The term " Boarding House " usually gets a negative reaction from nearby residents. Usually they were big old houses that an entrepreneur had converted into low cost accommodation for those wanting just a bed, meals and use of a bathroom. In many cases the clientele were restricted to men and such boarding hoses had an unruly reputation.
Today, they are few and diminishing. Often the last remaining examples are either failed motels or old pubs that have been converted to single accommodation to wring a last income before demolition. Their reputation is not enhanced by the placing of released prisoners as guests as part of the parole process. The residents are usually itinerant and a percentage with alcohol or drug problems is common.
That was not always so. In the distant past, many widows lacking an income turned their home into a boarding house and took a small number of very respectable lodgers. Most were good cooks and they provided plain but good fare, restricted to just breakfast and the evening meal. With just a handful of paying guests these establishments went unnoticed in the community.
It is evident that modern boarding houses are a missing component on the city accommodation scene. Renting a house or unit is beyond the resources of most singles and sharing is a necessity. We are fast pricing the low paid who are essential to city services to distant commutes or to abandon city jobs because they are uneconomic.
A proposal to build a new venture specifically designed as a modern boarding house on Sydney's northern beaches has provoked howls of outrage from both residents and the council. The objections are many and varied. It is claimed that they would lead to congestion in the area and create traffic and parking problems.
The proposal is for a two story building with thirty-five rooms for individual lodgers, each fully furnished and equipped with kitchen and bathroom facilities. These boarding house room size requirements are less than would be required for an apartment building designed with studio apartments.
The surrounding community is vehemently opposed. Nearby residents claim that they would have no idea of the type of characters who might take up residence in these developments. They will be itinerant with no feeling for the community at large.
The other issue is car parking. In the past, the residents of boarding houses rarely owned a car. That is now reversed. It must be assumed that all people seeking personal accommodation will have some sort of vehicle at their disposal, and they will need to park it in proximity to where they live. It is unlikely that a new boarding house will have adequate parking for each proposed resident.
That is precisely the problem when an owner subdivides a three bedroom apartment into " pods " and crams in a large number of residents - at enormous individual rents. Both the kitchen and bathrooms are shared and overcrowded, and the street outside is crammed with cars. This is usually why nearby residents bring this illegality to council attention
It is obvious that the siting of boarding houses in suburbs with a good quality of life will be vigorously resisted. That opposition will wane should they be restricted to suburbs more appropriately suited to such structures, such as industrial areas and transport hubs.
Sadly, the boarding house is a logical concept for housing individuals who want the benefits of provided meals and serviced living accommodation - and wish to enjoy the views and facilities that most of us enjoy. Provision of such facilities seems assured of intense opposition anywhere the demolition of an existing house is proposed as the site of such a new construction.
It seems that the tribe of the suburbs have spoken with a united voice !
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