By CAMERON LUCADOU-WELLS
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A SURGE in rooming houses in Greater Dandenong is a sign of a mounting housing crisis, says a homelessness support worker.
Known rooming houses in the city have almost tripled from up to 31 in 2006 to 89 in 2011, a RMIT study released last week shows. In the same period, the number of rooming-house tenants rose from 245 to 642.
Tony Setter, head nurse for the Royal District Nursing Service’s homeless program, said the rise showed that “there’s no other accommodation to live in, especially for single men”. “There’s nothing there on the private rental market for people on benefits. They can’t afford it.”
He said rooming-house owners – of registered and illegal establishments – were profiteering from tenants’ plight. He estimated there were about 30 rooming houses in central Dandenong.
The study author Chris Chamberlain said many of the rooming houses were scattered in Dandenong North near Chisholm TAFE, Noble Park and central Dandenong.
Only one of the 89 was not registered with Greater Dandenong Council, but Professor Chamberlain was certain there would be more unregistered and unknown rooming houses.
CORRECTION
Greater Dandenong Council will hold listening posts at Dandenong Market to hear public ideas for its housing strategy this week. The consultation sessions were not held last week, as published in the Weekly. They will be held from 1-3pm tomorrow (Tuesday) and 10am-noon on Saturday at Dandenong Market.
