Believe it or not, according to locals, this is the best condition these terrace houses have been in for decades.
Data from Domain shows these houses last changed hands in the early to mid-1980s for just either side of $40,000 a piece. "Both electricity data and the government records seem to suggest that about 1.3 per cent of all residential dwellings in Australia are inactive," says Duncan Young, who manages the census and population statistics for the ABS.The rate of vacant dwellings is, probably unsurprisingly, generally higher in rural and remote areas of Australia.
It appears to have operated as a hostel for some of that time but it has been subject to three development applications over the past decade, the latest of which was lodged earlier this year. "It can take months if not, in some cases, it can take years to get your approval through," he tells me. At the moment, not much says Linda Scott, a long-term City of Sydney councillor who is president of the Australian Local Government Association.
"Contrary to popular belief, there actually is no constitutional protection for private property at state level in Australia," observes Professor Cathy Sherry, who specialises in property law at Macquarie University. Professor Cathy Sherry says state governments have huge legal power to take action about vacant and derelict properties, if they have the political will."The state government absolutely can acquire land for any purpose it wants it will pay compensation under the just terms act," she explains.
"It becomes very difficult, I think, when the government starts to impose on somebody what they can and can't do with the property," responds the Real Estate Institute's Tim McKibbin.Mr McKibbin is also not a fan of increased rates or taxes on vacant properties and land. It introduced a vacant residential land tax from 1 January 2018, initially targeting empty homes in the inner and middle suburbs of Melbourne.Have you played Monopoly? The boardgame was designed to teach us about rents. Some economists say if we took rents seriously we could solve many problems.It is a charge of 1 per cent of the improved value of land that has been unoccupied for six or more months out of the preceding calendar year.