海角社区

海角社区 welcomes the housing affordability reforms announced yesterday by the Premier.

"The issue of housing affordability in NSW and more specifically Sydney has been a key issue for many years. As government and planners we really need to implement the strategies, and improve planning legislation to support our society." states, 海角社区 NSW President, Jenny Rudolph.

The reform measures address first home buyers, increase in land supply and focus on infrastructure which are good measures and welcomed by 海角社区. We are wary that first home buyer subsidies could drive up housing prices further. However, the lack of attention on affordable housing measures and relief for renters under housing stress are glaring omissions that 海角社区 would like to see addressed.

Recent AHURI research[1] notes that growth in supply is mostly of mid to upper price housing, rather than lower price stock. There are barriers to the trickle down of supply into more affordable housing brackets. Incentives are needed to encourage production of affordable housing stock to serve this need.

But where is reform for affordable housing?

"海角社区 supports targeted planning system reforms that can promote supply in the affordable housing sector. We support the initiative included in the District Plans mandating 5-10% of new product as affordable housing. NSW Government should demonstrate these levels of affordable housing delivery both in its development sites and in each of the nominated priority growth precincts. We also support a fast-tracked process for affordable housing by the private sector to encourage additional supply." said Jenny Rudolph.

海角社区 encourages further State investment in transport and other infrastructure that reduce the living costs of residents as well enabling well planned housing development.

海角社区 supports an expanded role for community housing providers (CHPs) in a much larger affordable housing market sector, to sustain stock and establish the financial models necessary to channel investment into this investment class. Further planning reforms are needed to promote affordable housing supply and also the expansion of government rental subsidy for lower income earners to incentivise investment in this sector. 海角社区 is keen to apply the lessons learnt in mature financial markets for affordable housing such as the UK to local situations. The proposed ‘bond aggregator’ model to reduce the cost of finance for CHPs is an important step.

"As a starting place, the Affordable Housing SEPP should be reviewed in consultation with community and built environment practitioner" states Jenny.

海角社区 continue to advocate for:

• The inclusion of affordable housing targets in District Strategies and key precincts
• The development of a model code for inclusionary zoning
• Further guidance of the use of voluntary planning agreements for affordable housing

We want all Australians to have access to affordable well-located housing that is integrated with transport, employment and services. Equally, housing should be of a suitable design and quality to meet the needs of a diverse population and to enable residents to live a sustainable, energy efficient lifestyle. To achieve this we continue to support integrated strategic infrastructure planning and funding to provide confidence for new investment while reducing household living costs.