Waterloo social housing residents evicted in first step to redevelopment

More than a hundred residents in the biggest social housing project in the country have been handed eviction notices as the NSW government ploughs ahead with a multibillion-dollar redevelopment.

Waterloo Estate in Sydney's inner-south is home to almost 3000 residents, with 150 receiving the first round of eviction notices as the building is handed over to developers.

Tenants have at least six months to find alternative housing.

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Property developer Stockland is moving into the first stage of the project, a decade after the controversial plan was first announced.

The 18 hectares of land were sold off by the NSW government with the caveat of providing social and affordable housing in the redevelopment.

"Destruction is not delivering, it's delivering land to developers," resident Karyn Brown said. 

"I just think it's a bit of a smack in the face to people who have made it work."

Half of the redevelopment will become market-rate housing, while 20 per cent will be reserved for affordable housing, which will be rented at a lower-than-market rate.

The last 30 per cent of units will be saved for social housing subsidised by the state government.

There's concern among residents that the redevelopment will drive out the most
vulnerable people, placing additional pressure on support services.

"It will cost the government a lot more money because that's who will pay for it, the developer won't they'll just be making money off the land," Brown said.

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Housing Minister Rose Jackson said "all residents" would have the right to move back once the redevelopment is finished.

"We recognise this process is unsettling, but Waterloo residents deserve modern, high-quality homes, better facilities, and access to essential services," Jackson said.

The thousands of people who call Waterloo Estate home are calling for a face-to-face meeting with the state government so they aren't in the dark about the development.