Million-Dollar Housing Fiasco: Taxpayers Slugged with $5 Million Bill as Six Unfinished Townhouses Demolished in Perth
- Taxpayers left with a $5 million bill after six unfinished townhouses in Perth’s Hamilton Hill are torn down due to builder’s collapse
- The homes, part of the OneOneFive project, were left empty for over a year, with locals describing them as “ghost houses”
- The demolition comes as Western Australia grapples with a housing crisis, with critics slamming the move as “wasteful” and “unacceptable”
- A new builder is expected to complete the rebuild by late 2027, but none of the homes will be allocated for social or affordable housing
The demolition of six unfinished townhouses in Perth’s Hamilton Hill has left taxpayers reeling, with a whopping $5 million bill to foot the cost of the failed project.
The homes, part of the state government agency DevelopmentWA’s OneOneFive project, were being built by Inspired Homes for the open market before the company went into voluntary administration in April 2025.
The properties were left to sit empty and incomplete for over a year, with locals describing them as “ghost houses” that had become a blight on the neighborhood.
“It was sad. It was almost like having sort of ghost houses over the road,” said local resident Jean McKay.
“They’ve just been sitting there and so it’s been quite distressing seeing the houses and no further work progressing on them.”
A new builder was brought in to assess the properties, but deemed them unsalvageable and in need of demolition.
The cost of tearing down the homes is estimated to be around $150,000, adding to the already substantial bill of over $1 million that had been spent on the project.
The total cost of rebuilding the properties is expected to be around $4 million, bringing the total cost of the project to a staggering $5 million.
But what’s even more galling for taxpayers is that none of the new homes will be allocated for social or affordable housing, despite Western Australia being in the midst of a housing crisis.
“It’s wasteful, it’s destructive and in the middle of a housing crisis, frankly, it’s unacceptable,” said WA Greens leader Brad Pettitt.
The demolition has been going on for days, with the rubble of what should have been family homes being trucked out to become landfill. Housing Minister John Carey said that DevelopmentWA is seeking to recuperate costs from the original builder, but for many, the damage has already been done.
Analysis: What This Means for Australia
The demolition of the six townhouses in Perth’s Hamilton Hill is a stark reminder of the failures of the current housing system in Western Australia.
As the state grapples with a housing crisis, the waste and inefficiency of this project is a slap in the face to those struggling to find affordable housing.
The fact that none of the new homes will be allocated for social or affordable housing is a clear indication that the government’s priorities are misplaced.
Security analysts say that the collapse of Inspired Homes and the subsequent demolition of the townhouses is a symptom of a broader problem in the construction industry.
“The lack of regulation and oversight in the industry is a recipe for disaster,” said one analyst. “It’s only a matter of time before we see more projects like this fail, leaving taxpayers to foot the bill.”
Law enforcement insiders warn that the demolition of the townhouses is also a concern for public safety.
“When properties are left to sit empty for extended periods of time, they can become a magnet for crime and anti-social behavior,” said one insider.
“It’s a ticking time bomb waiting to happen.”
Industry observers believe that the government needs to take a long, hard look at its role in the market and provide more support for residential builders to fulfill the demand for homes.
“The government needs to reconsider their role in the market and provide capacity so residential builders can fulfill the demand for homes that are needed,” said Opposition housing spokesperson Sandra Brewer.