{"id":517121,"date":"2026-03-04T01:52:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T01:52:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/517121\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T01:52:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T01:52:11","slug":"disabled-broome-man-evicted-from-public-housing-after-brothers-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/517121\/","title":{"rendered":"Disabled Broome man evicted from public housing after brother’s death"},"content":{"rendered":"

A disabled man in Western Australia’s far north is facing homelessness after discovering he was not on the lease of the public housing he shared with his late brother.<\/p>\n

When Michael McCarron’s brother died before Christmas last year, he received a notice from the Department of Housing and Works (DHW) that he had to vacate his home.<\/p>\n

Despite living at the Broome residence for more than a decade, Mr McCarron has no claim over the property and no avenue for legal recourse.<\/p>\n

\"men<\/p>\n

Department of Housing and Works employees put locks on Michael McCarron’s former home.\u00a0 (ABC Kimberley: Dunja Karagic)<\/p>\n

“My brother got sick and then he died, and [they] more or less said, ‘Get out,'” Mr McCarron said.<\/p>\n

“After going through all this, funerals and deaths, just that much stress and on top of it, trying to tell me you’ve got to move out \u2026 I just feel lost.”<\/p>\n

The ABC was at the property when government employees came by to install new locks on the house.<\/p>\n

Mr McCarron said he was on a disability pension.<\/p>\n

“I thought [Department of] Housing was helpful to people, but they’ve never been helpful. [They’ve] been trying to put walls in front of me all the time,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"lock<\/p>\n

Michael McCarron has been locked out of the place he called home for 12 years. (ABC Kimberley: Dunja Karagic)<\/p>\n

Mr McCarron said several houses in Broome previously designated as public housing were no longer being used.<\/p>\n

“I even used to live in that house across the road and my girlfriend, her mum and dad lived there,” he said.<\/p>\n

“They passed away, now she’s passed away \u2026 it’s all boarded up, and it’s a better house than this house.”<\/p>\n

More education needed<\/p>\n

Mr McCarron is one of several people in the region who advocates say have fallen between the cracks.<\/p>\n

Deidre Lechleitner from Centacare’s Kimberley Housing and Homelessness Support Services said many people in public housing were operating from a place of “fear” and “financial insecurity”, so they did not add people to the lease, worrying it would raise the rent.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

Deidre Lechleitner says more needs to be done to help people experiencing homelessness in the Kimberley. (ABC Kimberley: Dunja Karagic\u00a0)<\/p>\n

“If someone moves into a social housing property without formal approval and without being added to a tenancy agreement, they are considered an unauthorised occupant,” Ms Lechleitner said.<\/p>\n

“Even if they were invited by the primary tenant or they’ve contributed financially, they’ve stayed long term, they do not have independent legal standing.”<\/p>\n

The onus was on the DHW to educate residents in public housing about their rights and obligations, she said.<\/p>\n

“It is very common for individuals to become homeless because they’re not associated with the tenancy agreement,” Ms Lechleitner said.<\/p>\n

“There’s definitely not enough education around that area.”<\/p>\n

Priority waitlist<\/p>\n

In a statement, the DHW said Mr McCarron was informed in December 2025 that he could not take over his brother’s lease, as he was never listed as a member of the household and did not pay rent.<\/p>\n

He was also given three “vacate date extensions”, the DHW said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The Department of Housing and Works says Michael McCarron is on the priority wait list. (ABC Kimberley: Rosanne Maloney)<\/p>\n

Mr McCarron said he asked to take over the rent, but the state government turned him down.<\/p>\n

“If Mr McCarron were to remain in the property any longer, it would unfairly delay other people on the waitlist from being housed,” the statement read.<\/p>\n

“Mr McCarron is on the priority housing waitlist, backdated to November 2025 and will be advised once a suitable property becomes available.”<\/p>\n

People in Broome on the priority housing waitlist have been told it would take between four and seven years until they are housed.<\/p>\n

As of December 31, 2025, there were 129 applications on the Broome Priority Waitlist.<\/p>\n

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