Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has finally evicted a long-term tenant from his investment property.
Mr Albanese has put the three-bedroom property on Dulwich Hill in Sydney’s city-west up for sale, with expectations that a successful bid could fetch $1.9 million. news.com.au reported.
Despite pleading with the Prime Minister not to sell his home, long-term tenant Jim Flanagan announced in May that he had been forced to look for new accommodation.
The 45-year-old small business owner paid $680 a week for the home, which is part of Mr Albanese’s $4 million real estate portfolio.
Mr. Albanese gave his tenant 90 days’ notice to vacate the property in May, and through his real estate agent, he made it clear that he intended to sell the property.
Mr Flanagan was reluctant to make the notice public, but felt he had no other option to maintain his lease.
The prime minister will pocket a tidy profit of $700,000 if the mansion sells for the expected price of $1.9 million. He bought it in 2015 for $1.175 million.
The prime minister grew up in social housing and his $4 million portfolio currently includes two rental properties in Sydney, including a mortgage-free bungalow with a swimming pool. He divides his time between the Lodge in Canberra and Kirribilli House in Sydney.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (pictured with partner Jodie Haydon) has given the tenant of his Dulwich Hill investment property the film after a 90-day eviction notice expired
On May 8, Mr Flanagan received the eviction notice from his real estate agent, informing him that Mr Albanese “might sell the house at some point.”
“We would like to inform you that the landlord requires eviction from the premises within 90 days of service of this letter,” the notice stated.
Mr Flanagan then asked for clarification as to whether it was the landlord’s wish for him to vacate the property. The agent confirmed this.
He tried to stay after reading about the $1.9 billion package announced by the Albanian government in the federal budget to reduce rental costs for vulnerable people.
“It just doesn’t sit well when (Mr Albanese) tries to empathise with the majority of Australians who, like me, find the current climate extremely challenging,” Mr Flanagan said.
He said he voted Labour in the 2022 election and largely supports the party’s policies, but he is struggling because the bar he owns is struggling.
Jim Flanagan, 45, (pictured) had begged Mr Albanese not to sell the house because the rents were significantly lower than current rates for similar homes in the area.
The Prime Minister previously said the decision to evict Flanagan and sell his home was due to “changing circumstances” and his impending marriage to Jodie Haydon.
“I have the right to make decisions in my private life, including the sale of a home I own, because I want to give my private life a different turn,” Mr Albanese said at the time.
‘I bought the property when my personal circumstances changed.’
Mr Albanese lowered the rent for Mr Flanagan and his then-partner to $680 a week during the pandemic and has not raised the rent since.
The three-bedroom home in Sydney’s Inner West (pictured) is expected to fetch around $1.9 million after Mr Albanese bought it for $1.175 million in 2015
Mr Flanagan added that the Prime Minister had been “a wonderful landlord” and “very generous”.
The rent for a similar property in the same neighborhood, within walking distance of his bar, would likely be around $800 a week.
Flanagan’s former partner Chrissy Flanagan has previously spoken candidly about what it was like to have the Prime Minister as a landlord.
In a 2022 TikTok video, she praised Mr Albanese for “living the values he preaches” by lowering her rent by 25 per cent at the start of the Covid pandemic – and still maintaining that reduced rate two years later.