One man’s six-year war against the eyesore of the council housing estate next door has left him in ‘shell shock’ and forced to sell his own home.
Ben Slater, from Geelong in Victoria, claims he had to sell his St Albans Park home due to the poor condition of the neighboring house owned by Aboriginal Housing Victoria (AHV).
Mr Slater has lived in the same house for more than a decade, but says that after years of repair requests and complaints he can no longer tolerate dealing with AHV.
His complaints include the gutter of the adjacent property overflowing and spilling onto his property, rubbish continuing to pile up, weeds having taken over the garden and eventually a rat problem.
Mr Slater said AHV and several other Victorian housing authorities have done that all ‘wiped their hands’ of his many complaints.
Ben Slater has been left ‘shell shocked’ and forced to sell his Geelong home after the adjacent Aboriginal Housing Victoria property continued to deteriorate
Mr Slater said the whole situation had been a ‘nightmare’.
“It’s been an absolute nightmare having to deal with a rotten facade and ignoring even the most basic requests for help and maintenance,” he says. told the Geelong Advertiser.
‘I have been completely ignored, it has affected my quality of life. Trying to get anyone to even listen or acknowledge that there is a problem here is just shocking.”
Mr Slater believes he is not alone in complaining about social housing and that there are major problems with it maintenance and management.
Another nearby AHV building on Dulcify Street is also said to have been the source of many complaints.
AHV offers housing to more than 1,700 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across Victoria.
A spokesperson told the publication that the agency has never breached its duties as a housing provider.
The spokesperson added that officers responded to many callsespecially in the last two years, from neighbors about unmaintained properties.
The agency claimed to have provided Mr Slater’s neighbor with ‘with continued cooperation to remove waste and clean the yard since August 2023.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Aboriginal Housing Victoria for comment.
Mr Slater said the house’s gutters are overflowing and rubbish continues to pile up, but claims his years of complaints remain unheard.