Premier Anthony Albanese withdrew his investment property in Sydney’s inner west from auction on Saturday, after evicting its tenant following years of “mid-market” rent.
The three-bedroom semi-detached house at 29B Lewisham St in Dulwich Hill was scheduled to go under the hammer at 11am on October 12 with a guide of $1.9 million after the Prime Minister bought it for $1.175 million in 2015.
Instead, The Agency Inner West real estate agent Shad Hassan revealed this week that, without a “firm commitment” from an interested buyer, they decided to put an asking price on the house.
“Albo and I decided it’s best not to waste our time, it’s definitely worth it and we’ll have people coming to see it over the weekend if we price it to sell,” he told realestate.com.
The decision to reject the upcoming auction is just the latest in a long line of controversies for Albanese surrounding the property, specifically the eviction of its former tenant earlier this year.
The Prime Minister signaled earlier this year that he intended to sell the property to simplify his financial affairs before his upcoming wedding to his long-term partner and now fiancée, Jodie Haydon.
The move meant Jim Flanagan, who had rented the townhouse for four years, was to be evicted and was issued an eviction notice giving him just 90 days to leave in May this year.
At the time, Albanese told ABC that the rent, reduced to $680 a week during Covid, as opposed to $800-$1,200 for comparable properties in Dulwich Hill, and never increased, was “half the market rent.” .
Premier Anthony Albanese (pictured with fiancee Jodie Haydon) withdrew his investment property in Sydney’s inner west from auction on Saturday.
The three-bedroom semi-detached house at 29B Lewisham St in Dulwich Hill (pictured) was scheduled to go under the hammer at 11am on October 12 with an investment of $1.9 million.
The investment property (pictured) was purchased by the Prime Minister for $1.175 million in 2015.
For his part, Flanagan, who runs a venue in the same area, told the Daily Telegraph in May that the eviction order had “hit him like a steam train” and lashed out at Albanese.
‘This will kill me, it’s a crippling blow right now. I have mixed emotions saying this. “I voted for Albo in the last election and I am broadly supportive of his policies,” he told the Daily Telegraph.
“He has every right to try to sell his assets… on the one hand, he is trying to be sympathetic to the majority of Australians who, like me, find the current climate extremely challenging.”
The eviction came after the announcement of a $1.9 billion package to reduce rental costs for vulnerable Australians in the federal budget passed that same month.
