'I was in tears': Living without a heater through Canberra's winter

Barbara Belmonte has endured a brutal Canberra winter without adequate heating in her public housing unit, a situation that has left her in tears and considering a move to Queensland. Since June 9, her split system air-conditioning unit has been out of action, forcing her to rely on a small bar heater provided by Housing ACT.

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This has started to wear me down so much that I was in tears a few weeks ago.

Belmonte was informed that the unit requires a new part, with an estimated delivery time of three to five weeks, extending her ordeal through the end of August. She expressed frustration over the lengthy repair process, noting the significant electricity costs incurred by using small fan heaters to cope with temperatures that frequently drop below freezing.

The Canberra Liberals have drawn attention to Belmonte's plight, stating she is not alone. MLA Chiaka Barry reported that her office has received numerous calls from public housing tenants facing similar issues with broken heating systems. Barry criticized the government's maintenance planning, suggesting that a safety policy requiring two staff members on property visits has led to delays and missed issues.

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That's going to take me through to the end of August, that's the end of winter.

This situation echoes findings from a scathing ACT Ombudsman's report in March, which found Housing ACT failing to meet its legal obligations as a landlord. The report detailed lengthy repair times, even for immediate safety hazards, and made eight recommendations to improve processes and transparency, all of which the government accepted.

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Heating in Canberra is not a luxury, it's a necessity.

An ACT government spokesperson stated that heating repairs are classified as "priority repairs," with technicians expected to attend by 6 p.m. the following day. However, Belmonte's experience suggests a gap between this policy and the reality faced by tenants.

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For every decision we make in the public housing space, there are human beings behind that decision.