New affordable housing scheme positive, but will only be a drop in the ocean

01 August 2009

The NSW Governments affordable housing scheme is a step forward, but only a tiny fraction of 210,000 eligible Sydney households could ever benefit from it, according to the Urban Taskforce.

The Taskforces chief executive, Aaron Gadiel, said todays announcement did not go far enough and was only a partial implementation of the NSW Governments 2005 Metropolitan Strategy.

 

The relaxation of prohibitions on more compact home development near public transport is a sensible, long promised, move, Mr Gadiel said.

 

New higher density, pedestrian friendly, communities around quality public transport will be crucial to Sydneys growth in the coming years.

 

However, todays announcement will only benefit those in public housing and tenants of community housing organisations.

 

This policy will not help tenants leasing directly from private landlords and those who want to make the transition to home ownership.

 

Mr Gadiel said the schemes focus on rent control, and the exclusion of affordable housing for owner-occupiers, meant that investment in the scheme would be modest.

 

This is a niche policy, which sees, at best, a small amount of additional development to accommodate some lucky renters, he said.

 

Most low and middle income renters will get nowhere near the new homes made available under this policy.

 

For example, 62 per cent of all single people renting a home in Sydney that’s 77,000 people would theoretically be eligible to rent homes built under this scheme.

 

24 per cent of couples with no children renting in Sydney living in 21,000 homes would be eligible for this scheme.

 

At least 69 per cent of single parent families renting in Sydney living in 51,000 homes are entitled to be housed by the scheme.

 

And somewhere between 31 per cent and 60 per cent of couples with children renting in Sydney between 32,000 and 61,000 homes can demand access to this new ˜affordable housing.

The small number of homes built under this scheme will do little to satisfy the 210,000 low and moderate income households struggling with Sydney rents increasing at four times the inflation rate.

 

Mr Gadiel said the supply of new homes in Sydney has been constrained by an unwieldy 1970s planning system.

 

The key to Sydneys housing affordability crisis is boosting the overall supply of new housing, he said.

 

The government is right to allow higher density development near good public transport.

 

In fact, the NSW Governments own Metropolitan Strategy set out an agenda to support apartment development near train stations and other high quality transport infrastructure.

 

Renters leasing from private landlords and home buyers should have the same rights as others to live near good public transport.

 

The Urban Taskforce is a property development industry group, representing Australias most prominent property developers and equity financiers.

 

For every $1 million in construction expenditure, 27 jobs are created throughout the broader economy. The construction activity made possible by property developers contributes $69 billion to the national economy each year and creates 709,000 direct jobs. The construction industry is Australias third largest source of employment.

 

 

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