Reprieve for ‘hold-out’ tenants as court blocks public tower evictions

More than 30 “hold-out” households across three public housing towers can remain in their homes for now, the Court of Appeal has ruled, further stalling the Victorian government’s multibillion-dollar plan to demolish the Melbourne high-rises.

In a reprieve for activists, the injunction protects current residents at 33 Alfred Street, North Melbourne, and 120 Racecourse Road and 12 Holland Court in Flemington from being formally evicted until their failed class action is heard by the High Court in coming months.

These towers were originally intended to be entirely vacated by September 2025 and were the first tenanted buildings marked for demolition under the state’s 30-year plan to replace 44 towers across the city.

But about 30 households remain living across the three almost empty towers, refusing to move despite government relocation offers.

In December, the Court of Appeal upheld an original ruling that the state government’s redevelopment plan had not impinged on tenants’ human rights, dismissing a two-year class action brought to halt the demolition rebuild plan.

But on Thursday, the same court granted the injunction, which allows lawyers to appeal to the higher court without the remaining tenants being evicted.

Justice Richard Niall said the injunction was necessary to “preserve the subject matter of the litigation”, and said refusing it would cause significant uncertainty and disrupt the status quo for vulnerable tenants.

Outside court, managing lawyer at Inner Melbourne Community Legal Louisa Bassini said the injunction was a win for tenants, and that it would be a number of months before the High Court would even decide if it would hear the case, let alone the time a full appeal could take.

“I think certainly our clients will be happy knowing that they don’t have force to leave right now and they can wait and see what the [High Court] outcome is,” she said.

Lawyers for the state government argued in court that further delays would be costly in contractor holding costs and construction escalation. Construction giant John Holland was awarded a $100 million contract in 2024 for the demolition of the three towers subject to the legal case.

Normally, someone blocking a project like this would be liable to pay for the government’s financial losses if the case is eventually lost. However, on Thursday the court made an exception because lead plaintiff Jason Mallard is a disability pensioner, allowing him to continue the legal battle without the risk of ruinous costs.

Last week the Allan government dramatically escalated the redevelopment program by naming the next seven towers set for demolition. These buildings – in Albert Park, Flemington, Kensington, North Melbourne, St Kilda and Prahran – are all dedicated “older persons” communities due to begin relocating in July.

Under the high-rise redevelopment program, more than 40 towers across Melbourne – built between the 1950s and 1970s – will be rebuilt with more units, but most will no longer be traditional public housing.

Instead, public housing will be replaced with 10 per cent more community housing (run by not-for-profit agencies), while two-thirds of the new apartments will be private rentals. The plan remains unbacked by a public cost-benefit analysis.

The Allan government has so far dismissed the key findings of a parliamentary inquiry into the program that accused the state of a “blatant disregard for democratic accountability”.

Housing Minister Harriet Shing did not answer questions about the cost of delayed demolition, or its impact on the wider program timeline. In a statement, she defended the need for redevelopment, citing the towers’ “significant and escalating issues”.

“Replacing the towers is a matter of when, not if – doing nothing is not an option,” she said.

“We know that this is a significant change for residents who have, in many cases, called the towers home for decades, which is why we are working closely with each and every relocating household so that their needs and priorities are the foundation of our offers of housing to them.”

Reach Rachael Dexter securely via ProtonMail (end-to-end encrypted) at rachaeldexter@protonmail.com or on Signal at rachaeldexter.58.

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