How the RTA made me homeless
Early in the morning of November 26 my housemate, Liam, walked downstairs to our livingroom to find himself confronted with a police officer pointing a taser at him.
We had been squatting the abandoned townhouse, at the back of a vacant shopfront, for three months. Of the seven empty townhouses in the row, four were squatted. Some of our neighbours had been living there for two years. Some of these people had experienced chronic homelessness, and had slept rough.
In our house were five twenty-somethings. Some of us were students, some were low-income, and some were cutting costs to pay off debt. Squatting enabled us to afford to live in Sydney and still follow pursuits of some consequence. My pursuit was journalism.
Our stay was at no cost to the taxpayer – as opposed to alternatives such as claiming rent assistance, or living in low-income housing. We never received any complaints, and we treated all of our neighbours with respect.
The building, at 89 Liverpool Road, Ashfield, is owned by the RTA. Employees of the RTA would come by on occasion, most recently to board up the shopfronts. They had spoken with some of the squatters on occasion, and they were aware of the situation.
Two days before our eviction, anonymous notes was posted on the property advising us to leave within two days. The notes had no letterhead, names or contact details. When telephoned, the RTA was unhelpful in verifying the message. We dismissed the note as a hoax.
During the eviction, we were handed another note. Addressed to ‘The illegal occupiers’, this note also lacked any identification of its author or authority. It advised us that we would be removed, the premises would be secured, and we would have seven days to collect our belongings.
Three security guards were posted outside the building for 24 hours a day during the week that followed. They refused to let me in without taking my photo, saying the photos were for the RTA.
Ashfield resident Julie Passas told newspaper The Inner-West Courier that she reported the squatters to council.
“It is not for me to go after somebody who is looking for a place to live but the place is a fire hazard,” she said.
Why she thought the building was a fire hazard was unclear.
A spokesperson for the RTA responded that it would “ensure every effort is taken to ensure referrals are made to community housing services, if required”
No fire safety checks were made before the eviction, and no community housing referrals were made, or mentioned at any point.
The RTA says the site is to be used for a road widening project, but not within the next five years.
By Lawrence Bull
