Opinion
I bought into the dream of apartment living. The reality has been far different
Merrick Morley
Architecture academicI’m 34, married with no children, and doing a PhD in architecture and planning. We need to address our housing crisis, so you’d think I’d be the perfect candidate for the proposed infill housing fix: an eco-designed apartment near public transport routes.
This is the state government’s solution to young people being locked out the housing market, and the key to the much-maligned Suburban Rail Loop – which is now supported by both major parties – stacking up financially. But the problem is that most people don’t want to live in an apartment. As someone who lives in one myself, I can understand why.
Merrick Morley has found apartment life is not what he’d dreamed of.Credit: Simon Schluter
After three years of living in a 2.5-bedroom dwelling, I have discovered there are unexpected costs that emerge when you reside in a premium, inner-Melbourne apartment. It’s a situation I would sum up as “death by a thousand cuts”.
Each cost, by itself, is manageable. Together, however, they create a mounting wave of angst and contemplation of what could, or should have been, for a thirty-something stretching themself onto the property ladder.
As I write this article, I am squeezed into the second bedroom of my three-year-old apartment. This experience is a daily reminder that my home, despite the new-car feeling, cannot fit an average-sized dining table and an average-sized couch in the snug living room.
Life in a new apartment building is full of unexpected displeasures. For example, the defects here are still being resolved: flickering communal lights and wire security fencing need repair or replacement. I’m one of the lucky residents, though. Neighbours have lived with leaky windows, shoddy front doors, and poor communication from those in charge of fixing the problems.
Group chats and the building’s Facebook page are peppered with frustrated residents. What’s officially recognised as a defect anyway? I still don’t know, and neither do many people living in apartments. Confusion and drawn-out timelines are the rule.
Most people know apartments are expensive to build, but are you aware of how expensive they are to operate? As a building, we were sold the “green power” embedded network, thinking it would lower monthly bills and eliminate emissions. Unfortunately, I’m paying the Melbourne average of $150 a month. Something tells me the rooftop solar panels aren’t pulling their irradiated weight.
The strata fees are $8000 annually, including a $2300 maintenance levy.
My shrewd neighbour recently explained we’re being charged too much for hot water made by an efficient heat-pump system. This is after receiving a refund from the same provider for illegally charging a supply fee. I add it to the list of issues to discuss with the developer ... after three years, I still believe they will help (or at least give the impression they’re helping). After several years of delayed decisions, inconsistent information, and changing priorities, you could forgive me for having doubts.
False fire alarms in my building are not unusual, and I know neighbours who now ignore the evacuation sirens. It would be amusing if not for the potentially life-threatening consequences.
My home is designed to create stable temperatures for Melbourne’s unruly climate. In reality, on windy nights, the front door makes an erratic whistling sound, and condensation appears on the thermally broken windows. So much for that high energy rating.
A large reason I moved here is for the neighbourly vision described in the marketing material. These images have successfully turned into parties at the common room, smaller hangouts with wine and dips, bumping into neighbours in the neighbourhood, and offering help to others when needed. It has been fulfilling to live among civil, caring, and amusing people.
However, this doesn’t mean the good times will last. Several neighbours have already moved out, and it’s been harder to get to know new residents; the frequency of building events has lessened as the newness wears off. Maybe they’re not interested in neighbourly connection?
I suspect that many who live in new Melbourne apartments walk around with comparable scars. The issue is whether those scars (and building fees) become too much to bear.
If these issues don’t affect you personally, you’re likely to hear about them from your children, friends or relatives in the future.
Victoria’s growing population is projected to need an additional 1.6 million houses by 2051. This state had 2.7 million homes as of 2023. And something must be done about it; Melbourne has some of the lowest population densities in the world, and this translates to higher social, economic and environmental costs.
The housing situation is dire for the have-nots. However, most Victorians still prefer a detached house, despite the hidden costs of moving to the fringes.
And from my perspective, apartment living often doesn’t have the juice when other, more predictable fruits are worth the squeeze. While I will live in my apartment for the foreseeable future, the grass looks greener elsewhere.
Merrick Morley is a PhD researcher at the Architecture Building and Planning Faculty at the University of Melbourne.
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