Victorian influencer Jordan van den Lamb, known as ‘Purple Pingers’ sparks Aussie housing war

When a Victorian woman returned to her investment property in Melbourne’s outer suburbs, she didn’t expect to find squatters inside — or to learn that her home’s address had been shared online by a Federal Senate candidate.

The woman, who had been managing her late father’s estate, reportedly arrived to find the locks changed, security cameras installed, and new heating fitted to the exterior.

Police were called to force entry, where she discovered most of her father’s belongings were missing, including sentimental items like antique furniture and family heirlooms.

The damage left her about $70,000 out of pocket after her insurance claim was denied.

The property had been vacant and was publicly shared by Jordan van den Lamb, known online as “Purple Pingers”, as part of his campaign encouraging people to identify and use unused homes for shelter.

Mr van den Lamb has become a lightning rod in the national housing debate. But as his TikTok-fuelled activism escalates, so too do the consequences for homeowners, real estate agents, and authorities caught in the fallout.

While some of his followers see occupying vacant properties as a form of protest, the legal reality is more complicated.

A squatter is someone who enters and uses an abandoned or unoccupied property, often through unlocked access. While entering through an open door is not technically illegal, remaining after being asked to leave by the rightful owner constitutes trespassing, which is a criminal offence in all Australian states.

The influencer rose to prominence online through his viral TikTok account and website Sh.t Rentals, where he publicly exposed unoccupied, poor-quality or overpriced rental properties.

But his campaign has since evolved into something more confrontational.

Mr van den Lamb said he shared the address of the Victorian property online in a bid to raise awareness and attract more submissions of vacant homes.

“Yes, that was shared by me,” he said.

“That property had been empty, off the top of my head, for like 17 years. We don’t know whether the squatters moved in before or after I posted the address.”

He said the situation was brought to his attention by a news organisation and confirmed, “I had no interaction with her (the homeowner).”

When asked about the impact on the Victorian woman, Mr van den Lamb told The Nightly he felt “bad” but claimed there were bigger issues at play.

“I feel bad that her belongings were taken, especially if they had sentimental value,” he said.

“But we hear from people like this every day. We never hear from someone sleeping rough — and frankly, their voices matter more, because they’re the ones who are dying.”

How it works

Mr van den Lamb said he personally ran the operation using a Google Form to collect submissions of empty homes and verify them through online tools.

“I call for submissions... ask people to submit an empty property, the address, how long they think it’s been vacant... then I check Google Maps, street view, last sold, last rented, planning applications.”

He added: “Once someone reaches out via email, I might ask if they’re alone — I prefer not to send solo people just for safety. I go through the list, send through what I know, and tell them to verify it themselves.”

“I only post very few online — just to get more submissions,” he said.

“Most properties are shared privately via email with those in need.”

In one of his TikTok videos, Mr van den Lamb instructs viewers on how to detect long-term vacancies by searching real estate websites and analysing listing duration.

But one real estate agent says Mr van den Lamb’s actions have changed how some sellers think about signage and advertising.

Victorian real estate agent manager Mark Vorstenbosch from BigginScott said, “There’s this idea that putting up a ‘for sale’ board might alert people that a home is empty, but I think not putting one up puts you in more danger, because you don’t know when someone might turn up.”

Kelly Ryan, former chief executive officer of the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV), described Mr van den Lamb’s tactics as concerning.

“Encouraging people to squat in properties that aren’t theirs isn’t good social behaviour — it’s not a good service to anybody,” she told The Nightly.

Ms Ryan warned that the broader risk is a chilling effect on landlords and property providers.

“This kind of behaviour is counterproductive to tackling the housing crisis,” she said.

“If you discourage private property owners from staying in the market, you risk starving supply not just now, but five years down the track.”

Ms Ryan also addressed common misconceptions about who owned investment properties.

“There’s this idea that all property owners are wealthy. But the second biggest group of landlords in Australia are school teachers, often owning just one investment property. These are the people being affected.”

According to Homes Victoria’s Rental Report for December 2024, the number of new rental lettings, which is a key indicator of housing availability, declined statewide by 1.8 per cent in the December quarter compared to the same period the year before.

Metropolitan Melbourne saw a 1.3 per cent drop, while regional Victoria experienced a sharper 4.1 per cent fall.

The total number of active rental bonds held by the Residential Tenancies Bond Authority also declined by 3.6 per cent, a significant shift, given that bond volumes had averaged 1.0 per cent annual growth over the past five years.

“These early indicators suggest a contraction in the overall rental stock,” REIV noted at the time, “reflecting a waning of investor confidence in the market.”

Victoria Police declined to comment on specific incidents related to Mr van den Lamb’s activism but said homelessness was “not an offence”.

“Should an offence be detected, police will deal with that as per normal practice,” the spokesperson said.

“The priority for Victoria Police is to link people who are homeless or sleeping rough to the services available to them.”

Police advised concerned property owners to report issues to their local council and referred inquiries about broader trends to the Crime Statistics Agency.

Mark Donchi, manager of a Victorian homelessness program for St Mary’s House of Welcome, said he doesn’t encourage squatting but understands why it happens.

He said his service has noticed a clear demographic shift, “We’re now seeing more families and single women coming to seek our services. The volume has definitely increased over the last five years.”

Mr Donchi said that the increase is largely driven by a massive shortfall in affordable housing.

“And the process of getting into public housing is becoming longer and more complicated,” he said.

However, Ms Ryan said for those on the receiving end of such activism, the consequences were anything but theoretical.

If a squatter refuses to leave after being asked, the property owner must typically seek a possession order through legal channels — a process that can be lengthy and complex.

Real estate agents say the process of removing unauthorised occupants from a property is far from straightforward, especially if the owner lives interstate.

Mr Vorstenbosch said one of the problems was the lack of recourse for property owners if something happened to their homes.

“If the property owner is interstate, you can’t even go through VCAT (Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal) anymore, you’re redirected to the Magistrates Court, which can take up to six months. And that court isn’t specialised in tenancy law, so mistakes happen.”

But Mr van den Lamb argues that the real problem isn’t scarcity, but distribution.

“At the last census, there were 30,000 people experiencing homelessness in Victoria. In metropolitan Melbourne alone, there are 100,000 empty homes... This isn’t a supply issue. It’s a distribution problem.”

He also pushed back on criticism that his campaign might discourage landlords from renting out homes.

“These homes aren’t being rented out,” he said. “So that criticism doesn’t really apply.”

“And if landlords are afraid to rent out homes that people could die in — then maybe that’s a good thing, especially if we’re talking about the substandard properties shown on Shit Rentals.”

When asked whether he worked with homelessness services, he said there was “informal collaboration” at times, but services were stretched.

“I think that would be unfortunately damaging to their reputations,” he said of formal partnerships, “but I’ve spoken with many workers who have support and sympathy... and who’ve said there’s literally nothing more they can do through their work.”

Ms Ryan said for those on the receiving end of such activism, the consequences were anything but theoretical.

“As a society, we rely heavily on the private rental market,” Ms Ryan said.

“If we continue to make landlords feel vulnerable or vilified, we’re only accelerating the very housing crisis we’re trying to solve.”