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🇦🇺 Australia /Economy & Trade

Sydney developer admits renting affordable apartment to its own staff member

From ABC Australia · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • Hyecorp acknowledged breaching planning conditions by renting an affordable-housing unit to one of its staff members without using a registered community housing provider.
  • The company said the tenant qualified for the program and faced serious personal and financial difficulties, while stressing there was no suggestion of wrongdoing by the tenant.
  • Willoughby City Council is investigating, and the NSW government says strengthened affordable-housing laws will take effect by the end of the year.

Sydney developer Hyecorp has admitted renting an affordable-housing apartment to one of its own staff members, in breach of a planning condition requiring a registered community housing provider to manage the unit.

The apartment formed part of a 74-unit development in Willoughby, completed in 2017, which includes 42 affordable rentals and a rooftop pool. Hyecorp said the staff member qualified for affordable housing and paid an affordable rent, but acknowledged that the unit had not been managed through a registered community housing provider as required.

We're drawing a line under the cowboy era of unregulated affordable housing.

· Rose JacksonThe NSW housing minister described the strengthened laws intended to regulate affordable-housing rentals.

Hyecorp’s co-managing director, Stephen Abolakian, said the company notified Willoughby City Council after ABC Investigations contacted it. The company plans to return the unit to community housing provider management and said it would work with the tenant on the next steps.

Abolakian said Hyecorp offered the apartment because the staff member was facing “significant personal and financial challenges” and was “at real risk of having nowhere to live.” He said the apartment was vacant when it was made available. There is no suggestion that the tenant did anything wrong.

significant personal and financial challenges

· Stephen AbolakianHyecorp’s co-managing director explained why the company offered the apartment to its staff member.

The council confirmed it was “actively investigating a potential compliance issue” involving affordable housing at the development. A state parliamentary secretary previously told a resident who raised the matter that the council, as the local consent authority, was responsible for enforcing the planning conditions.

The case has also highlighted a gap in NSW regulation. The government passed strengthened affordable-housing laws more than a year ago and described them as a crackdown on developers who misuse discounted rentals, but the reforms have not yet taken effect. Housing Minister Rose Jackson said the government was “drawing a line under the cowboy era of unregulated affordable housing.” The government now says the reforms will be implemented by the end of the year.

at real risk of having nowhere to live

· Stephen AbolakianHe described the staff member’s circumstances when the apartment was provided.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Australia in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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