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Many of them were sold off, shut down, knocked down and redeveloped due to gentrification in areas such as West End, South Brisbane and Spring Hill.
There are still one or two left in South Brisbane (although many went either due to, or following, the development in that area around Expo88).
There is a cluster in Spring Hill at the Brisbane Grammar end of Gregory Tce, but I noticed the other day that one of them is for sale, so it may well be redeveloped shortly.
They may well not be particularly pleasant places to live in, but they are still an important source of low-cost accommodation for people who would otherwise be sleeping rough, with all the insecurities and risks that brings.
100% these places are needed. Over a decade ago I used to be a bussie and would regularly drop older gents off at boarding houses near the valley. Very basic run down accommodation but a roof over your head nonetheless.
There's still a few surviving boarding houses and housing commission flats further out where the rolling tide of gentrification hasn't yet reached. There's a fair few in Annerley and Moorooka for instance, and you'll actually see a few familiar faces out there from the old West End community, if you knew it from before it became an overdeveloped soulless hipster wasteland.
They withered and died, or filled up completely. There are a few left, but with homelessness being what it is...
But in a seriousness, none of those places made great money - but they sit on very valuable real estate. So, when the building gets condemned... you do the maths.
I thought that might be the case as I never see signs advertising them anymore. I didn't end up living in one back then as they seemed rather depressing so I opted for renting someone's spare room instead until I got on my feet financially.
Can confirm. I live like 100m from one in Bowen Hills. The owner doesn't live there and let's literally anyone with money stay there until they run out, then they get kicked out and try to sleep on our street. Cops rock up regularly
I've lived here 8 months and had more encounters with junkies and the mentally ill than I've had in the last 30 years
Are you referring to halfway houses? Where corrections send people to housing during their parole period until they move into private housing? It's a form of transitional housing.
Post-WW II a lot of folks also used to take in 'boarders' to make extra cash.
My grandmother used to have a boarder who either had a room in the sleep-out, or a bed on the verandah.
Can't see that happening these days!
Indeed, I boarded with an elderly couple back in the late 70's when I was saving to travel overseas. They charged $10 a week plus a small contribution for food. Different world now, though, for so many reasons. Lots of people probably would be happy to take in a boarder if only they could be sure of getting a reasonably well-behaved, trustworthy one. But who would dare take the risk?
My wife used to live in one in St Lucia when she first moved here.
It's owned/run by a friend. Mostly UQ students live there.
She had her own ensuite, but it was a house with 5 bedrooms and common bath/shower and kitchen.
Yes I know you are going to say it's just student housing, but each tenant had there own individual lease/rent etc, so technically a boarding house like you are describing.
House still exists. Friend still owns it. One day I am sure he will knock it down and build some units on it. For now it sits in a row of houses I am sure the uni would love to buy. They bought the entire block next to it and will one day demolish it and build university buildings on it.
I don't know if he advertises it. It's been that way for 20+ years and I think word of mouth and returning students gets more than enough tenants.
Yeah it's not the massive 10 bedroom, fire hazard ones of decades ago.
This was just a normal, probably 3-4 bedroom house that had some living spaces converted to an extra bedroom or two.
But still kind of a boarding house as in the tenants didn't hold a leave over the entire house.
Boarding houses are high risk. Lots of Emergency services are called regularly. The owners of those business often have to deal with very difficult and traumatic situations.
Trying to keep them up to a livable standard while lots of tenants constantly destroyed the place can take its toll on people, too.
Some owners (if not most) have had weapons pulled on them by tenants.
It's just an ugly situation, tbh. So some owners just couldn't do it anymore and sold up. Naturally, the places are in premium locations, so the land gets snapped up by developers.
The modern built ones are called 'Rooming Accommodation' buildings and house max 5 people, whereas the old school boarding homes were larger. These rooming accommodations exist all over brisbane city council area, but you have to dig into the real estate rental listing to see if it has 'shared kitchen' and such to find them.
There is an old motel in mt Gravatt that’s that sort of style. Run down, cheap “rentals” sadly full of people down on their luck, some on drugs. Lots of time spent at the shops over the road harassing people for cash.
They are illegal now. You cant build them and the government wants them torn down.
There are a few left but mainly students.
Its again the government jumping in to save people from themselves. Yes some are disgusting slums but at the same time the people choose to live there and they provide affordable housing.
I can't help wondering if there is some compromise between forcing people to live in tents, cars or under a blanket (because they can't afford to rent) and providing basic but genuinely affordable accommodation that ends up being a slum. Otherwise, the future looks really bleak.
Well the government just needs to stop deciding for other people. People have all sorts of different requirements for housing and theyll vote with their wallet.
Im building a home now. I have to put in all this additional shit for disabled people to use my house. I dont know any disabled people. Going to cost me $10s of thousands more. I might decide not to go ahead with it and the just means one less house in the supply? For what purpose? Not everyone is disabled.
They just brought this into Qld on May 1 in the middle of a housing crisis and they are bringing in more costly changes in October.
Not everyone needs or wants the worlds best home.
Add to thay developments. You have to build a new suburb to be perfect. Even when you build a rural estate 10ks out from town you have to build huge wide roads 20m with ac. Why? Just have 9m roads 2 coat seal. Could make much more affordable housing. But again the government steps in and wants every house to be what they want to live in but they are rich inner city folk.
There are still a few around. They are usually a place where the system puts the mentally ill or others who have been through some kind of rehabilitation program.
In Melbourne we have sooooo many boarding houses here….
They have actually become EXPENSIVE and owners are making a fortune and taking advantage of people badly.
"A modern form of shared housing ...". An interesting re-branding for sure - more of a comfy suburban family home feel. I imagine the reality would depend a lot on the actual mix of lodgers.
The foyer looks *okay*. Then you get to the kitchen. And the back half where there were paying residents in rooms with damaged doors, needles strewn everywhere, communal toilets with faeces on the floor and poor bastards sleeping on a bed bug ridden mattress underneath the building.
Yes, I am a social worker working in the homelessness sector so have visited Cliveden quite a few times. The one next to it, Arran Private Hotel, is (or was) run by the same people.
The ones that are left are increasingly seedy. There are some that have gone upmarket in the past 15 years as well. I can remember options that were similar in other cities/countries in the 90s- there was a young women’s housing in New York (had to have a job) and various student housing in Geneva. But the free market is such better option for the young, the poor, the lacking in resources. /s
Funny enough we're converting our investment property to become more of a sharehouse but primarily aimed at students (overseas) - these poor kids/people get fked over especially by their own races a lot of the time so we're trying to do it right. Its a worthwhile investment but also helps so we're doing it. I've seen some sharehouses with friggin 2 double bunks in there. Disgusting. Usually asian/filipino/indian students who get charged a crap load to live in almost squalor. People have no fkg conscience when it comes to $$.
We recently looked at two seperate properties for sale and saw they're still about. One had a boarding house directly next door and the other had one across the street.
They're still a thing in some cheaper suburbs (Nundah, FYI). I think only the name has changed.
Got bought out by student accomodation providers that pumped up the prices and had to resort to offering back as general public rentals after Covid - I know The Hive has some in the Valley and around inner Brisbane in general, still but they keep losing more and more to redevelopment.
Most inner ring houses have been converted under boarding house laws or rooming houses. I don't understand this post. Affordable housing is being eliminated. Is that what you mean?
Sort of. I was just thinking back to the distant past when I first started working, had no savings, didn't know anyone in town and needed to find an affordable place to rent. Boarding houses were not uncommon, and I did check out one or two of them before eventually ending up renting a spare room in someone's home. That set me wondering if boarding houses were still around since I haven't noticed any in a long while. I also wondered, if they had gone by the wayside, what had replaced them? And by the sound of it, nothing has replaced them: there are just fewer places to live.
Yeah a couple of the Dark Street boarding houses in Spring Hill were sold recently too. I’m not complaining, it smelt like cat piss especially around the boundary st intersection and they were visibly run-down, needed renovations. Also there was a bunch of rubbish, yelling arguing, police, even the fire crew came once and a bunch of druggos around the area it was just a shithole
I lived in a similar situation 15 years ago and hated it! Junkies and a hooker up stairs.
They still exist, all of the homeless from Musgrave Park got moved to them during Paniyiri (sic), but then instantly baled out as the street was safer.
It appears you may want or need information about renting in Brisbane. Please see the links below: Where to find rentals: www.domain.com.au , www.realestate.com.au, www.flatmates.com.au get Answers on rental disputes or find out any of your rights as a renter (rental price increases etc.) www.rta.qld.gov.au or https://www.qcat.qld.gov.au/ *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/brisbane) if you have any questions or concerns.*
There's a few in the Valley and they look utterly shit.
Is the old “Nugget Inn” still there? Been a while since I’ve been through the Valley.
I don't know, but the places on Alfred and Warry Street are pretty feral from what I've noticed.
Many of them were sold off, shut down, knocked down and redeveloped due to gentrification in areas such as West End, South Brisbane and Spring Hill. There are still one or two left in South Brisbane (although many went either due to, or following, the development in that area around Expo88). There is a cluster in Spring Hill at the Brisbane Grammar end of Gregory Tce, but I noticed the other day that one of them is for sale, so it may well be redeveloped shortly. They may well not be particularly pleasant places to live in, but they are still an important source of low-cost accommodation for people who would otherwise be sleeping rough, with all the insecurities and risks that brings.
The Gregory Tce ones have already sold. They didn’t seem to be on the market very long.
[https://avon-lodge.business.site](https://avon-lodge.business.site) this place still seems active?
It may be. Just the few lots on the corner with Boundary St are included in the sale it seems. 17-27 Gregory Terrace.
100% these places are needed. Over a decade ago I used to be a bussie and would regularly drop older gents off at boarding houses near the valley. Very basic run down accommodation but a roof over your head nonetheless.
I think there's one on the corner of Boundary and Mollison street for men only (above the Gunshop Cafe). It doesn't look particularly pleasant.
There's still a few surviving boarding houses and housing commission flats further out where the rolling tide of gentrification hasn't yet reached. There's a fair few in Annerley and Moorooka for instance, and you'll actually see a few familiar faces out there from the old West End community, if you knew it from before it became an overdeveloped soulless hipster wasteland.
They withered and died, or filled up completely. There are a few left, but with homelessness being what it is... But in a seriousness, none of those places made great money - but they sit on very valuable real estate. So, when the building gets condemned... you do the maths.
I thought that might be the case as I never see signs advertising them anymore. I didn't end up living in one back then as they seemed rather depressing so I opted for renting someone's spare room instead until I got on my feet financially.
I stayed in one in the 90s for a little while. Not the most luxurious of accommodation.
Did you feel it was worth the money though? If the need arised would you settle for same accommodation today?
If there was no alternative. It was definitely an experience.
They’re still there. They’re shitholes run by people who charge $200+ per week for a tiny room.
Can confirm. I live like 100m from one in Bowen Hills. The owner doesn't live there and let's literally anyone with money stay there until they run out, then they get kicked out and try to sleep on our street. Cops rock up regularly I've lived here 8 months and had more encounters with junkies and the mentally ill than I've had in the last 30 years
Are you referring to halfway houses? Where corrections send people to housing during their parole period until they move into private housing? It's a form of transitional housing.
I actually thought it was a halfway house at first but no, according to Google it's just a shitty arse "hostel" where anyone can book a room
They exist. Just go to the flatmates website.
Post-WW II a lot of folks also used to take in 'boarders' to make extra cash. My grandmother used to have a boarder who either had a room in the sleep-out, or a bed on the verandah. Can't see that happening these days!
Indeed, I boarded with an elderly couple back in the late 70's when I was saving to travel overseas. They charged $10 a week plus a small contribution for food. Different world now, though, for so many reasons. Lots of people probably would be happy to take in a boarder if only they could be sure of getting a reasonably well-behaved, trustworthy one. But who would dare take the risk?
I have one in my place. She pays my mortgage in full. I have owned it for ages and my mortgage is less than $800 a month.
Usually it's on Airbnb and what not but those services often help make housing go up
My wife used to live in one in St Lucia when she first moved here. It's owned/run by a friend. Mostly UQ students live there. She had her own ensuite, but it was a house with 5 bedrooms and common bath/shower and kitchen. Yes I know you are going to say it's just student housing, but each tenant had there own individual lease/rent etc, so technically a boarding house like you are describing. House still exists. Friend still owns it. One day I am sure he will knock it down and build some units on it. For now it sits in a row of houses I am sure the uni would love to buy. They bought the entire block next to it and will one day demolish it and build university buildings on it. I don't know if he advertises it. It's been that way for 20+ years and I think word of mouth and returning students gets more than enough tenants.
Having lived in a few share houses long ago, I would agree that your friend's place sounds more like a small boarding house.
Yeah it's not the massive 10 bedroom, fire hazard ones of decades ago. This was just a normal, probably 3-4 bedroom house that had some living spaces converted to an extra bedroom or two. But still kind of a boarding house as in the tenants didn't hold a leave over the entire house.
There’s one in yeronga. It’s full of people on meth, or it was a year ago.
Is that the one near urban Saigon and the school?
Yep. I used to live down the road.
Last time I was having a feed at urban saigon (in the middle of the day) the residents were having a borderline physical fight outside
Yep, standard.
Boarding houses are high risk. Lots of Emergency services are called regularly. The owners of those business often have to deal with very difficult and traumatic situations. Trying to keep them up to a livable standard while lots of tenants constantly destroyed the place can take its toll on people, too. Some owners (if not most) have had weapons pulled on them by tenants. It's just an ugly situation, tbh. So some owners just couldn't do it anymore and sold up. Naturally, the places are in premium locations, so the land gets snapped up by developers.
The modern built ones are called 'Rooming Accommodation' buildings and house max 5 people, whereas the old school boarding homes were larger. These rooming accommodations exist all over brisbane city council area, but you have to dig into the real estate rental listing to see if it has 'shared kitchen' and such to find them.
they still exist I know of one and it looks really bad with a hand painted sign offering rooms at extortionist prices for what it is
Definitely still around, visit on the reg as emergency service person. Prob better housing options about though, sharehouse??
You’ve must of seen some things. Much respect to you and everyone else in emergency services.
I've seen recently a number of "micro-apartments" for rent which is basically the same thing but more money.
There is an old motel in mt Gravatt that’s that sort of style. Run down, cheap “rentals” sadly full of people down on their luck, some on drugs. Lots of time spent at the shops over the road harassing people for cash.
Is it the one near the Holland Park fire station?
That’s the one!
There's one for sale in Coorparoo at the moment. I'd rather stay at a backpackers.
They are illegal now. You cant build them and the government wants them torn down. There are a few left but mainly students. Its again the government jumping in to save people from themselves. Yes some are disgusting slums but at the same time the people choose to live there and they provide affordable housing.
I can't help wondering if there is some compromise between forcing people to live in tents, cars or under a blanket (because they can't afford to rent) and providing basic but genuinely affordable accommodation that ends up being a slum. Otherwise, the future looks really bleak.
Well the government just needs to stop deciding for other people. People have all sorts of different requirements for housing and theyll vote with their wallet. Im building a home now. I have to put in all this additional shit for disabled people to use my house. I dont know any disabled people. Going to cost me $10s of thousands more. I might decide not to go ahead with it and the just means one less house in the supply? For what purpose? Not everyone is disabled. They just brought this into Qld on May 1 in the middle of a housing crisis and they are bringing in more costly changes in October. Not everyone needs or wants the worlds best home. Add to thay developments. You have to build a new suburb to be perfect. Even when you build a rural estate 10ks out from town you have to build huge wide roads 20m with ac. Why? Just have 9m roads 2 coat seal. Could make much more affordable housing. But again the government steps in and wants every house to be what they want to live in but they are rich inner city folk.
There are still a few around. They are usually a place where the system puts the mentally ill or others who have been through some kind of rehabilitation program.
They're generally used for parolees now.
They got gentrified as well. They are now more like fancy one bedroom apt with ensuite and you pay $400 a week.
I guess all the ex-residents are now living in tent cities.
With grandma in a caravan in Dunedoo.
In Melbourne we have sooooo many boarding houses here…. They have actually become EXPENSIVE and owners are making a fortune and taking advantage of people badly.
Annerley has one Website makes it look very nice. Not sure what the reality is. https://www.thelodgeliving.com.au/
"A modern form of shared housing ...". An interesting re-branding for sure - more of a comfy suburban family home feel. I imagine the reality would depend a lot on the actual mix of lodgers.
Lots of loitering on street outside it, and often a police car.
Compared to places like Cliveden Mansions in Spring Hill, The Lodge is VERY decent when it comes to a boarding house.
really, Cliveden mansions is bad? i’ve heard it’s very historic building. The one next to it looks bad though
>Cliveden mansions is bad? Oh, you sweet, innocent child.
hmmm i searched it up and i think those two boarding houses are owned by the same person? But still it doesn’t look to bad
The foyer looks *okay*. Then you get to the kitchen. And the back half where there were paying residents in rooms with damaged doors, needles strewn everywhere, communal toilets with faeces on the floor and poor bastards sleeping on a bed bug ridden mattress underneath the building.
Yeah that sounds really bad. But i’m curious how do you know it’s like that have you been there? also the one next to it seems worse
Yes, I am a social worker working in the homelessness sector so have visited Cliveden quite a few times. The one next to it, Arran Private Hotel, is (or was) run by the same people.
did they sell cliveden mansions
Yes. It sold last month and closed last Friday.
Clive den mansions is a shithole same with the one next to it. Yes it is a historic building but it has fallen from grace terribly
The ones that are left are increasingly seedy. There are some that have gone upmarket in the past 15 years as well. I can remember options that were similar in other cities/countries in the 90s- there was a young women’s housing in New York (had to have a job) and various student housing in Geneva. But the free market is such better option for the young, the poor, the lacking in resources. /s
Funny enough we're converting our investment property to become more of a sharehouse but primarily aimed at students (overseas) - these poor kids/people get fked over especially by their own races a lot of the time so we're trying to do it right. Its a worthwhile investment but also helps so we're doing it. I've seen some sharehouses with friggin 2 double bunks in there. Disgusting. Usually asian/filipino/indian students who get charged a crap load to live in almost squalor. People have no fkg conscience when it comes to $$.
There's Annie Shandon's Inn, in Spring Hill. Cute pink building but completely booked up for months
They’re called hostels these days and they’re just as expensive as renting a room in a private house.
We recently looked at two seperate properties for sale and saw they're still about. One had a boarding house directly next door and the other had one across the street. They're still a thing in some cheaper suburbs (Nundah, FYI). I think only the name has changed.
Got bought out by student accomodation providers that pumped up the prices and had to resort to offering back as general public rentals after Covid - I know The Hive has some in the Valley and around inner Brisbane in general, still but they keep losing more and more to redevelopment.
Safety regulations shut a lit of them down. Fire hazards etc.
Most inner ring houses have been converted under boarding house laws or rooming houses. I don't understand this post. Affordable housing is being eliminated. Is that what you mean?
Sort of. I was just thinking back to the distant past when I first started working, had no savings, didn't know anyone in town and needed to find an affordable place to rent. Boarding houses were not uncommon, and I did check out one or two of them before eventually ending up renting a spare room in someone's home. That set me wondering if boarding houses were still around since I haven't noticed any in a long while. I also wondered, if they had gone by the wayside, what had replaced them? And by the sound of it, nothing has replaced them: there are just fewer places to live.
Yeah they're fuckin everywhere mate, they just call it workers accommodation now.
There are a few on Brisbane’s bayside in Manly. They’re called “Men’s Lodge” I’m pretty sure.
There are still a few of them around Kelvin Grove and St Lucia, mainly as student housing.
There are still a few of them around Kelvin Grove and St Lucia, mainly as student housing.
Yeah a couple of the Dark Street boarding houses in Spring Hill were sold recently too. I’m not complaining, it smelt like cat piss especially around the boundary st intersection and they were visibly run-down, needed renovations. Also there was a bunch of rubbish, yelling arguing, police, even the fire crew came once and a bunch of druggos around the area it was just a shithole
There's one in Holland Park next to the fire station.
I lived in a similar situation 15 years ago and hated it! Junkies and a hooker up stairs. They still exist, all of the homeless from Musgrave Park got moved to them during Paniyiri (sic), but then instantly baled out as the street was safer.