It is nearly fourteen days since the NSW Reconstruction Authority (RA) issued the illegal squatters on Pine Street a Notice to Vacate.

The notice was issued on January 21, giving the illegal squatters seven days to vacate, which was midday on January 28.

When you drive into Pine Street in North Lismore, it is clear to see that the squatters have ignored the notice. Last Friday, there were approximately sixteen cars or vans parked along the street, with more in driveways. If anything, there looked to be more cars than a month ago, not less.

The Lismore App understands that earlier last week, there were fourteen parked cars and vans on Pine Street. Of those fourteen, half (50%) were registered to international backpackers, five (5) to people from within the Northern Rivers, and two (2) had local registrations.

Leaning against the hedge of the first house on the right is a 'Welcome to Pine Street. This is an intentional community in liberated space' sign, and another further along the frontage that says 'Housing is a human right'.

As warned previously by the NSWRA, if the illegal squatters did not leave the property, they would proceed with plans to disconnect the water and initiate costly legal action.

The NSWRA's Kristie Clarke has confirmed the wheels are in motion.

If we take a step back to when the homes were first purchased by the NSWRA as part of the Resilient Homes Program, each house was fenced off, and wooden panels were put over the windows and doors to secure the properties. This was to make sure there was no public safety liability for NSWRA. At the same time, services like electricity, water and gas, if necessary, were disconnected.

"The illegal occupants who are now in these properties have broken through locked fences, disassembled fencing, reconnected water services that were previously disconnected and are living in these homes that aren't safe for occupation, that are in the highest flood risk areas and that are also living in unhygienic conditions. They have set up gas cookers and burners. They're lighting fires around the properties, and we don't see the conditions as suitable for ongoing occupation."

The living conditions have been witnessed firsthand by people from the NSWRA and officers from the Richmond Police District, as well as pictures published on community Facebook pages.

"After visiting the area with local police, the majority of the residents are backpackers from out of the region and out of the country, and they're not flood-impacted residents who are residing in the properties.

'I don't believe there to be any flood-affected residents based on my experience. We have had Homes New South Wales and Social Futures visit the properties several times over the last six months and offer housing support, all of which has been denied. Those residents are predominantly out of the area, which is why they're not eligible for assistance under the Homes of NSW flood housing programs.

"What we're trying to do is get access to the property so we can do an assessment to determine how they can be reused. But if we get access to them, and they're in such a poor condition, well, then we're not going to be able to reuse them.

"They're claiming that they're trying to support this cause of housing for the region, but their actions could actually remove this housing stock from our ability to reuse it. We are now going to have to get additional checks done on those properties now, and depending on the results, it could wipe out a property for reuse and relocation. That would be such a waste."

The Lismore App spoke to one of the international squatters last Friday.

Boris is a Frenchman trying to get residency in Australia. He said he has been in the country for seven years and has been living on Pine Street for seven months doing some seasonal work, including macadamias and lemon picking. He mentioned the positive for Lismore was the money being spent in the city.

Boris said the group will find a way to react whenever they are communicated to by the NSWRA and the Police. He also said the group wants to work peacefully with the RA, including vacating the premises on the day so they can do the necessary assessments and take photos for the houses to be relocated.

Boris said the group would vacate the properties peacefully towards the end of the house assessment and relocation period.

This obviously does not suit the NSWRA, as they look to assess and relocate the homes that are permanently vacant.

The next steps will involve disconnecting the water on a permanent basis and the start of legal action to remove the squatters from the nine (9) properties. The Lismore App story two weeks ago mentioned eight (8) houses occupied by squatters. A house in Mullumbimby has had illegal squatters break into a buyback house since then.

The non-technical explanation for water disconnection is to drill down to the water pipes beneath the ground. The previous procedures were above the ground, which was easily reversed by the squatters.

"The issue that we've got is there's a remaining property in the street, so we need to ensure that there is still a water connection for that property," Kristie said.

"And because they haven't left voluntarily, we've been left with no option other than to go to the Supreme Court for a writ of possession to remove them from the properties.

As previously reported, the cost to the NSWRA, and taxpayers, is approximately $40,000 per house. The extra $360,000 would be a huge cost to the Resilient Homes Program, and one that diverts resources away from true flood recovery support for the region.