Central Sydney Region High Rise Strategy

Background

In 2004 the (then) Department of
Housing commissioned the study “Managing
our High Rise Buildings – A Framework for managing our high rise buildings in
Central Sydney Division.” The study was undertaken by a consultant and
documented the tenancy, building management and community engagement aspects of
managing high-rises. It sought to provide a strategic framework for managing
the 23 high rise buildings that the Department manages.

Study findings

The study concluded that:

• High rise housing is a viable form of social
  housing in Sydney, particularly in well located and well serviced areas,
  provided it is appropriately managed and well maintained.
• High rise housing has an important place in the
  Division’s portfolio now and into the future, in an environment of increasing
  demand from smaller and single person low income households.
• The approach to management of buildings in a high
  rise context must be fully integrated. 
  This will require coordinated strategies and synchronised action across
  the core responsibilities of the Division: viz, tenant selection, tenancy
  management, community building and asset management.
• It should be ensured that tenants are suited to
  high rise living. Any necessary support services must be put securely in place
  before the commencement of the tenancy or as needs change.
• To increase the access of different client groups,
  alternative tenancy and service delivery models should be introduced
• Tenancy management must be responsive to the particular
  demographic, social and physical circumstances of each building and its
  surrounding community.
• Tenant involvement in management decisions for
  particular buildings enhances local “ownership” of the facility and builds
  community participation and support.
• On site staff presence has proved beneficial in
  overseas and interstate situations and should be strongly considered.
• In the case of large high rise complexes, a
  management approach, used increasingly in the private sector, is highly recommended.
• A positive long term approach to community building in partnership with
  residents and service providers should be developed

The Strategy proposed that individual Management
Plans for each of the high rise buildings be prepared, outlining an integrated
approach to asset management, tenancy,
building management and community engagement strategies for each building.

Response to the High Rise Strategy report

Subsequently, CSR staff undertook work
to develop draft pilot plans for 3 groups of high rise buildings:

• The 3 high rise buildings at
  Poet’s Corner
• Matavai and Turanga in Waterloo
• Marton and Slander

In developing these plans, staff
undertook some consultation with residents in those high rise buildings and
local organisations serving social housing residents and communities.

A corporate decision was then taken
that the development of management plans for every building was not the best
use of limited staff resources and that the recommendations of the High Rise
Strategy report could be implemented in more effective ways. It was decided
that high rise buildings could continue to be managed as part of a business as
usual approach, using the tools already available, such as Local Allocation
Strategies, the Human Services Accord and community development projects like
HCP. Opportunities to implement the recommendations of the strategy would be
identified as they arose.

Subsequent Actions

Subsequently, the Federal Government’s
Nation Building Stimulus funding became available in 2008 and provided an
opportunity to put significant investment in the upgrading of core services
within high rise buildings in Redfern and Waterloo. Over $ XXXm has been spent
over the last 3 years in upgrading lifts, sewerage systems, repairing concrete
and painting.  

The High Rise Strategy report also
made an important contribution to HNSW’s Long Term Asset Plan (LTAP) developed
in 2008.

In addition, following the
recommendations of the High Rise Strategy report, and representations from a
number of sectors, work was done on a possible ‘concierge’ model for some high
rise buildings. The Waterloo Green Neighbourhood Project was subsequently developed
as a pilot project to significantly improve management and security in the 6
Waterloo high rise buildings. This will result in the investment of $12m over 3
years in an innovative pilot project. In announcing the project, the Premier
and local Member, Kristina Keneally said that if the project proved to be
successful it would be rolled out in other high rise buildings.

Consultation findings

The consultations that were carried
out to develop the draft pilot management plans for the 3 groups of buildings,
covering 7 high rise buildings in Redfern and Waterloo, during 2007 informed
the development of subsequent initiatives.

A summary of the consultations
findings for the 3 groups of buildings is set out in the Appendix.    

1. Matavai and
Turanga

Key
issues raised by tenants

• Tenants raised the issue of improper
  allocations and how some residents are not suited to high rise living.
• There is a lack of understanding of what is
  expected of the tenants and the roles and responsibilities. This
  highlights the need for proper induction and ongoing engagement / contact
  with DoH staff.
• The tenants also raised the issue of residents
  with poor living skills and their inability to keep the units and common
  areas clean.
• Alternative use of common rooms and better
  utilisation of the ground floor common areas for recreational activities
  was requested.
• The need for a range of organised social and
  recreational activities was also raised.
• Safety and security issues and general
  maintenance are the main recurrent issues cited by the tenants.

The issues
were prioritised as  

• Safety & security
• Housing elderly with elderly
• Adaptability & Amenity of
  bathrooms/kitchens
• Reducing social isolation
• Increasing social and recreation activities

 

2. Marton and
Solander

 

Building Maintenance	Lack of Lighting in the hallway and other common areas. Unreliable lift facilities Efficiency in responding to maintenance required to be improved Open access to Laundries enables non residents to enter &, occupy, Perception of concerns related to poor timeliness of Housing Contact Centre services Tenants on higher floors are disturbed by the noise from water pumps Carpets in common area are difficult to maintain Windows are not cleaned externally/
Common Area Cleaning	Management of pets  More effective Graffiti cleaning methods are needed Cleanliness in security car park area Improved management of rubbish rooms and garbage bays required Cleanliness of carpets in common areas
Safety	Perceived personal safety in common areas and in the immediate vicinity of buildings particularly at night Security for personal belongings Security in the security car park Security in lifts, common areas, entrance and the immediate vicinity of buildings Compatibility of tenants with high-rise living Tenants knowledge of their duties and obligations as tenants, neighbours and citizens Presence of Graffiti generates a feeling of a threatening environment Attentiveness of security guards Improved response times to tenant requesting from the Police assistance is required
Information and Service	The practice of accessing the Housing Contact Centre by tenants via the Team Tenants access to information on roles and responsibilities towards making their immediate environment is safe, clean, and comfortable  Access to information for tenants on high-rise living and basic information needed to live in the inner city Cleanliness, maintenance, disability access and equipments in Community Rooms Opening hours and frequency of Outreach office
Community Cohesion	Social events for tenant interaction A tenant mix that is conducive to better harmony among tenants Lack of organised activities for tenants Limited opportunity to nurture neighbourly relations More services catering for CALD groups  is needed Garden seats are old, broken, pain peeled off, and not maintained and located at uneven surfaces.
Relationship with Team	Follow up action in response to issues raised by tenants  High staff turnover inhibit the development of relationships between respective tenants and CSOs

3. Poets
Corner

Tenancy Issues

Residents
Kit

• No residents kit for new tenants
• Rubbish removal – do new tenants have
  key? 
• Contact details for new tenants
• Follow up household members

Pets

• Pets – lack of care / noisy
• Pets – large dogs living in units

Recycling

• Recycling – should be floor by floor

Graffiti

• Graffiti
• Vandalism is reported to team but slow
  response time

Illegal
occupants

• Short term conditional leases
• Illegal tenants

DoH related

• Complaints aren’t followed up
• Not enough DOH presence
• Managerial presence at meetings
• Team service provider liaison

Allocation

• Tenant screening / selection
• Allocations of new tenants

 

Building Maintenance

Lights

• Security should advise if lights are out

Foyers

• Phones used in foyers MCC
• Front doors vandalised
• Carpet damage in foyer
• Roof leaking onto foyer carpet
• Rubbish left in foyer

Balconies

• Balconies need to be upgraded
• Plumbing leaks, over balconies

Car parking

• Car parking

Fire Stairs

• Fire stairs – graffiti
• Fire doors broken – used for anti-social
  behaviour
• Slow response to fire door repair (12 months)

Bathrooms

• Air vents in bathrooms

Inspections

• Inspections don’t happen
• Spot checks – no notice

Lifts

• Lifts functioning, but dirty / buttons burned
  out
• Lifts break down
• Cameras in lifts
• Complete overhaul / replacement of lifts

Laundry
Room

• No lock on laundry room – items stolen

Security
Screens

• Security screens scratched on

Pests

• Rats in concrete holes
• Pigeons

Open space/
Grounds

• Noxious / allergy weeds in gardens

Cleaning

• Cleaning to be improved

Intercoms

• Good – intercom is working

Laundry/
Bin

• Replacement of keys for laundry / bin

Roof/
Ceilings

• Roof upgrades – pitched zincalume clad roofs
• Sealing between floors to prevent water from
  sprinklers leaking downstairs

Walls

• Painting of external building wall
• Painting of internal walls / removal of
  graffiti
• Painting of garbage and laundry rooms
• Breakdown of membrane and cracked sealant on
  external building surface, due to building Movement allowing water
  penetration to internal unit walls

Feedback on
Maintenance

• Feedback on preventative maintenance programme
  following property assessment survey by Hi-Tech Inspect  – nova 2005

Community Building

 

 

Community
activities

• Community activities – build on making it a
  community to live in

New tenants

• New tenants – no interest in being responsible
  for part of the community

Things I
like about living here

• Good – Doctor

• Some good neighbours
• Good access to shops and transport

Community
Centre

• Need community centre like Northcott

Tenant Reps

• More defined roles of tenant rep

Regular
contact with elderly

• Regular home phone contact for elderly living
  alone (Redfern inner city home support service or Blue cross tele-call
  service)

Tenant
consultation

• Tenants need communication/ feedback and the
  opportunity to comment on projects before final decisions are made that
  impact on all the community of the estate.

Safety and Security

CCTV

• Monitoring of CCTV not happening
• Need more CCTV

 Vandalism

• Front doors vandalised

Fire doors

• Fire doors left open / alarms removed during
  fire upgrade, not replaced

Youth
issues

• Younger tenants causing problems

Graffiti

• Anti-graffiti paint

Nuisance
& Annoyance

• Nuisance and Annoyance yelling over balcony

Security
guards

• Security guards not doing jobs
• 24 hour monitored emergency service (e.g.
  Vital Call (a subsidiary of Chubb)
• Security cameras installed in GFLR mail room,
  entrance lobby and inside lifts – vandalism etc responded to rapidly
• Need better security
• Security guards not doing jobs

Police
patrols

• More local police patrols / drive around /
  exercising stop and search

Common
grounds

• Misuse of common grounds

Theft

• Clothes stolen from dryer

Drug Use

• Drug use in common areas

Unauthorised
entrants

• Unauthorised entrants waiting at doors to
  enter
• Building open at the rear

Source: This document has been supplied to REDWatch by HNSW on 31 January 2011