400 properties vacant as thousands wait

More than 400 Government properties are sitting vacant as 53000 people wait for social housing, new figures reveal.

Answers to Opposition questions in Parliament show public housing applications reached 23761, compromising 53050 people, as of April 30.

Housing Minister Troy Buswell said there had been a decrease of 974 applications since November.

Shadow housing minister Mark McGowan said it was unacceptable that so many houses were empty while thousands of West Australians languished on public housing waiting lists.

He said a house on Victoria Street Mosman Park had been empty for several months.

"The Barnett Government has left a perfectly good house sitting empty for more than a year while an unprecedented number of people await accommodation," Mr McGowan said today.

A spokeswoman for Mr Buswell said the previous tenants, who had lived at the property since 1983, had vacated in January and the Department was preparing to sell the property.

It is understood the money from the sale of the property, which is fairly run down, will be used to build more houses in cheaper suburbs.

But Mr McGowan said it was no excuse that the house sat vacant while it was up for sale or being prepared for sale.

"Many homes are rented while they are up for sale and tenants are simply placed on a periodic tenancy and could be moved into another property once this one is sold," he said.