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  1. Housing.vic.gov.au
  2. Housing options
  3. Movable units
  4. Public housing movable units

Designs, costs and transfers

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Detailed information on movable units, including design, floor plans, cost, transferring and moving out.

Design

Movable units are built with:

  • timber frames or panels
  • flat metal roof
  • external walls covered with cement or metal sheeting
  • internal walls covered with cement sheeting or plasterboard.

The fittings include:

  • vinyl floor covering in kitchen and bathroom
  • carpet in the living room and bedroom
  • stove
  • heating and cooling
  • hot water service
  • shower with handheld shower rose and grab rails
  • hot and cold washing machine taps
  • capped waste outlet (for a washing machine if installed by occupant).

We can fit the unit with ramps and extra grab rails.

We can make other modifications as long as they don't affect the unit's structure. We may need some information from a doctor or occupational therapist to do this.

The units have separate gas and electricity meters. A separate water meter is not provided to the unit.

Floor plans

There are two designs to choose from.

The following diagrams are examples of the layout of a movable unit. The layout, including kitchen and bathroom configurations and locations of windows, doors may vary depending on the type of unit.

Most movable units are one-bedroom and there are some two-bedroom units.

  • A rectangular unit of 8 metres by 5 metres (approximately)
An example floor plan of a rectangular 8 metres by 5 metres movable unt
  • A square unit of 6 metres by 6 metres (approximately)
An example floor plan of a 6 metres by 6 metres square movable unit

Costs

Hiring fee

The hiring fee will not be more than 25 per cent of the occupant's income.

If the occupant is on a pension or the unit costs more than 25 per cent of their income, they might get a rent rebate. Your local DFFH office can help with this.

Installation costs

The property host may need to pay some installation costs if they apply, like:

  • Upgrading services – such as connecting gas or electricity
  • Clearing the site – such as removing trees, structures or pavers
  • Locating the unit more than 10 metres from the house (this would cost $252 a metre)
  • Variations to any property covenants.

Insurance and maintenance

We pay insurance for the movable unit. This insurance does not cover deliberately caused damage.
The occupant will need to pay for contents insurance if they want this.

We do repairs and maintenance through the Housing Call Centre.

For more information:

Transferring or moving out

Transferring the unit to a new location

In some circumstances, we may be able to help with moving the unit somewhere else.

If this happens in the first 12 months, the occupant may need to pay for the costs which can be around $18,000.

Moving out

We must remove the unit when it's not needed any more.

The occupant needs to:

  • Tell us by filling in a notice of termination form. This is available from your local DFFH office
  • Give back the keys
  • Arrange a final gas and electricity reading and close utility accounts.

It can take around three to four months to remove the unit after we are notified.

Units should be in good condition and not have any personal things left in them.

More information