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.
Comments