By LAURA WAKELY
ROOMING houses have increased by 92 per cent over the last five years in the inner West, according to a new report.
Released by RMIT last week, the report revealed rooming houses have increased from 26 in 2006 to 339 in 2011 across Brimbank, Hobsons Bay, Maribyrnong and Moonee Valley.
Rooming houses also increased by 34 in Melton and Wyndham and by 59 in Hume and outer northern suburbs over the five year period.
The Centre for Applied Social Research’s Professor Chris Chamberlain authored the report and interviewed council officers, homelessness support agencies, housing offices from universities and TAFEs and visited 250 rooming houses.
Overall, he found rooming house tenants have increased by 327 per cent across Melbourne since the 2006 census.
Professor Chamberlain said the census was under representing the number of rooming houses because they were difficult to identify.
“Many of these boarding houses are regular suburban houses that look like any other,” he said.
“I started off looking in Dandenong and it was quite amazing. I’d go down the street and it would never have crossed my mind that it was a rooming house because it looked like the house next door.”
He said rooming houses had increased in the West because “entrepreneurs” were sub-leasing rooms out in areas with cheap rental properties to make the biggest profits.
He said many of the tenants were forced to live in rooming houses because of financial difficulties.
“Most of the people that live in rooming houses hate it,” he said.
“Many of the people living in the rooming houses are not working so you’re sitting there looking at four walls.
“We’ve got a housing crisis.”
Prof Chamberlain said he hoped the report would provide governments and welfare agencies with a clearer picture of rooming house numbers.
