2324-10 Rooming House Engagement Project

Summary and scope

On behalf of the Dandenong West Community Action Group, Greater Dandenong City Council is seeking to engage the services of an experienced facilitator to deliver a series of focus groups aimed at engaging rooming house residents, landlords, the broader community, as well as regulators and local support organisations. The purpose of these focus group sessions is to identify ways in which the regulatory system that overlooks rooming houses can be improved, and what a better operating model for rooming houses would look like. Consumer Affairs Victoria, states ‘rooming house operators must comply with minimum standards relating to privacy, security, safety and amenity’. Yet recent research conducted by the Peninsula Community Legal Centre shows that ‘48 per cent of residents surveyed described their living conditions as ‘very poor’, ‘bad’ and ‘unsafe’. Furthermore, over 40 per cent of privately registered rooming houses operate in a significant state of disrepair and lack of maintenance’. Anecdotal evidence gathered by the Dandenong West Community Action Group in conversation with local rooming house and other Dandenong West residents confirms the above sentiments. It was also noted by rooming house residents that non-compliance of minimum standards is rarely enforced, and the regulatory system remains confusing and unclear. The Rooming House Engagement Project aims to take on a multi-stakeholder engagement process involving rooming house residents, landlords and proprietors of rooming houses, and the broader community (including neighbouring residents and local Dandenong West traders) to better understand how this model of housing can work better for everyone involved. At the heart of this engagement process will be the voice of lived experience.