and they arranged for her to be admitted into hospital for psychiatric care.
HomeGround was uncertain how Sarah’s neighbours would respond given Sarah’s mental health state during the first three months of her tenancy. We were pleased to receive a phone call from a neighbour who showed great concern for Sarah and comforted her in her distressed state while waiting for the Crisis Assessment Team.
The neighbour later informed HomeGround about a foul smell coming from Sarah’s apartment. An inspection revealed that humidity in the apartment had caused carpet damage as a result of the flat being closed for five weeks while Sarah was in hospital.
HomeGround maintained Sarah’s tenancy while she was receiving psychiatric care and took care of the carpet issue.
Five months into the tenancy, Sarah was released from hospital and settled back into the flat. She received outpatient care from the hospital and support from the refuge service and the Department of Human Services. She was well enough to start having visits with her son and after another two months he was returned to her care.
Sarah continued to manage very well with her tenancy. Nine months in, HomeGround visited Sarah and was pleased to see that she and her son were both well and the property was being meticulously cared for.
Sarah said that she wanted to move into a privately rented property and began working again in order to achieve this. After ten months of her transitional tenancy, Sarah made contact to say that she had secured a private rental property and was moving out. She returned the keys and left the property in the same clean and furnished state in which it was provided.
Without HomeGround, Sarah’s housing options would have been extremely limited given her income and the state of her mental health.
The combination of transitional housing, support and mental health care was crucial to Sarah’s recovery and her ability to move on from crisis accommodation to transitional housing and, finally, into her new home.
After a light clean and replenishment of household supplies, the apartment was ready for allocation to another person at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness.
* Name has been change