By The South Asia Times

SYDNEY - Families living in temporary housing villages in Australia’s Northern Rivers region are facing homelessness as the facilities begin closing, with an advocacy group warning that some residents are being offered tents, cars or short-term motel stays as alternatives.

House You, a housing advocacy organisation, said at least 157 households remain across the region’s pod villages, many of whom are already on the social housing waiting list.

The organisation said Homes NSW has assured residents that no one will be evicted into homelessness. However, House You said some residents have been offered accommodation options that it argues amount to homelessness, including tents, vehicles and motel rooms.

“Living in a tent or a car is homelessness,” the group said, adding that a seven-day motel stay does not constitute a long-term housing solution.

The pod villages were established as temporary accommodation following the devastating floods that affected the Northern Rivers region. But House You says the villages have effectively become community housing for residents who have struggled to find alternatives in an area facing a severe shortage of affordable and social housing.

- Family forced into motel after pod eviction

Kellie Holmes and her family of six were forced to leave the Lismore pod village on September 4 despite paying rent and spending months searching for private accommodation, according to House You.

The family made multiple rental applications and used a A$10,000 Homes NSW exit payment as an upfront incentive for landlords, but failed to secure a home.

The family is now paying A$1,700 for a week in an Alstonville motel, while their belongings are stored between two containers.

Holmes said the family could not afford to remain in the motel beyond the first week and did not know where they would live afterward.

“If my husband gave up his job and my daughter quit her job too, we would be under the threshold and be eligible for social housing and wouldn't have become homeless — as we could stay at the pods,” she said.

House You also raised questions about whether government and political offices adequately advocated for the family, saying it was unable to find records of some of the claimed advocacy after contacting relevant authorities.

- Mother says she was offered a tent

In Brunswick Heads, mother-of-four Andrea Fraser is due to leave her pod on September 30.

According to House You, Fraser has been told by Social Futures, the organisation involved in case management and resident transitions, that she would be provided with a tent.

“I'm a mother of 4 and will be evicted on the 30th of September from the pod I call home into homelessness,” Fraser said. “Social Futures have told me they'll get me a tent.”

“This is cruel, unfair and incredibly stressful,” she added, calling for the pods to remain open until residents have genuine long-term housing options.

House You said it had also received reports that residents had been advised to consider moving into cars and, in some cases, rehoming pets in preparation for such arrangements.

The organisation said it had seen a resident case-plan worksheet listing a car, van or recreational vehicle, along with a tent and tiny home/caravan, as possible housing options.

- Advocacy group calls for five-year extension

House You is calling on the New South Wales government, councils, landowners, Homes NSW and village managers to halt evictions until every resident has a confirmed long-term housing pathway.

The group is also calling for at least a five-year extension of the pod villages while additional public and community housing is developed.

It said Wardell is the only remaining village that will continue beyond the four-year funding period because residents there are expected to remain until their permanent homes at Cabbage Tree Island are rebuilt.

The futures of other villages remain uncertain. House You said Ballina and Coraki currently have no reuse plans, while the future of Mullumbimby remains undecided.

In Lismore, plans for possible social housing at the site have been discussed but, according to the advocacy group, arrangements have not been finalised even as residents face eviction.

- Brunswick Heads under particular scrutiny

House You said Brunswick Heads represents a particularly pressing case because the pod village site has been earmarked for social housing.

Byron Shire Council has had more than a year to progress plans for social housing at the Tweed Street site, according to the organisation.

The advocacy group argues that residents who are already eligible for social housing are being removed from a site that could ultimately be used to house them.

“The pods were built as temporary accommodation; now they are homes,” House You said, urging authorities to keep the villages operating until viable permanent housing is available.

The dispute highlights a broader challenge facing Australia’s housing system: how to transition people from emergency accommodation into secure housing when affordable and social housing supply remains limited.

House You said closing existing accommodation before replacement housing is ready risks reducing an already inadequate housing stock and pushing vulnerable families back into homelessness.