Distraught Mum fights eviction from community housing

An Indigenous family in Perth is fighting eviction from community housing despite paying off their rental arrears in full.

Nicola Torres and her two teenage daughters, who have lived in a home managed by Foundation Housing since 2021, were issued an eviction notice on January 6.

Ms. Torres fell into rental arrears in 2025 after a traumatic experience left her temporarily unable to work.

After receiving a compensation payout, she attempted to pay the debt in full. However, Foundation Housing allegedly refused the payment, returned the funds, and proceeded with the eviction.

Advocates and Greens MLC Tim Clifford, has pointed to “flaws in WA’s community housing system”.

Greens MLC Tim Clifford has pointed to flaws in the system.

The case has reignited debate over means-testing, as Ms Torres’s rent was not reduced when her income dropped, and the high rate of evictions in community housing compared to government-run public housing.

There is a severe social housing shortage in Perth currently and Ms Torres told media that without the home, she and her daughters face homelessness and may be forced to live in a caravan.

A Foundation Housing spokesperson told the ABC there were “other contributing factors in addition to rent arrears” but said it could not say what those problems were.

“Where an individual tenant’s income changes … the tenant is obliged to advise Foundation Housing,” they said.

Lawyers Slater and Gordon have recently initiated a class action in the Federal Court of Australia, representing thousands of tenants living in what they allege as substandard public housing in remote communities across Western Australia.