Harris Transportable Housing

In early 2019, six tenants with a chronic experience of homelessness moved into the first six homes of the life-changing Harris Transportable Housing Project in Melbourne’s inner west. The project is a partnership between Launch Housing and philanthropists Geoff and Brad Harris, of Harris Capital, with funding from the Victorian Property Fund.

The project is using nine parcels of vacant VicRoads land in Footscray and Maidstone to create 57 tiny homes for people with a chronic experience of homelessness.

At a time when 116,000 people experience homelessness on any given night (up 14% from 2011 to 2016), this project demonstrates how unused government land can be repurposed to create safe, stable homes for people who urgently need them.

Read more about homelessness rates in Launch Housing’s Australian Homelessness Monitor.

The sustainable homes were designed by Schored Projects, with valuable insight from Launch Housing’s Lived Experience Advisory Group.

They are a pet-friendly, affordable, long-term housing solution where people can live privately and independently.

The prefabricated homes are constructed in a factory by Oscar Builders in Horsham, delivered to site on a truck and lifted on by a crane. All on-site construction works including services, footings and landscaping is being managed by Hansen Yuncken and Carelli Constructions.

With 6-12 homes on each site, the project is creating small communities within a larger community where tenants can support each other.

It provides the stability people need to rebuild their lives and break the cycle of homelessness.

Deborah, Launch Housing tenant

First transportable housing unit is craned onto site in Melbourne’s inner west.

Tiny homes get some finishing touches, with landscaping and fences completed before the first tenants move in.