Taxpayers slugged with public housing repair bill
Public housing tenants in the East Kimberley cost taxpayers more than $670,000 in damage bills last year; the most per property of any region in WA.
On average, the Department of Housing spent $1159.54 per property on repairs in the East Kimberley, about $70 more per property than Midwest/Gascoyne, and almost $1000 more than the north metropolitan region.
DoH general manager service delivery Greg Cash said the higher costs in the region were attributed to its remoteness from goods and services for repairs, which were often based in Perth.
Mr Cash said the remoteness of communities like Halls Creek and Wyndham added to the cost of maintenance, but confirmed two tenancies had been vacated in the East Kimberley since July and a further four were evicted by bailiff because of breaches.
He said the department routinely referred tenants to support agencies and had enjoyed some success in improving property standards.
"At any time, a small percentage of the more than 36,600 public housing properties managed by the department will be vacant for a number of reasons," he said.
"(These include) refurbishment or maintenance between tenancies, awaiting occupation by new tenants, awaiting sale or demolition prior to redevelopment, or allocation to the management of community housing groups.
"In October 2014 the average time to re-let a property was 43 days in the East Kimberley and 11 days in the West Kimberley.
"At the same time in 2014, the average re-let time Statewide was 15 days."
Mr Cash said the discrepancy for the East Kimberley was due to a backlog of properties awaiting maintenance which had since been resolved.
He said other properties were awaiting demolition or redevelopment. In 2014, the West Kimberley had a damage bill of $846,622 but on average it was $710.25 per property.
