Housing ACT's failed tenant relocation program has contributed to delays and cost blowouts in delivering new public housing properties, an audit has found.
A program to increase Canberra's public housing stock by 400 properties and renew a further 1000 is expected to cost $260 million more than initially forecast and take an extra three years.
The ACT Auditor-General found the management of a program to forcibly relocate tenants had contributed to delays in the program.
The government attempted to relocate more than 300 public housing tenants in early-2022, with tenants being notified by a letter.
Many tenants expressed shock at the letters, saying they were not made aware their property was planned for renewal.
This view was supported by the ACT Ombudsman who found Housing ACT had failed in properly communicating with tenants and did not provide adequate supports.
Housing Minister Yvette Berry apologised to people affected by the program and it prompted the government to reassess its relocation process.
The government's growth and renewal program aims to renew 1000 and add 400 new public housing properties in the capital. It was initially expected to be completed by 2024 but now it won't finish until 2027.
The program was initially expected to take five years to deliver 1200 new homes for $600 million but it has now blown out to eight years at a cost of $860 million. However, the program will now deliver 1400 new homes.
To achieve the targets, Housing ACT will sell about 700 homes, and demolish and rebuild 300.
The Auditor-General's report, released on Wednesday, found Housing ACT expected the sale of 700 properties would provide revenue to the program but the proceeds from the sale of 55 properties in 2019-20 and 2020-21 had to be used to offset the agency's operating deficit.
Revenue from the sale of the remaining 645 properties will not support any further renewal of properties beyond 2027.
The audit also showed that while there will be an increase in the number of properties, there will be a decrease in the number of homes per estimated resident population.
It will decrease from 28 public housing properties for every 1000 residents in 2018 to 24 public housing properties for every 1000 people in 2027. This is due to population growth.
The audit said gaps in the program's governance and administrative arrangements undermined the ability of Housing ACT to implement the program. It said the agency had failed to consider tenant wellbeing.
"Housing ACT did not acknowledge and mitigate risks to the program arising from ineffective implementation of required tenant relocation," the audit report said.
"This has impacted the wellbeing of some public housing tenants, damaged relationships with the non-government community services sector and contributed to delays and increased costs of program delivery."
The audit also said the increase in the number of properties to be delivered and increases to construction timelines due to COVID-19 and other supply chain issues had also contributed to delays in the program.
The Auditor-General will consider the implementation of the program, including how decisions were made about which homes to sell and procurement activities to build new homes in another audit.
