Homelessness for sale
The former boarding house at 27 Roslyn St, Elizabeth Bay, which evicted tenants (including a cancer patient) and renovated without housing policy approval, has sold for $1.875 million.
As reported in the last City Hub, the landowner bought the property for $970,000 before gaining City of Sydney approval for works valued at $100,000 and elaborately renovating.
It was not approved by State Environmental Planning Policy 10 (SEPP 10), which requires concurrence between the Department of Planning and local government before renovations to boarding houses are done. Last month this evolved to the Affordable Rental Housing SEPP, which puts the onus on local governments to ensure existing housing in their area for the marginally homeless.
A council spokesperson didn’t respond before deadline on the City’s policy regarding the preservation of the inner-city’s low-cost accommodation.
A development application with City of Sydney to change the description of the “grand terrace reinvented for maximum style, space and flexibility” at 27 Roslyn St is currently on exhibition.
This winter, 399 people were sleeping rough in the inner-city – an annual increase of 12.7 per cent.
– By Matt Khoury
