Thursday 20 December 2018

Council Inspectors Check Buman Boarding House

BY LAUREN FREEMANTLE

Further moves look likely, but residents of Aaron Buman's Adamstown boarding house have been granted a temporary reprieve from eviction over Christmas.

Council officers conducted an inspection of the Victoria Street property yesterday, finding a number of issues relating to fire safety and unauthorised works.

Those will be assessed in coming weeks to see if any regulatory action will be taken - the inspection comes after residents of the former councillor's Mayfield and Carrington boarding houses were forced out because the buildings do not comply with building codes.

Council CEO Jeremy Bath said claims City of Newcastle is targeting Aaron Buman are untrue.

"Frankly [that] isn't supported by evidence because we are doing a compliance check on every single boarding house in the city," Mr Bath said.

"Earlier this year, a boarding house which is not operated by Mr Buman was actually shut down due to the inherent fire safety risks and a number of other issues that existed within that boarding house.

"We need to recognise that the people living in boarding houses are the most vulnerable people in our community," he continued, "they do not have any sort of position of strength with which to negotiate with the operator if they have concerns about the safety. It is Council's job to go there on behalf of these vulnerable people and to ensure their homes are safe to live in - that's all we're doing."

There are over 50 men living in the Adamstown property, many of whom fear they will be left homeless as others were in September.

The Victoria St Boarding House. Image: Google Maps.