The Community Housing Industry Association NSW says 50 per cent of social housing investment should be delivered by not-for-profit community housing providers in order to meet surging demand and deliver as many new homes as possible.
In its 2021-22 State Budget submission, CHIA NSW has called on the NSW Government to deliver 5000 new homes by embracing community housing as what it has labelled a cost-effective and efficient response to increasing rental stress and homelessness across the state.
CHIA NSW CEO Mark Degotardi said community housing providers were experts at delivering value for money when it came to government investment in social housing.
“Rather than taking on the full cost burden for building new housing, government can support the community housing network of not-for-profit providers who can use their existing assets to access low-cost financing,” Mr Degotardi said.
He said the next NSW State Budget should include a significant dollar investment in social housing as well as “a commitment to use that money wisely”.
“Before the pandemic, the social housing waitlist was already 50,000 households long. Now NSW is projected to see a rise in homelessness of up to 48 per cent by June.[i]
“By investing in social housing and using community housing providers to deliver that housing, the Government can make sure that taxpayer dollars are working hard to reduce housing stress and homelessness.
“We are well past the point of crisis. We need long-term housing options for people who have been failed by the private rental market. We need strong investment in new housing, particularly in regional areas where vacancy rates are at historic lows.
“Without this investment, thousands of NSW families will have nowhere to go.”
Link Housing CEO Andrew McAnulty said social housing was critical infrastructure.
“Now is the perfect opportunity for the community housing sector in NSW to partner with government and the private sector,” he said.
“Together we can deliver more jobs and more homes.”
CHIA NSW’s housing plan includes:
- A target of 5,\000 new social homes each year over the next decade
- Permanent funding for the Together Home program to provide long-term housing and wrap-around support to previously homeless people
- A dedicated program to make unused government-owned land available for diverse and affordable housing
- Reforming planning systems to identify areas of need and incentivise affordable housing developments
- Include social and affordable housing in the Fast-track Assessments program.
