Category Archives: Member news

Common Ground Qld on new Housing Supply Panel

Member news News Qld No Comments

CHIA QLD member Common Ground’s CEO Sonya Keep is one of nine housing experts appointed to the Queensland Government’s panel for a two-year period to provide independent advice on how to measure, report on and address land supply, development and housing affordability issues in south east Queensland.

CHIA Executive Director Peta Winzar says the appointment of a highly-experienced community housing expert to the panel boded well for the industry.

‘It’s fantastic that the key role community housing can play in tackling housing affordability issues has been recognised by Sonya’s appointment,’ Ms Winzar says. ‘The Queensland Government is to be commended in taking this proactive approach to the housing supply issue.’

It is anticipated South East Queensland will house an additional two million people by 2041, and State Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Planning Minister Cameron Dick has been quoted as saying about 794,000 new dwellings will need to be delivered over that time.

‘It’s important that we manage growth efficiently, while keeping a close eye on housing affordability,’ Mr Dick says.

‘The panel will provide independent advice to the government on how to manage housing supply and affordability issues in South East Queensland.’

Mr Dick said the panel consists of high calibre professionals from across the property, planning, economics and demography disciplines.

‘The nine panel members were chosen from a range of fields related to various aspects of housing supply,’ he says.

‘Each member brings a different set of skills and expertise which will ensure the best possible advice is provided to the Queensland Government on land supply and development matters.

‘The panel will also provide expert oversight to the Department of State Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Planning’s annual land supply and development monitoring reports, the first of which is expected to be released at the end of 2018.’

Sonya has more than 18 years’ experience in community housing and social planning and is dedicated to seeing an increase in the supply of affordable and supportive housing for those who are vulnerable or at risk of experiencing homelessness.

Other panel members include the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute’s Executive Director Dr Michael Fotheringham, and SGS Economics and Planning’s Dr Marcus Spiller, along with other experts from planning, property development and demographic forecasting.

Investors keen on Build to Rent

Build to Rent Member news News No Comments

Institutional investors are extremely interested in Build to Rent (BTR) as a new investment class, a forum of community housing, local government, financiers and Development Victoria heard this week.

Alexandra Notay, from Places for People Capital UK, outlined the UK’s experience in developing Build to Rent as a new investment class that has interested funders keen to tap into a low, long-term and stable cashflow that will hedge against inflationary pressures and diversify their portfolios.

Large BTR investors in the UK include Australian super funds, she says.

Places for People has a social agenda to provide appropriate, well-located housing for disadvantaged tenants. It has diversified its housing activities to include a range of for-profit business arms, including a chain of gyms, with profits being funnelled back into affordable housing. BTR is a key part of its business model, with the organisation developing several large-scale, mixed tenure projects.

Like Australia, the UK has experienced a huge increase in house prices that has ensured many will rent for life, Ms Notay says, and BTR can offer those people secure, quality and affordable tenancies.

‘Whatever stage in life people are at, we want to be able to support them,’ Ms Notay says.

Build to rent product is fundamentally different to properties that are built to sell, she says. It involves a change of mindset with design implications for large scale developments that are never intended to be broken up to be sold individually and a need to consider the life-cycle of the build.

They also need to factor in other social aspects of housing, such as hedging against the rise of loneliness and depression.

Mike Myers from the National Affordable Housing Consortium, says that institutional investors in Australia are still wary of the fledgling BTR market here and are more likely to invest overseas. However, Mr Myers says the Federal Government’s National Rental Affordable Scheme was a great model that could be tweaked for the private sector to use for BTR, if the government was willing to support it.

CHIA CEO Peta Winzar says if the NHFIC’s $1b infrastructure fund could be used to fund BTR, ‘that would be a game changer’.

Ms Notay’s presentation was made possible by the NAHC, the Affordable Housing Industry Advisory Group and the Community Housing Industry Association of Australia (CHIA).

Key issues facing SDA Framework

Member news NDIS News No Comments

Whilst backing the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), CHIA and the State Peaks have identified a series of crucial issues facing the NDIS Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) Framework, which aims to deliver the preferred housing for people living with a disability.

The community housing peaks outlined their concerns in a submission to the Department of Social Services (DSS) commissioned review of the framework, setting out three key concerns: vacancy, financing and management risks.

The NDIS will fund services to an estimated 460,000 people who have a permanent disability that significantly affects their communication, mobility, self-care or self-management. Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) is the NDIS funding for allocated housing (not support) to eligible NDIS participants with extreme functional impairment or very high support needs – typically those who require overnight support.

SDA will be available to about six per cent of NDIS participants.

The Joint Peaks submission also outlined members’ capacity and potential to play a central role in developing and managing SDA to meet the intent of the NDIS.

Click here to download the submission.

Meet your Board Members: Garry Ellender

Member news News Western Australia No Comments

Meet your Board Members: Garry Ellender

Seeing the impact of homelessness on young people in London in the 1980s had a major impact on CHIA’s WA Region Director and CEO of Access Housing, Garry Ellender.

Garry worked at a youth refuge and, later, with parolees coming out of prison and people on probation orders who had urgent accommodation needs.

‘It gave me a real interest in housing and an appreciation of the emerging Housing Associations sector in the UK,’ Garry says.

Those experiences and his social research background enabled him to gain a research position for an inner city welfare committee back in West Australia that wanted to find solutions to rising homelessness in inner city Perth.

‘It was one of the impacts of the America’s Cup; a lot of the traditional lodging houses had converted to backpackers,’ Garry says.

‘The expectation was that I would recommend the expansion of men’s shelters and the homelessness sector but, instead, I recommended establishing a housing association, based on models in the UK.’

The WA Government backed the call, and provided seed funding to establish the Perth Inner City Housing Association (PICHA) in 1988, with Garry appointed as CEO.

‘We built a housing company based in inner city Northbridge, and took over three large privately-owned boarding houses that were in appalling condition,’ Garry says.

‘We were just trying to prevent them from closing. We were successful in getting  government funding for major upgrade works then began looking at alternatives to boarding houses and did a number of joint ventures to develop inner city apartments.’

Garry left that role in 1993, having built what was, at that time, WA’s largest community housing organisation, with nearly 300 homes under management.

He was then contracted to establish a Tenant Participation Program within the Department of Housing before beginning work for the Department, including as a member of the executive strategy team that created a new Community Housing capacity building and growth plan, including asset and management transfers.

‘There was recognition that the standard public housing system models were under serious financial stress,’ Garry says.

‘Through the strategy we obtained a $420 million capital injection into social housing, of which $220 million was earmarked specifically for CH capital programs…the aftermath of the GFC gave us a further boost to enable substantial sector growth, with the nation building capital allocation to WA of $620 million.’

In 2010, Garry jumped ship and became CEO of Access Housing Australia (AHA). AHA put in an innovative bid in July 2010 to secure nation building asset transfers and won major tranches of 249 title transfers and  negotiated a further 300 title transfers through a state program, as well as 500 management lease transfers.

Since 2010, Access has grown from about 700 dwellings to 2,100, with turnover up from about $7.5m to $35m in the current financial year. Net assets have increased from $6m to 165m.

Looking ahead, Garry says that the community housing sector in WA is facing real challenges.

‘From 2013 onwards, pretty much all the community housing programs have been shut down by the Housing Authority and there has been virtually no growth apart from a small amount in the disability area with one-off funding and the new supply being driven by Access Housing and a couple of other CHPs.’

Unlike the Eastern states, the real estate market in West Australia has crashed over the past couple of years with people who would traditionally have been housed in community housing now able to afford private rental.

‘Whilst this has temporally improved housing affordability, there remain significant demand pressures for social housing, particularly for people with high or complex needs.’

Garry is hopeful that CHIA’s productive relationship with the Labor State Government’s new Housing Minister, Peter Tinley, will encourage a greater focus on a broad and expanding role for the community housing sector.

‘We need a genuine government commitment to co-designing, with the sector, a genuine Community Housing Growth Strategy as a critical component of the State’s Affordable Housing Strategy. This is front and centre of CHIA WA’s political advocacy agenda.’

Affordable development meets community need

Member news News Qld No Comments
Residents Graham and Robyn

Churches of Christ in Queensland have officially opened a $10.6 million, 50 townhouse affordable living development in Kallangur, Queensland.

The townhouses were built on land gifted by local philanthropists Ian and Neva Handy, and now house 91 residents.

Churches of Christ in Queensland Chief Executive Officer Dr Paul Scully says the residents are enjoying a sense of community and the high quality accommodation.

‘There are many challenges facing affordable housing developers, one of which is finding appropriate and reasonably priced land. Thanks to the generous donation of land by the Handy family we have delivered a positive social outcome for the Kallangur community,’ Dr Scully says.

The Moreton Bay couple who donated the 9,000 square metre site were involved throughout the project, including working on the townhouse design and landscaping.

‘We partnered with Churches of Christ in Queensland as they are highly regarded for their affordable housing programs,’ Mr Handy said.

Mr Handy said that by donating the land, it enabled a reduction in the overall project costs, which then allowed the not-for-profit to provide affordable housing for reduced rent.

‘We are very supportive of their program to supply affordable housing to those in need, and are very pleased with the newly completed development.’

The building project created local employment and has enabled many of the residents to move from inappropriate living situations to a new home where they can experience independence, security, safety and comfort.

Meryl was one of the first people to express interest in securing a townhouse and moved from her one-bedroom unit in Mango Hill to a two-bedroom townhouse.

‘My friend had found out about them at her local church and let me know,’ Meryl said. ‘I am very happy here.’

Since moving into the townhouses, Aidan, 34, has found independence for the first time. Living with Cerebral Palsy means he requires a home that is accessible and is easy to navigate.

‘I reached a point where I felt it was definitely time I found a place of my own,’ Aidan says.

‘I like that I can learn new skills and start to grow up. The townhouse is the perfect size, and easy to keep clean and take care of.

‘Finding my own place was at the top of my list,’ he said. ‘Now I can look at setting some new goals.’

The townhouses are providing vital housing for lower income earners, key workers, individuals and families, who struggle to afford rents in the private market.

Churches of Christ General Manager Frances Paterson-Fleider, ‘Our vision is to empower communities through high-quality housing solutions and enhance people’s lives by providing safe, secure and affordable homes that people want to live in.’

‘As a nation we are faced with the issue of providing enough affordable housing in a market that is consistently decreasing in affordability, particularly around our major cities.

‘This development fills a vital gap between social housing and the soaring cost of the private rental market.’

Property fund gives more Housing Choices

Member news News Victoria No Comments

Housing Choices Australia will build 24 new homes for low income and vulnerable people in Dandenong and Newport after being awarded $4.9 million from the Victorian Property Fund (VPF).

The VPF distributes grants to support a range of property-related programs, including housing assistance for vulnerable Victorians. Housing Choices is using the grant to rebuild and expand vital housing options at two owned properties; one in Hemmings Street, Dandenong and the other in Oxford Street, Newport.

The Hemmings Street, Dandenong property will be transformed into a five-story, architect-designed apartment building, increasing the accommodation from 7 run-down flats, to 19 apartments, located close to shops, schools and public transport.

The Oxford Street, Newport property will see the construction of five new architect-designed townhouses in a leafy residential street in family-friendly Newport.

Construction will start late 2018 and be ready for tenants in mid-2019.

The Victorian Property Fund is administered by Consumer Affairs Victoria, with funds from license fees paid by estate agents and conveyancers and interest paid on their trust accounts and income from other investments.

Consumer Affairs Minister Marlene Kairouz toured the Dandenong site with Housing Choices Board Member Fabienne Michaux to announce the $4.9 million grant.

‘Affordable housing projects give vulnerable Victorians the security they need to thrive. We’re investing in more of these dwellings, so that people going through hard times can rebuild their lives,’ Minister Kairouz said.

Housing Choices Managing Director Michael Lennon commended Minister Kairouz and the Victorian Property Fund for their commitment to supporting housing initiatives for Victorians in need and for their confidence in Housing Choices as the developer and manager of high-quality, affordable housing.

‘We have already worked closely with all the people who resided at our two properties, who have been actively and professionally supported by our experienced and compassionate Housing Services Team to find the right accommodation while this building program takes place. All Dandenong tenants will be afforded the opportunity to return to the newly built dwellings once they’re finished if they wish,’ Mr Lennon said.

CHL’s project management skills put to good use

Member news News Western Australia No Comments

Community Housing Ltd  (CHL) has converted a historically-significant West Australian convent into safe, affordable and supported residential accommodation that will  be used to assist young women in need.

The State Government’s Department of Communities sought CHL’s expertise in providing project and development management services to deliver the facility, which has been funded by a grant from Lotterywest.

CHL Chair Fionn Skiotis says, ‘We have been delivering quality affordable housing for over two decades and it is always an honour to be recognised for our project management and design capabilities.

The St. Emilie’s Convent facility in the Perth suburb of Kalamunda will be run by The Esther Foundation, an award winning health, development and leadership program. It will provide young women with mid-term accommodation and extensive support services.

Esther Foundation Administrator Rodney Lavater says, ‘The St Emilie’s Project provides a much needed resource for young women; young mothers and teenagers aged 13-33 years who would benefit from the safe, structured and supported accommodation program.

‘Our new purpose-built residential premises will change the lives of many young women facing life-controlling struggles and issues, offering them and encouraging them the opportunity to reach their potential.’

The refurbished accommodation now includes a total of 20 bedrooms including 18 doubles. Seven of those are new self -contained units, with en-suite and kitchenette, while the existing west wing has been renovated and modified to provide 10 bedrooms, including six with en-suites. The main building has been rebuilt and now hosts a kitchen with training facilities, gymnasium, a large communal dining and living area, counselling rooms and an administration area.

 

Frog Hollow needs your help

Indigenous housing Member news News Western Australia No Comments

Community Housing Housing Ltd (CHL) is helping promote a fundraising campaign to ensure children in a remote Aboriginal community can continue to access early learning, with space issues threatening the current program.

Wurreranginy, commonly known as Frog Hollow, is an independent community with a strong council of Gija Elders and community members. The community has worked together for over 30 years to establish an independent, Aboriginal-governed school on their home country, so their families and future generations to come could receive a quality education and live in the nurturing and safe community of Frog Hollow.

Both the school and the Early Learning Centre teach with a two-way approach, having both Gija language and English being spoken and taught daily in classrooms, further strengthening the cultural identity of the children and ensuring they are skilled in both worlds.

Frog Hollow is thriving, enrollments at the school have increased 350 per cent over the past three years, with 44 students enrolling in 2018.

The current Early Learning Program has 13 children aged 0-3 and, until this year, has operated out of an empty classroom, however as student numbers at the school grow, the classroom is now required as a learning space for the primary aged children – leaving the preschoolers with nowhere to go.

An Early Learning Centre is vital to engage children from the early years into education, and support their transition to school.

Funds raised for an ELC will not only guarantee educational opportunities for preschool aged children, it will also create employment opportunities for community members involved in the build and construction of the facility and for those employed to work in the ELC, as well as providing a safe place for children to stay while their families are working.

The Early Years Program has been a dream of the Elders of Frog Hollow who see the importance of education for their children. Until recently, the community has been able to make use of community and school resources to ensure the program can exist, however due to a lack of Government funding to build the ELC, Frog Hollow community are seeking innovative ways to fund this project.

To support the cause, students from the school have created an official logo and participated in the making of, and have starred in, a series of videos and photographs which will be housed on the dedicated Facebook page created to raise awareness and keep people up to date with the status of the project.

In total of $240,000.00 is being sought to cover the costs of the required materials, the extensive costs in transporting them to the site, and labour. Donations are tax deductible or alternatively, there is an option to instead choose a small gift relative to the value of donation.

Click here to learn more or to donate

CHIA NSW backs expansion of housing levy

Member news News NSW No Comments
Clover Moore headshot

CHIA NSW has backed Sydney Council’s proposal to extend  its affordable housing levy across the entire local government area.

Currently, the council’s affordable housing levy  only applies to new developments in Green Square, Pyrmont and the the area between Sydney airport and the CBD.

It is thought extending the levy across the entire municipality could boost affordable housing numbers by 3,600 by 2030.

Sydney Lord Mayor  Clover Moore says  housing affordability had reached crisis point. and the planning proposal was a win for low and middle-income earners.

CHIA NSW CEO Wendy Hayhurst says, ‘It would be great if it were approved sooner rather than later with so much development going on at the moment. We’re losing time.’

Click here to read the full story.

Shared equity program allows residents to unpack for good

Innovation Member news News Victoria No Comments

A unique pilot program, Unpack for Good™ that helps people living in community housing purchase their own home has launched in regional Victoria.

Pioneered by Community Sector Banking and Haven; Home Safe in Victoria, and Housing Plus in regional NSW, Unpack for Good aims to address demand for more affordable housing in regional areas.

Under the pilot, residents will be able to co-own their home with their housing provider – sharing ownership lowers the cost of purchasing the home for residents, meaning they can buy a home that would otherwise be unaffordable.

The remainder of the property’s cost is made up by a regular Community Sector Banking home loan.

It’s the first time this type of agreement has been launched with community housing providers and a banking service in Australia. Not only does it assist residents into home ownership; it also frees up housing stock for community housing providers, allowing them to assist more people.

“We’re delighted to be piloting Unpack for Good, which aims to create much needed opportunities for those on the margins to realise the great dream of home ownership,” said David Fisher, CEO of Housing Plus.

“Our experience tells us the only cure for the housing crisis is more affordable housing stock – this innovative pilot has been designed to deliver just that in regional Australia,” said Ken Marchingo, CEO of Haven; Home, Safe.

“We know that safe, secure and affordable housing is the cornerstone of people building productive and healthy lives. This program is being bravely pioneered by some of Australia’s leading housing providers without government involvement – providing a hand up rather than a hand out,” said Andrew Cairns, CEO of Community Sector Banking.

“This pilot is not only a great example of innovation to tackle the housing crisis– it shows how financial services and housing providers can work together to create more affordable housing, strengthen regional economies, and improve intergenerational outcomes for years to come.”

Census data released earlier this year shows an increase in homelessness to 116,427 people, including 43,552 (39%) under 25 – an increase of 13.7% since 2011.

With ACOSS attributing some of this increase to a lack of affordable housing, programs such as Unpack for Good will play an important role in alleviating the problem.

Download a brochure on the project.

-article courtesy of Haven; Home, Safe

Bridge’s annual report a winner

Innovation Member news News NSW No Comments

Bridge Housing is honored to have been awarded the gold Australasian Reporting Award not-for-profit Annual Report for the fifth consecutive year and the sixth year overall, reflecting our deep, ongoing commitment to transparency.

Bridge CEO John Nicolades attended the awards ceremony in Sydney on 20 June to accept the Gold Award for Excellence on Bridge Housing’s behalf. He also delivered a presentation at the ARA Seminar on Reporting: Engaging with Stakeholders in the Digital Transition.

“In an era when trust in organisations is under pressure, it is critically important that they are as transparent as possible about their purpose, how they use their funds, deliver their services and develop their culture.”

“I thank our staff, our Executive and our Board for their enormous contributions towards Bridge Housing winning this award. Congratulations to the other winners, too, including Wentworth Community Housing and Evolve Housing.

The Australasian Reporting Awards is an independent, not-for-profit organisation concerned about the quality of financial and business reporting.

Read the 2017 Annual Report

–article courtesy of Bridge Housing

NSW Cost of Living Budget leaves out housing costs for renters

Budget Indigenous housing Member news News NSW No Comments

Additional funding to support Aboriginal housing and people who are homeless is good news
but the NSW Budget does not include new investment in more social and affordable housing for
NSW renters in housing stress, the state’s peak not-for-profit housing body said today.

The Budget announced today includes an additional $61 million over four years for homelessness
programs, and $33.1 million over four years to support Aboriginal housing.

However, CHIA NSW CEO, Wendy Hayhurst, said the NSW Government had missed the
opportunity to reinvest the $18.25 billion it has reaped in stamp duty windfalls since 2011 in
providing the 12,500 social and affordable homes NSW will need each year to keep up with population growth.

‘Homelessness support services aren’t effective if people don’t also have secure permanent
homes to go to,’ Ms Hayhurst said.

‘And extra funding for childcare, education and health will only go so far if children don’t have a
safe, secure home to go to at the end of the day, or people leaving hospital can’t recover safely
at home.

‘This Budget had a chance to future-proof our housing system by encouraging investment in the
social and affordable housing we’ll need in the future as Sydney’s population continues to grow.’

Ms Hayhurst recognised the NSW Government could not solve the problem on its own – after
the Federal Government’s Budget failed to deliver funding to kick start greater investment in
social and affordable housing from bodies such as superannuation funds.

‘State Government housing programs such as the Social and Affordable Housing Fund (SAHF),
Communities Plus, and Future Directions are good programs but will not deliver the scale of
new housing needed,’ she said.

‘We need all levels of government to work together on solutions –and a strategy that includes a
suite of measures, from planning reforms, to access to government land, and direct subsidies to
close the funding gap for community housing providers.’

Key facts

NSW needs 12,500 social and affordable homes a year for people on low and middle incomes.
Homelessness has increased by 48% in Sydney and 37% in NSW over five years (Census).
The number of social housing properties has not kept up with population growth – over the last 20 years there has been a 4% increase in properties against a 30% increase in households in need (AHURI).
60,000 people are on waiting lists for social housing in NSW.
In April, there was not a single property affordable for a young family on a minimum wage to rent within 20km of Sydney’s CBD – and the situation as almost as bad in most regional centres (Anglicare 2018 Rental Affordability Snapshot).
In Sydney average house prices are still roughly 12 times average incomes.

  • content courtesy of CHIA NSW

WPI’s tax time campaign

Member news News Victoria No Comments

Women’s Property Initiative has launched a tax time campaign to raise funds for a new development in Melbourne’s south east…

Imagine looking at 100 rental properties and not being able to afford a single one of them. Or searching for work when you don’t have a secure or stable place to live. What if your children couldn’t function at school because of the stress of moving around from friend to friend, relative to relative – or even worse – living out of your car.

These are some of the scenarios that single women and mothers face. Two out of three people seeking help for homelessness are women. We know there are many more who are the hidden homeless, living in highly unstable or grossly inadequate housing. Secure homes will change their future.

Women’s Property Initiative (WPI) currently provides permanent, secure and affordable homes for more than 220 women and children. They tell us every day about the difference these homes have made in their lives.

WPI is excitingly close to breaking ground on six new homes in Melbourne’s south-east that will completely change the future for six more vulnerable women and their children!

We have the land and we have secured funding for most of the construction. Now we need an extra $50,000 to get this development over the line and for it to be completely debt free. We’ve made some great progress towards this target, but it’s not too late to make a tax-deductible donation before 30 June to help us reach it! Please help these families secure the homes they deserve.

Click here to donate.

United’s $6.43m accommodation plans

Member news News NSW Seniors accomodation No Comments

Registered community housing provider United has lodged plans to build a $6.43 million seniors accommodation and affordable housing project in Nowra, NSW.

United’s planning application is for a 30-unit, four-storey building on two blocks of land located only a block away from Nowra’s CBD.

Most of the units will be set aside for seniors or people with a disability, with six units to be used for affordable housing. Eighteen of the units are to be two-bedroom, with the rest being one-bedroom.

The development application, which has been lodged with Shoalhaven City Council, exceeds the maximum height set within the Local Environment Plan height maps by about 2.5 metres.

CHIA Qld joins the fold

Member news News Qld No Comments

It’s official. Queensland’s community housing peak body has registered its name change from CHPs for Qld to the Community Housing Association Queensland (CHIA Qld) with ASIC.

The name change cements the state peak’s close strategic partnership with the national peak, CHIA.

CHIA Qld CEO Jo Ahern says her organisation’s board and members are fully supportive of the name change, which was approved at the AGM in 2017.

‘We all understood the benefits to both organisations and our members of this clearer and stronger relationship,’ Ms Ahern says.

‘Our members are already benefitting from the improved flow of information and increased opportunities to influence critical government policy at state and national levels.

‘We are now a part of a national network of organisations working towards the interests of community housing organisations in Queensland and throughout Australia. Our focus on the delivery of safe, secure and quality social and affordable housing will inevitably improve standards of living, healthcare and life opportunities for people housed by our members and who are severely disadvantaged and living at, or below, the poverty line.’

The national CHIA Board will meet in Queensland on June 25 before holding a forum to gather input from members on the draft National Plan for Social and Affordable Housing and the industry development plan – Building our Future.

See the events page for details.

Australia’s least affordable capital city: Hobart

Member news Tasmania No Comments

Tasmania’s peak body for housing and homelessness continues to be concerned at the escalating levels of unaffordable rents, highlighted by the latest Rental Affordability Index (RAI) produced by SGS Economics & Planning.

“Rental affordability in Tasmania has fallen to its lowest point since the Index began in 2015. Hobart now outstrips Sydney as the least affordable capital in Australia with Tasmanian incomes failing to keep pace with soaring rental prices. The combination of rising rent and low income growth has created unprecedented hardship for many people seeking to find an affordable home”, Shelter Tas Executive Officer, Pattie Chugg said.

The RAI reveals the reality of renting across Tasmania, as it is the only index of its kind that compares household incomes with the cost of renting. The index is showing an increasing trend of rental stress across the state, where the households on the lowest 40% of incomes pay 30% or more of their income in rent.

“Rents in Tasmania are now on par with the rest of Australia, however average Tasmanian households earn over $300 a week less than mainland households. With over 8,000 low income households already in housing stress, rental unaffordability is now rising up the income ladder, increasingly impacting average working families”, Ellen Witte, Partner at SGS Economics and Planning said.

“The results for Hobart are a real wake-up call. There has been a single-minded focus by State Government on population growth, but a complete lack of vision of where this growth needs to go and how all households are going to be accommodated. Renting households, many of them working families, are now paying the price”, Ms Witte said.

The situation in greater Hobart has deteriorated over the past year, with even the average household now on the brink of housing stress, paying 29% of their income on rent. The problem isn’t confined to Hobart, as the decline in affordability for average households is increasingly felt in both Launceston and regional towns in the South like New Norfolk, Geeveston, Huonville and Cygnet.

“While the impact on average households is concerning, it is masking the grim reality that those on low incomes are facing an increasing risk of homelessness across Tasmania”, Ms Chugg said.

In regional North and North West Tasmania, rental homes in Devonport and Burnie are moderately unaffordable for low income Tasmanians such as single pensioners and single working parents on benefits. Across Tasmania, low income earners are being forced out, further away from jobs with poor transport options, or into severely overcrowded dwellings, entrenching their disadvantage.

“In such a competitive and unaffordable rental market, many low income earners must make impossible choices between essentials such as food and heating or having a home. Single parent working families, young people and aged and disability pensioners are the worst affected, paying up to 80% of their income on rent”, Ms Chugg said.

The lack of affordable and safe housing is the biggest cause of homelessness, and we know that homelessness is increasing. On any given night 1,622 Tasmanians have no place to call home. We know that young people are disproportionately affected by homelessness, making up 52% of homelessness services’ clients. We can and must do better”, Ms Chugg said.

“A strong economy must be built upon foundation of secure homes for all Tasmanians, however the rental affordability crisis is pushing out vital workers like those in tourism and hospitality from areas where they are needed the most. We must also plan ahead for our housing needs with an integrated approach to overall population growth and State economic development”, Ms Witte said.

“There are multiple policy levers at the Government’s disposal to address the housing crisis and work together with the development sector, for instance in regard to build-to-rent. Fact is, increasingly more households rent for the long term, as they can no longer afford to purchase a home, so there is a need to ensure renting is a sustainable, secure and affordable living option”, Ms Witte said.

“Tasmania’s deepening shortage of affordable and social housing has serious implications for the Tasmanian community as a whole as it undermines our economy’s ability to attract and retain a skilled workforce, and directly impacts our community’s health, education and overall wellbeing”, Ms Witte said.

“The benefits of our growing economy must be shared. With the State budget just around the corner, Shelter Tasmania repeats its call for the $60m in stamp duty windfall from the booming property market to be invested in new social housing. Tasmania needs at least 150 new public an community housing dwellings each year, which is the best way to guarantee that housing will stay affordable in the long term”, Ms Chugg said.

Media release courtesy of ShelterTas

 

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