Fed: Boarding houses in decline, says study

AAP General News (Australia)
04-14-2004
Fed: Boarding houses in decline, says study

By Paul Osborne

CANBERRA, April 14 AAP - Boarding houses were being closed at an unprecedented rate
as operators faced rising costs and insurance charges, a report said today.

A report by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute released this week
said a rising number of residents were being forced out as boarding houses and bed numbers
declined.

Queensland recorded the biggest fall, losing 665 boarding houses and more than 16,000
beds in the decade to 2002, the study said.

Other states and territories recorded much smaller falls, of around 10 boarding houses
each over the decade, but most were unable to produce accurate information on their stocks.

The study, which focused on metropolitan areas of Queensland, NSW and Tasmania, found
the decline in boarding homes was impacting on both residents and taxpayers.

Residents lost shelter and social networks as well as being forced to pay more for
alternative accommodation, while governments had to put more funding into crisis accommodation
and services.

The drop-off was due to a range of factors including the cost of complying with higher
health and safety standards, rising insurance premiums, the cost of redevelopment and
the tendency for many boarding house operators to turn to new customers such as backpackers
and students.

The report said not reforming the sector could have serious consequences.

"Non-intervention ... will result in continued, and possibly accelerated, decline in
the provision of a critical form of affordable housing," the report said.

"(It) is likely to lead to a substantial and continuing increase in the demand for
public housing stock and for a range of non-housing services."

The study recommended giving boarding house operators more time and support to comply
with new safety standards, grants and loans to upgrade buildings and controls on demolitions.

However, the report warned that governments which had tried some of these measures
had had varying levels of success because of low levels of funding put into the programs
and the poor business skills of operators.

It called for business education for operators, less red tape for grants and loans
and recognition of the need to balance tenants' rights with the eviction powers of landlords.

AAP pjo/sb/cjh/bwl

KEYWORD: BOARDING

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