SOME ageing social housing residents facing eviction at Millers Point have been offered a last-minute reprieve by the State Government.
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Housing Minister Brad Hazzard announced on Sunday that a small number of non-heritage listed units would not be sold so the neediest residents could stay in the area.
The remaining 90 residents received letters encouraging them to apply for one of the 28 one-bedroom apartments on offer.
Mr Hazzard said residents had persuaded the government it would be a "huge challenge" for some ageing residents to move away from the suburb, and the above expected sale prices received for properties already sold had allowed the government greater flexibility in reaching a solution.
"We are initiating a process to allow some tenants to stay in the area - though not in the property they are in now," he said.
"The government recognises that it can be daunting for some residents to move out of Millers Point and away from their local support network."
Resident Patricia Tiedeman, 72, is one of those facing the choice, which she calls "bloody unfair".
Her family has lived in the suburb for five generations.
The heritage listed sandstone terrace she calls home, opposite where her father worked for the Maritime Services Board when she was a child, will be sold, and she has four weeks to decide on whether to apply for one of the smaller units.
Millers Point community working party spokesman Chris Hinkley said the offer to move to the small units would bring relief to some of the older remaining residents.
So far, 39 properties have been sold in Millers Point and The Rocks and proceeds are being used to build more than 1500 new social housing dwellings in Sydney and regional areas.
About 75 per cent of Millers Point social housing tenants have already relocated, with many moving to inner city suburbs including Glebe and Pyrmont.
