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Allowing middle-class tenants in public housing to buy their homes to avoid eviction is simply wrong according to Canberra's peak real estate body. The Real Estate Institute of the ACT says that the houses should be kept in public hands and used to accommodate refugees and the genuinely needy. But the territory's social housing pressure group said it saw no problems with the sales if the money was re-invested into the public housing system. The Canberra Times revealed on Saturday that middle and high-income housing tenants evicted as part of an ACT government crackdown have simply bought their homes from the housing department rather than move out. The government says the money from the sales will be used to relieve the mounting pressure on Canberra's social housing system. But Real Estate Institute chief executive Ron Bell says that there are 900 households occupying public housing units in Canberra when they can afford to be in the private rental market. The executive, who is also active in Canberra's Refugee and Asylum Seeker Humanitarian Group, says that space needs to be freed up for people in desperate need of housing. "ACT Housing can and should do a lot more than this,'' Mr Bell said. ''There are 900 people or couples paying market rent in public housing. "We are seeking to house families arriving here as refugees and we find government-owned assets are being occupied by many who should be in the private rental market. "There are over 3000 private properties to rent in the ACT. ''Government-owned housing should be used for those that need it most." Mr Bell was especially critical of the practice of allowing middle-class tenants earmarked for eviction to simply buy their houses and continue living in them. "Allowing the sale of the asset back to the current tenant is wrong. I accept there will be exceptions but this has been going on too long and it's hard to replace in certain locations," he said. "We assume (refugee) arrivals will continue for some time, we have a plan to involve the private sector more but need to have some safeguards in place." Mr Bell said some public housing renters were taking advantage of the community's "generous position" on the provision of public housing. Figures from the government show that 92 eviction notices have been issued since Housing ACT decided to get tough on households with incomes of more than $80,000 living in public housing. A spokeswoman for Housing Minister Shane Rattenbury said on Friday that 67 tenants had either moved out or struck a purchase deal with Housing ACT, although it was unclear how many had moved and how many had purchased. But ACT Shelter spokeswoman Leigh Watson said the policy of selling properties to evictees was "no bad thing". "ACT Shelter believes it is not a bad thing that public housing tenants are allowed or encouraged to purchase their property, though of course the government has to ensure that the proceeds from these sales are reinvested back into the purchase or building of additional dwellings."

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