The new SBS comedy Housos has made quite an impact with western Sydney residents (Image: SBS)

The upcoming SBS comedy Housos has come under fire from a number of western Sydney residents, who have called on the broadcaster not to put the series to air.

The series is created by Paul Fenech, responsible for Pizza and Swift and Shift Couriers. It depicts the lives of housing commission residents living in the fictional suburb of "Sunnyvale", and is due to air later this year.

Post-production has not yet been completed, but the Sydney Morning Herald reports that some members of the public are less than impressed.

A petition begun by residents on a housing commission property received thousands of signatures, and the efforts have gained support from local politicians. Mount Druitt MP Richard Amery presented the petition in Parliament last week.

"I think it's a poor show by SBS to single out a group of decent people for derision," he said.

"What are we going to have next, a program making fun of people with disabilities or a show aimed at cultural backgrounds? It may be tongue-in-cheek but for the 5,000-odd people in Department of Housing homes in Mount Druitt, it's offensive."

Federal MP Ed Husic said that he was "disappointed" with SBS.

"Everyone likes a laugh but Housos seems to be labelling a particular type of person in a particular type of way and making fun of a situation they are in," Husic said.

An SBS spokesperson said that the show was purely satirical, comparing it with other series such as Kath and Kim and the upcoming Angry Boys. The show has not received public funding.

Housos was at the centre of a controversy in February thanks to an erroneous attack by Nine's A Current Affair, which initially claimed that the series was "reality TV". Nine later said that the mistake originated from an 18-year-old girl working at ninemsn.

An ACA promo placed on the ninemsn home page declared: "Housing commission uncensored. The new reality TV show targeting Australia's poorest residents - and it's government funded." At the time, SBS released a statement pointing out the errors, forcing ACA to back off its incorrect attack before the report went to air.

"Paul Fenech, the star and producer of SBS's long-running, provocative and irreverent series Pizza, is producing this new comedy series for SBS.

"Housos is not a reality series and everyone participating in the series is an actor. Audiences have always understood Paul's work to be highly exaggerated parody."

SBS also confirmed that the series was "not receiving direct funding through any state or federal government funding agency".

Media Spy discussion: Housos