Busselton public housing tenant and his family forced to sleep in living room amid ongoing maintenance issues

Bedrooms with mould and cracked ceilings, an unsafe roof and drainage issues. It’s a combination of housing problems few would want to raise their children around, but for West Busselton resident Roland Thern-So, it is his reality. The single father and his two children have been keeping to the living area of their public housing home of 11 years because of health concerns as mould grows in many parts of the house, including the bedrooms, alongside cracking ceilings. He is hoping to have the issues resolved, but he is yet to secure any permanent fixes. The mould problem requires the windows to kept open constantly to reduce the impact — including during the winter. “I’m really concerned about my kids’ safety living in the house because at the end of the day, we should be living in a safe house (where) things are not falling apart,” Mr Thern-So said. “It’s freezing . . . and then my kids are getting sick,” he said. “It’s been going on for too long.” It is far from the only issue Mr Thern-So has had; with others he describes as “band-aid” jobs such as leaking windows when it rains. “I’m happy I’ve got a roof, but I just want to stay in a safe home,” he said. “That’s all I want.” Vasse MLA and State Liberal leader Libby Mettam described Mr Thern-So’s situation as distressing and called on the State Government to make repairs to the house — and 22 other public housing properties in the City of Busselton, which she said are sitting vacant because they need repairs. “Given we are the wealthiest State in the country, reaping in and pocketing surpluses as a result of a mining boom, it should be the priority of any government, and in particular the Cook Labor Government, to ensure that those properties are provided with the maintenance that they require to ensure that they have tenants,” Ms Mettam said. “It is inexcusable to hear that there has been so many reports by this individual tenant in Roland over several years about basic maintenance that has needed to be undertaken at this property. “To have a situation where a family is living in their lounge room where they haven’t been able to use the stove for several years points to a government with their priorities all wrong.” The Department of Communities highlighted a number of works which they said had been completed or were set to be undertaken on the property, and they had not received any reports of ceiling collapse. A Department spokesperson said it was committed to providing safe, secure and appropriate housing for its tenants, and to particularly respond to safety concerns as a matter of priority. “The 22 homes in Busselton/Dunsborough are either returning to stock and are currently undergoing maintenance or refurbishment, have been offered to applicants from the public housing wait list and are awaiting acceptance or are awaiting occupation after being accepted by applicants from the wait list,” the spokesperson said. “Communities aims to re-let vacant properties as soon as possible after ensuring they are in clean, safe, working order. The timeframe to re-let a public housing property includes the time taken to complete the inspection, progress, and complete required maintenance works, and allocate to applicants on the waiting list.” Housing Minister John Carey said the State Government had inherited aging housing stock which required “significant investment” to extend its usable life, with major works being undertaken when tenants change. “I’m advised by the Department that urgent maintenance to the property, including the roof was immediately undertaken, and that other work orders have been issued,” he said. “I want to be frank — this is the reality of public housing, and as the State’s biggest landlord, we have more than 37,000 public housing properties across the State, with a significant portion of which major refurbishment and maintenance is needed to keep housing stock in the system.” Mr Carey described Ms Mettam’s comments on the 22 homes as a “false narrative”. “Libby Mettam and the WA Liberals are hypocrites – on one hand, they are complaining about social housing delivery and maintenance and then on the other hand, they are calling for people to be kicked out of social housing,” he said. “Less than six-months out from the 2025 State Election Libby Mettam and the WA Liberals have still not released a single housing policy, while they continue to oppose all our reforms to boost housing supply.”