Commencing in 2019, Harris Transportable Housing is a pilot project delivering long-term supportive housing to tenants who have experienced chronic homelessness. The Melbourne-based project is demonstrative of a hybrid between congregate and scatter-site Housing First models constituted by small clusters of 6–12 homes located on seven parcels of vacant Government land in Melbourne’s inner-west.
The project involves a cross-sector partnership between the homeless housing organisation Launch Housing, Harris Capital, the Victorian Government, Hansen Yuncken, Carelli Constructions and Oscar Building to deliver low cost, quality dwellings using a prefabricated ‘tiny house’ model. The project demonstrates how unutilised government land can be repurposed to create a safe, stable, pet-friendly housing solution where people can live privately and independently.
These single dwellings—we have between six to eight some up to nine per block—and it gives people a chance to have their own house, their own yard, in an aspiration suburb so they can feel like a normal part of the community. You can have your own little garden, their own pets, and it gives [people] a chance to feel normal and go out of that sector and maybe buy a house of their own down the track. It’s a wonderful space to give [people] a feeling of identity and belonging (Harris Capital 2019)
Built Form
Coined the ‘Freddie’, the sustainable studio-sized housing model was designed by Sophie Dyring of Schored Projects. Each unit measures 3.6m x 11m and is situated on a 60–90m2 block of land. Designed for singles and couples, Harris homes include an open-plan ground floor, with a kitchenette, bathroom and a mezzanine storage space positioned above the bathroom. The units have received a 6-star energy rating and come fully equipped with solar hot water systems and energy-efficient appliances. As part of the tenant-centric design process, the units are also pet-friendly.
The units have been prefabricated off-site by Oscar Builders in regional Victoria and sized specifically to enable transport to site by semi-trailer. Once delivered, the units are installed within a matter of days, sitting on top of a removable surefoot footing system. When the land is required for government use, Harris homes can be disassembled and relocated to an alternative location with relative ease.
The Freddie unit was initially entered in a 2012 UK design competition centred around housing for the homeless in urban settings. The design was then further adapted to meet local housing needs, drawing insight from Launch Housing’s Lived Experience Advisory Group.
The Harris Transportable Housing project received the Award for Planning Excellence: Best Planning Ideas – Small Project 2019 PIA National Awards. For the Planning Institute Australia, the project is demonstrative of an effective housing model to end homelessness that could be rolled out across Australia.
Financial details
Harris Capital provided funding for the development of the first 57 homes to the tune of $4 million. To date, all on-site construction works — including services, footings and landscaping — has been managed by Hansen Yuncken commercial builders and Carelli Constructionson an at-cost, zero-profit basis.
Nine government-owned parcels of land reserved for future road widening projects have been leased to Launch Housing on a peppercorn arrangement, starting with a five-year term that can be extended. Under the agreement, Vic Roads are required to issue a 12-month vacancy notice if the land is needed for development. However, the state transport department does not anticipate using the land for at least ten years.
Property and tenancy management
Harris homes and tenancies are managed by Launch Housing, asecular Melbourne-based community organisation that provides housing and homelessness support services to disadvantaged Victorians.
Tenants pay a small percentage (25%) of their income toward rent and can live in the home for long as they want or need. Rental income is used to cover https://housingfirstdevelopmentcollection.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/LinkPeople-1-1.jpgistrative costs as well as the upkeep and maintenance of Harris Transportable Housing.
We want to end homelessness and are passionately committed to creating lasting societal change to help those most in need in our community. In a country as wealthy as ours no one should be homeless (Launch Housing n.d.)
Further information
For further information about the Harris Transportable Housing Project, please visit: https://www.launchhousing.org.au/harris-transportable-housing-project
Additional resources for this profile
Quote from Harris Capital interview
One of the problems with the status quo model is that people are just bounced around between essentially short term accommodation […] It’s only when you have permanent long term accommodation that you can then properly reintegrate into society and find work and do all the things you need to do. So the really appealing thing about this model is that they are for all intents and purposes, permanent homes the tenants can live there for as long as they want to. It gets them out of that cycle of being bounced around the short term, government housing system (Harris Capital 2019)
