‘No more empty homes while people are homeless’: the squatters being evicted from the northern rivers’ ‘buyback’ homes

One August morning, Chels Hood Withey woke to sheriffs banging on the door.

The housing advocate had been squatting in an empty house in Mullumbimby, in Byron shire, after they became homeless in January.

But the house was a “buyback”, one of hundreds purchased from their owners by the New South Wales government’s Reconstruction Authority (RA) as part of a scheme to improve the flood resilience of areas following the state’s devastating floods in 2022. Many people have moved into the homes, which are due for demolition, relocation or recycling, because of what they say is a lack of affordable housing in the region.

In May, a NSW supreme court decision ruled occupants squatting in 10 “buybacks” in Byron shire and Lismore could not stay.

Last month, the evictions were enforced, takin