A boarding house in Paddington home to 32 vulnerable residents is under threat of being developed into luxury apartments. Sydney Council have rejected the application, but the builder is challenging the decision in court. The case will test the strength of state planning laws which advocates say fail to protect the thousands of people who live in low-rent boarding houses.
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00:00Stephen Deer has lived with his mates in one of Australia's wealthiest suburbs for 10 years,
00:07but they could soon all lose their home.
00:10Where do you go? What does happen to you?
00:13They don't know.
00:15Developers are flipping Sydney's boarding houses,
00:18and this refuge for low-income renters might be next.
00:23There's a stroke victim up front, double stroke, double heart attack.
00:27Another fellow next door, Richard in his 80s, bad health.
00:33What happens to them?
00:35The residents in Paddington in Sydney's east are fighting the proposal,
00:40and they have found allies in their affluent neighbourhood.
00:43Don't trip over anything.
00:45The idea of them being put into the street
00:47is something that the vast majority of our community don't want to see.
00:51Thousands of people live in boarding houses in Sydney.
00:54If you can't get into social housing like so many people can't
00:57because the wait lists are so long,
00:59then boarding houses is one of your only options.
01:03The developer is taking Sydney City Council to court
01:06after it rejected the application in a test for state planning laws.
01:11We do not want our city to just be an enclave of the rich.
01:14The Lord Mayor is refusing calls for the council to purchase the property.
01:18Housing is not our core work.
01:20Housing is the core work of the state.
01:22So who should be doing this core work?
01:25The state government says boarding houses like this
01:28are not considered social housing,
01:30and the planning department says the dispute is a matter for the Sydney City Council.
01:35While legal arguments play out, residents here are fearing for their future.
01:40It's like family.
01:42Just like family.
01:44So you end up basically splitting a family.
01:48An unconventional family unit battling to stay together.