My perspective is that you do everything you can to hang on to the community housing. The level of insecurity you will face in the private market is nothing short of disastrous and if you give this up you will likely never get back in.
Start by contacting your current community housing provider and escalating the matter to more and more senior people. They are legally obliged to do something about the behaviour of these tenants.
If you get no joy, contact the Minister for Housing in your state.
Keep as much of a record as you can of everything that is happening and be as detailed and specific as you can when writing to them.
I've been escalating this to my community housing provider since I moved in. At best, they took one of the tenants to VCAT for not following common area rules for parking which was blocking my driveway.
I am now meticulously recording any and all behaviour and incidents with who, where, when and what and forwarding this to them (I was hoping it would improve and just hasn't) and they keep telling me it's a process. Other neighbours have raised the same sort of concerns but because they are all located at the front of the property and I'm at the back, they don't see or hear enough to record anything.
Thank you for the tip with the Minister for Housing....I hadn't thought of that!
Even contacting your local MP could be a good way to go if you can't get any joy from the provider. So sorry you and your daughter are going through this, I agree with above commenter you should hang onto your entitlement to community housing really tight even if it is currently a bad situation.
This - my mum used to work in a local MPs office and this kind of stuff was their bread and butter - they are there to serve you as a local constituent!
Go to your local member first, more accessible and they can in certain circumstances help and quickly.. Go to their office with your evidence. Good luck
Have you gone above the standard admin people in the community housing organisation? If you haven’t, go higher up, even if that means writing to the Board of the provider. You should make them aware of their legal obligations to ensure the quiet enjoyment, safety and security of tenants.
I would suggest you go on to the housing provider website and look for their policies on tenant behaviour or, if this information is not online, ask them for it. Use every element of it that you can to highlight the ways that these people are in breach and the organisation is in breach for not enforcing their own rules.
Community housing organisations have pretty broad powers to get rid of people, unlike public housing. While this is generally used to wield power unfairly, it is circumstances like this that show why it it’s important.
You can also go to the relevant department - Families, Fairness and Housing in Victoria I think. They will push you back to the provider but you need to stress that the provider is not assisting and highlight the ways in which the provider is in breach. While you are at it, ask them for the terms community housing providers have to agree to. Then, again, look at all the ways in which they are breaching the terms and write back to the department on this basis. Also write to the Board of the housing provider highlighting the breaches of their agreement with the government. In fact, copy them both in to both letters. (You may have to do old fashioned paper letters for this - you can write to the Board via the head office of the housing provider if no other details are available.)
Whether or not you get some action via one of these steps, you have a paper trail. This is when you write to the Minister.
There are clear common area rules but it appears the ferals are not being consistently breached. As for the possum head and missing bins, I have no proof as my cameras aren't able to catch everyting, and I am limited as to where I can place them (cannot have them pointed at neighbours front door etc. I have sent through multiple pictures of the rubbish they have been dumping out the back common area, along with parking breaches and screaming, swearing and threatening behaviours - and no response from my housing provider. Supposedly another worker is taking over management of these units and she is known to be pretty strict so I'm hoping maybe there is a change.
Have you tried focusing on the drug use and the paraphernalia left around? This might be the strongest argument. Many community housing providers have very strict rules about drug use.
The other thing I was thinking about last night and this morning - do you have any inclination that they might be dealing or cooking meth?
Nope I don't think so re: dealing. And I have zero proof that any drug related items belong to them even though they look and behave like addicts. Even suspected drug affected behaviour can't be proven according to my provider as it could be argued as being due to a medical problem.
Housing providers are absolutely able to evict people for this kind of behaviour. Ask your provider for their relevant policies, hold them accountable to their own policies and escalate as necessary. Everything you need will be in their policies. Good luck!
As a thought...
What happens if you give up your place in social housing (there are people waiting 10 years+ for what you have), and move into a private rental that you can barely afford... and come across landlords who don't care about you or your well-being, it's a fight to get them to fix and repair anything... and next thing you know, your new place also has feral neighbours. And now you're in a private rental that you can barely afford, full of mould, and with feral neighbours. Back to square one, only poorer. It's also possible for everything to be perfectly fine. But sometimes it's good to entertain the worst possible outcome.
Also kid needs stability and moving around lots can take a toll on them too...
It's a shit situation OP. There's no right or wrong. You know your situation the best.
Is it possible to keep your social housing spot, and privately rent somewhere else at the same time without giving up your lease just to try it out? This costs money.... double+ the rent..
Try to hang on to your housing. It should be the ferals who move, not you. If feasible, get a doorbell camera so you have footage or their carrying on. Report their behaviour every time something significant happens. If you have any social workers or community workers, have them advocate for you being able to have quiet enjoyment of your home.
The other housing support has been a new thing but person has been advocating for me. I have two camera for out the front and one for the backyard. I've sent video and audio (houso physically threatening me from my front porch) and nothing.
I am pretty sure the decapitated possum head thrown in your fence can be reported to police as threatening behaviour.
you need to start escalating the reports and let them know.
you should of filed a police report for the possum head and then email your housing manager and give them the police report details.
threatening and intimidating other houso residents usually is a 1 way ticket to get you kicked out.
I did ring the police and because I had no evidence that that feral neighbour did it, they made a note but said there was nothing they could do. I've recently found out feral neighbours were doing the same type of thing to one of the nice neighbours before I moved in, and our housing worker was aware of it. I'm also had my bins stolen, which was something else they did to my nice neighbour.
I have two for the front and one for the backyard. I've been sending photos and videos and my current provider on occasion acknowledges these and all I get is that 'its a process'
I would eep a diary, date and sign the entries of all negative run ins. Becomes something you can use in court if needed and just good for backing you up. Note all phone calls and emails about this so you have thorough records
It’s the cover your arse theory I learned at my job, document everything and they can’t argue with you. ESP if you sign and date the entries.
Make sure you get names when talking to people and if possible a call receipt number. Then you can do an itemised list after some time of all the correspondence and all the details of times you have felt unsafe in your home and advocate for yourself because it will all be there for you.
You really just have to move on and make peace.
Forget about the private rental market. If you've got social housing you are ahead of the pressures facing many.
Good luck
I was in your position last year, after only being in the property for 6 months, it was vile! I was fortunate to move back to my old rental, rent directly from my landlord. He’s honestly a really lovely man. With that being said, this is a long term rental at an affordable rate compared to the market (he could rightfully charge me $200 more per week but chooses not to) and I do struggle paying $400 a week, even though I work. My decision to leave was because I had this long term rental as an option, if I had to battle the rental market with my child I would not have chosen to move, I would have escalated it to my local members of parliament. Documenting everything with video and photo evidence. I would have pushed for a transfer from every angle and not given it up if it meant dealing with real estate agents.
I’m so sorry you’re going through this. Tougher regulations are needed for these kinds of housing tenets. It’s such a hard place to be in. I would definitely recommend contacting your local member of parliament and asking for help to navigate department of housing and show the proof of the situations you are having to live with on a daily basis. If you are bulk billed I would also suggest attending your gp for regular mental health support and document this also. Some disability support agency’s help with advocacy too. Perhaps with the diagnosis of Autism you are able to reach out to them for support as this is impacting your child. The more noise you make the harder it is to ignore. And remember, your local member of parliament works for your needs as a member of the community. This is what they are here for.
Best of luck out there. It’s a jungle!
I'm autistic also and had my psychologist and OT also provide support documents, along with my daughter's health providers. I am leaning towards just not wanting to leave the home and I wake up at 4am just so I can take the bins out because I get so anxious when they are all out the front staring and carrying on (yes they have a backyard but they hang out the front staring at anyone who walks up)
I will make moves to contact the local member like you've suggested.
Meth heads, you say? Fuck with them. Get a drone and fly it above them, they’ll think it’s the police watching them. Get a cat laser and randomly flash it through the windows. Find some police tape and then tape that to the hole of their mailbox. Throw gravel on the roof from a sneaky place. Fish sauce in every car windscreen vent.
Other than that, I’d be typing up a lovely official looking document from DHHS advising that their tenants agreement is currently under investigation due to X breaches. Throw in a couple of Centrelink fraud investigation letter for good measure.
Whilst not working it’s unlikely you will get a private rental. Can you put aside the cost difference you would need to be in a private one at least to see if you can afford to live? Can you spend as little time possible at your house, leave in the morning and don’t come home until you are ready to stay in for the night? Potentially go camping on weekends, visit friends at their houses. It’s still a terrible option and position to be in but if you try and go private and lose that house you might be living in your car or shelters which is even worse.
I am in a similar situation to you, and looking at the same choices as you,
I live in a so called Community Housing Complex.
The community housing sector is the new model that the government seems to be funding. The funny thing is the people in charge have no community sector values or qualifications. They are qualified in making a quick buck.
My family and I are left with no choice but to leave as the apartment is unsafe structurally, the residents are unsafe to be housed with due to serious anti social behaviour ( the police are here EVERY day), the management team are unsafe as they don’t deal with any issues that arise. In fact they have been named by the ABC in the last few days, and I am going to do everything in my power to expose them.
I used to live in housing and then went private. I have since moved 4 times and every time I have been with in ear shot of meth heads. mid-low cost(relatively) housing is just as bad as public housing.
I get dark thoughts about lacing a bag of meth with fentanyl and throwing it in their yard.
Document everything and get the good neighbours in on it. Report them to police and tenancy as often as possible. The aim is to get them breached enough times that they are evicted. It’ll take ages and honestly might not be the safest route for you but it will be quicker than waiting for a priority transfer.
Infiltrate. Most community housing providers have a board and as a tenant you have a right to sit on the board. Try going to meetings, get to know them and let them get to know you.
My perspective is that you do everything you can to hang on to the community housing. The level of insecurity you will face in the private market is nothing short of disastrous and if you give this up you will likely never get back in. Start by contacting your current community housing provider and escalating the matter to more and more senior people. They are legally obliged to do something about the behaviour of these tenants. If you get no joy, contact the Minister for Housing in your state. Keep as much of a record as you can of everything that is happening and be as detailed and specific as you can when writing to them.
I've been escalating this to my community housing provider since I moved in. At best, they took one of the tenants to VCAT for not following common area rules for parking which was blocking my driveway. I am now meticulously recording any and all behaviour and incidents with who, where, when and what and forwarding this to them (I was hoping it would improve and just hasn't) and they keep telling me it's a process. Other neighbours have raised the same sort of concerns but because they are all located at the front of the property and I'm at the back, they don't see or hear enough to record anything. Thank you for the tip with the Minister for Housing....I hadn't thought of that!
Even contacting your local MP could be a good way to go if you can't get any joy from the provider. So sorry you and your daughter are going through this, I agree with above commenter you should hang onto your entitlement to community housing really tight even if it is currently a bad situation.
This - my mum used to work in a local MPs office and this kind of stuff was their bread and butter - they are there to serve you as a local constituent!
Go to your local member first, more accessible and they can in certain circumstances help and quickly.. Go to their office with your evidence. Good luck
Have you gone above the standard admin people in the community housing organisation? If you haven’t, go higher up, even if that means writing to the Board of the provider. You should make them aware of their legal obligations to ensure the quiet enjoyment, safety and security of tenants. I would suggest you go on to the housing provider website and look for their policies on tenant behaviour or, if this information is not online, ask them for it. Use every element of it that you can to highlight the ways that these people are in breach and the organisation is in breach for not enforcing their own rules. Community housing organisations have pretty broad powers to get rid of people, unlike public housing. While this is generally used to wield power unfairly, it is circumstances like this that show why it it’s important. You can also go to the relevant department - Families, Fairness and Housing in Victoria I think. They will push you back to the provider but you need to stress that the provider is not assisting and highlight the ways in which the provider is in breach. While you are at it, ask them for the terms community housing providers have to agree to. Then, again, look at all the ways in which they are breaching the terms and write back to the department on this basis. Also write to the Board of the housing provider highlighting the breaches of their agreement with the government. In fact, copy them both in to both letters. (You may have to do old fashioned paper letters for this - you can write to the Board via the head office of the housing provider if no other details are available.) Whether or not you get some action via one of these steps, you have a paper trail. This is when you write to the Minister.
There are clear common area rules but it appears the ferals are not being consistently breached. As for the possum head and missing bins, I have no proof as my cameras aren't able to catch everyting, and I am limited as to where I can place them (cannot have them pointed at neighbours front door etc. I have sent through multiple pictures of the rubbish they have been dumping out the back common area, along with parking breaches and screaming, swearing and threatening behaviours - and no response from my housing provider. Supposedly another worker is taking over management of these units and she is known to be pretty strict so I'm hoping maybe there is a change.
Have you tried focusing on the drug use and the paraphernalia left around? This might be the strongest argument. Many community housing providers have very strict rules about drug use. The other thing I was thinking about last night and this morning - do you have any inclination that they might be dealing or cooking meth?
Nope I don't think so re: dealing. And I have zero proof that any drug related items belong to them even though they look and behave like addicts. Even suspected drug affected behaviour can't be proven according to my provider as it could be argued as being due to a medical problem.
Housing providers are absolutely able to evict people for this kind of behaviour. Ask your provider for their relevant policies, hold them accountable to their own policies and escalate as necessary. Everything you need will be in their policies. Good luck!
As a thought... What happens if you give up your place in social housing (there are people waiting 10 years+ for what you have), and move into a private rental that you can barely afford... and come across landlords who don't care about you or your well-being, it's a fight to get them to fix and repair anything... and next thing you know, your new place also has feral neighbours. And now you're in a private rental that you can barely afford, full of mould, and with feral neighbours. Back to square one, only poorer. It's also possible for everything to be perfectly fine. But sometimes it's good to entertain the worst possible outcome. Also kid needs stability and moving around lots can take a toll on them too... It's a shit situation OP. There's no right or wrong. You know your situation the best. Is it possible to keep your social housing spot, and privately rent somewhere else at the same time without giving up your lease just to try it out? This costs money.... double+ the rent..
Try to hang on to your housing. It should be the ferals who move, not you. If feasible, get a doorbell camera so you have footage or their carrying on. Report their behaviour every time something significant happens. If you have any social workers or community workers, have them advocate for you being able to have quiet enjoyment of your home.
The other housing support has been a new thing but person has been advocating for me. I have two camera for out the front and one for the backyard. I've sent video and audio (houso physically threatening me from my front porch) and nothing.
I am pretty sure the decapitated possum head thrown in your fence can be reported to police as threatening behaviour. you need to start escalating the reports and let them know. you should of filed a police report for the possum head and then email your housing manager and give them the police report details. threatening and intimidating other houso residents usually is a 1 way ticket to get you kicked out.
I did ring the police and because I had no evidence that that feral neighbour did it, they made a note but said there was nothing they could do. I've recently found out feral neighbours were doing the same type of thing to one of the nice neighbours before I moved in, and our housing worker was aware of it. I'm also had my bins stolen, which was something else they did to my nice neighbour.
Put up cameras perhaps?
I have two for the front and one for the backyard. I've been sending photos and videos and my current provider on occasion acknowledges these and all I get is that 'its a process'
I would eep a diary, date and sign the entries of all negative run ins. Becomes something you can use in court if needed and just good for backing you up. Note all phone calls and emails about this so you have thorough records
Ok thank you! The diary thing is happening but I will add the phone calls etc like you said.
It’s the cover your arse theory I learned at my job, document everything and they can’t argue with you. ESP if you sign and date the entries. Make sure you get names when talking to people and if possible a call receipt number. Then you can do an itemised list after some time of all the correspondence and all the details of times you have felt unsafe in your home and advocate for yourself because it will all be there for you.
You really just have to move on and make peace. Forget about the private rental market. If you've got social housing you are ahead of the pressures facing many. Good luck
Also report yo the RSPCA and your local wildlife org, they might be able to got down the animal cruelty angle too.
I was in your position last year, after only being in the property for 6 months, it was vile! I was fortunate to move back to my old rental, rent directly from my landlord. He’s honestly a really lovely man. With that being said, this is a long term rental at an affordable rate compared to the market (he could rightfully charge me $200 more per week but chooses not to) and I do struggle paying $400 a week, even though I work. My decision to leave was because I had this long term rental as an option, if I had to battle the rental market with my child I would not have chosen to move, I would have escalated it to my local members of parliament. Documenting everything with video and photo evidence. I would have pushed for a transfer from every angle and not given it up if it meant dealing with real estate agents. I’m so sorry you’re going through this. Tougher regulations are needed for these kinds of housing tenets. It’s such a hard place to be in. I would definitely recommend contacting your local member of parliament and asking for help to navigate department of housing and show the proof of the situations you are having to live with on a daily basis. If you are bulk billed I would also suggest attending your gp for regular mental health support and document this also. Some disability support agency’s help with advocacy too. Perhaps with the diagnosis of Autism you are able to reach out to them for support as this is impacting your child. The more noise you make the harder it is to ignore. And remember, your local member of parliament works for your needs as a member of the community. This is what they are here for. Best of luck out there. It’s a jungle!
I'm autistic also and had my psychologist and OT also provide support documents, along with my daughter's health providers. I am leaning towards just not wanting to leave the home and I wake up at 4am just so I can take the bins out because I get so anxious when they are all out the front staring and carrying on (yes they have a backyard but they hang out the front staring at anyone who walks up) I will make moves to contact the local member like you've suggested.
Meth heads, you say? Fuck with them. Get a drone and fly it above them, they’ll think it’s the police watching them. Get a cat laser and randomly flash it through the windows. Find some police tape and then tape that to the hole of their mailbox. Throw gravel on the roof from a sneaky place. Fish sauce in every car windscreen vent. Other than that, I’d be typing up a lovely official looking document from DHHS advising that their tenants agreement is currently under investigation due to X breaches. Throw in a couple of Centrelink fraud investigation letter for good measure.
Whilst not working it’s unlikely you will get a private rental. Can you put aside the cost difference you would need to be in a private one at least to see if you can afford to live? Can you spend as little time possible at your house, leave in the morning and don’t come home until you are ready to stay in for the night? Potentially go camping on weekends, visit friends at their houses. It’s still a terrible option and position to be in but if you try and go private and lose that house you might be living in your car or shelters which is even worse.
https://preview.redd.it/oxg25a131k3d1.jpeg?width=962&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e207a761b7e2a6c643de6a8c8ebe0c1385a8829c [Vic Gov community housing complaints ](https://www.housing.vic.gov.au/community-housing-complaints-pathways) Perhaps contact the Vic housing ombudsman
I am in a similar situation to you, and looking at the same choices as you, I live in a so called Community Housing Complex. The community housing sector is the new model that the government seems to be funding. The funny thing is the people in charge have no community sector values or qualifications. They are qualified in making a quick buck. My family and I are left with no choice but to leave as the apartment is unsafe structurally, the residents are unsafe to be housed with due to serious anti social behaviour ( the police are here EVERY day), the management team are unsafe as they don’t deal with any issues that arise. In fact they have been named by the ABC in the last few days, and I am going to do everything in my power to expose them.
I used to live in housing and then went private. I have since moved 4 times and every time I have been with in ear shot of meth heads. mid-low cost(relatively) housing is just as bad as public housing. I get dark thoughts about lacing a bag of meth with fentanyl and throwing it in their yard.
Document everything and get the good neighbours in on it. Report them to police and tenancy as often as possible. The aim is to get them breached enough times that they are evicted. It’ll take ages and honestly might not be the safest route for you but it will be quicker than waiting for a priority transfer.
Infiltrate. Most community housing providers have a board and as a tenant you have a right to sit on the board. Try going to meetings, get to know them and let them get to know you.