Frequently asked questions

Everything we get asked about the report, the research behind it and what it does and doesn't tell you.

What counts as public or social housing in Australia?

Public housing is owned and managed by a state or territory government agency — Homes Victoria, Homes NSW, the Queensland Department of Housing and their equivalents. Community housing is owned or managed by a registered not-for-profit provider, often on behalf of government. Together they are usually described as social housing. Next Door Check reports on both, and the notes on each row tell you which one applies.

Why can't I just look this up myself?

Australia has no public, parcel-level register of social housing. State agencies publish suburb and area-level statistics, not addresses, and titles are held under agency and provider names that are not obvious from a search. Working out whether one specific address is social housing means cross-checking title records, provider registers and area data by hand — which is what you are paying for.

Which addresses do you check?

The properties immediately adjoining the one you are considering. For a house that normally means the dwellings either side and directly opposite. For a unit or apartment it means the other lots in the same block plus the neighbouring street numbers. You see the list before you pay and can add or remove addresses.

How long does a report take?

Most reports are ready within 24 hours. Every address is researched by a person, not an automated lookup, so timing varies with how clear the records are. The report page updates on its own — you do not need to wait on it.

What does it cost?

A$99 as a one-off payment, covering every neighbouring address in the one report. There is no subscription and no account to create.

What if the answer is unknown?

Some addresses cannot be resolved from the available records — a title held through a trust or an unregistered arrangement, for example. Those rows are marked unknown with a note explaining what was checked. We would rather tell you that than guess.

Is this a legal report?

No. It is a research service based on publicly available information, accurate as at the last-checked date shown on each row. It is not legal, financial or planning advice, and it does not replace your conveyancer's due diligence.

What is not included?

This report answers one question: is the neighbouring property public or social housing? It does not cover crime statistics, planning permits or development applications, noise complaints, or demographic profiles of the area.