‘Poor doors’: affordable housing tenants have to use back entrance to access Barangaroo apartments | Renting

Affordable housing tenants with reduced rent at Watermans Residences in Barangaroo are not allowed to use the swimming pool or gym and must use a separate entrance from other residents through a large glass foyer where the concierge desk is located.

Despite living in an enviable location just steps from the harbor and Crown casino, the restrictions are a daily reminder that residents of the 50 apartments designated as affordable are not the same as those occupying the other 162 units in the building known as One Sydney Harbour.

Common space for residents is also limited to the second-floor landscaped terrace and covered communal kitchen and dining area.

This is the implementation of the New South Wales government’s affordable housing policy: a form of apartment apartheid.

Greens housing spokesperson Jenny Leong described segregation at Watermans Residences as a “dystopian microcosm of housing and wealth inequality”.

“While the rich occupy airy upper floors with views, pools and state-of-the-art amenities, the poor are holed up in lower floors with a secret entrance and no access to any facilities,” he said.

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In the United Kingdom, which has long had policies to promote affordable housing, separate entrances on multi-million dollar blocks are known as “poor gates”.

This has caused periodic outrage in the UK as it was revealed that affordable housing and key worker tenants sometimes had separate cycle storage areas, rubbish disposal facilities and postal deliveries.

It’s the same in New York; In 2014, then-mayor Bill De Blasio said: will take action Preventing the construction of new developments with separate entrances and facilities for low-income residents. It follows outrage over a luxury block with a separate entrance for social housing in the city’s posh Upper West Side.

Lendlease, which is developing Barangaroo South, said it included affordable units in the rear tower at 55 Hickson Road as part of the Barangaroo project development agreement signed with the NSW government in 2010.

The deal required 2.3% of the gross residential area at Barangaroo South to be delivered as key worker housing on the site, corresponding to approximately 50 flats.

This was before the NSW government’s newer housing SEPP bonus, which gives developers up to 30% additional height and floor space if they designate 10% to 15% of units in a project as affordable housing. The apartments must remain “affordable”, that is, 20% below market rent, for 15 years.

“Sydney needs more diverse and affordable homes close to where people work to support the future growth and productivity of our city,” said Lendlease managing director of development Tom Mackellar.

“Almost 25% of the flats at Watermans Residences in Barangaroo South are for key workers, including local people working on the education and medical frontline.

“The fact that all apartments are fully occupied shows that demand is strong among those looking for safe, well-located and high-quality housing that is close to work.”

Sources said pool restrictions had caused problems for families with children, but residents interviewed by the Guardian were mostly grateful to be living in a brand new flat in the city.

Janson, an Indonesian who is training as a chef and working part-time, said it was the nicest unit he had found in the two years he had been in Sydney. He lives there with his two friends.

“I don’t really care about the pool,” he said.

A young woman, an HR worker in the city who moved to the city three weeks ago, said her apartment was nice. However, he lamented the lack of basic facilities, including supermarkets, in the area. “This is really an area for tourists,” he said.

“Yes, we can’t go to the pool,” said Lachie, 22, who lives in an affordable apartment with his girlfriend. He said his girlfriend’s work with NSW Health gave them a discounted gym membership at a nearby private gym, so lack of access to Watermans wasn’t an issue.

Key worker units are owned and managed by St George Community Housing and are required to stay below market rent for 20 years.

“Ours Affordable housing customers at this property are paying 75% of market rent, which is much less than they would pay in the private rental market,” an SGCH spokesperson said.

“These homes offer safe, well-located housing for key workers and others who would otherwise be priced out of the communities they support.”

To qualify for reduced rent in Barangaroo South, tenants cannot earn more than the annual income threshold of $100,875 for singles and $151,357 for two adults without children.

Key worker apartments are managed in a separate tier from private market apartments, allowing St George Community Housing to manage ongoing maintenance and operating costs efficiently and keep rents more affordable, Lendlease said.

A spokesperson for SGCH said: “Although this may result in differential access to certain facilities, all residents benefit from high quality housing and proximity to transport, employment and public facilities.”

NSW housing minister Rose Jackson stated that for this particular project the developer and community housing provider had signed an exclusive agreement to deliver affordable housing as part of the development. It was not a government owned or managed building.

“That said, I believe that mixed-tenure developments should not cause any resident to feel like a second-class citizen,” Jackson said.

“Overall, our vision for mixed-tenure housing does not support disparate treatment of different types of residents. People should not feel stigmatized or excluded when living in mixed-tenure communities.”

Leong said successive governments had “devolved responsibility for housing delivery to developers” and given them “more control over affordable housing”.

He said he was concerned the conditions would breed “disrespect for affordable housing tenants” and allow developers “to extract maximum profit with minimal consideration for the social impact of their actions.”

“Inclusionary zoning to deliver affordable housing needs to be a way to address inequality in our communities, ensuring access to housing for everyone in our city. It should not be a weapon to reinforce socioeconomic hierarchies,” Leong said.

While the NSW government’s affordable housing policy requires owners of affordable housing components to rent units at least 20% below market rents, there are also income thresholds that tenants must not exceed.

With rents in Sydney skyrocketing, it’s becoming harder for anyone at the income threshold to afford the discounted rent for inner-city places.

There was also the issue of how long a young person could stay in key worker or affordable housing. One young teacher the Guardian spoke to outside Watermans Residences said he would probably not be eligible for his unit if his pay was given a raise next year; He started living there in March.

“They need to adjust the income requirements because it is so low,” he said.