• Daphne Habibis
• Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute

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23 July 2007Changes in the profile of public housing tenants in recent decades have seen growth in the number of tenants with complex needs. Many tenants who engage in demanding behaviour fit within this category. These tenants are especially susceptible to the cycle of homelessness and its damaging effects. The public housing sector is in a unique position to break this cycle by integrating a sustaining tenancies approach to routine housing management practice.

This paper reports on a study funded by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute into positive housing management approaches to demanding behaviour in public housing. It describes strategies which seek to balance the rights of those in acute housing need with those of the broader community to safety and security from behaviour which may be threatening, difficult or just unconventional. The research identified examples of existing good practice in this area using an international literature review and interviews with housing and other relevant agencies in New South Wales, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and South Australia. Indigenous issues are a specific focus of the research.