A new discussion paper from Swinburne University and Melbourne-based residential developer Ys Housing has identified the potential to build up to 26,000 social homes in Victoria over the next decade. According to Community Housing Industry Association (CHIA) Victoria, the figure is about one third of the 80,000-home target needed to bring the state in line with the national average of 4.5 percent social housing.
“Currently, Victoria is sitting at the bottom of the league table at 2.9 percent, which means we have a substantial way to go,” CHIA Victoria spokesperson Jess Pomeroy commented.
Produced in partnership with CHIA Victoria and 10 community housing providers, the report has identified 1,637 suitable sites across Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo located adjacent to existing community housing properties that could be merged and redeveloped by not-for-profit community housing organisations to boost social housing supply.
According to the report, the purchase of 1,000 lots would allow the delivery of between 10,500 and 26,000 new social homes across the state.
CHIA Victoria chief executive Sarah Toohey said, “By buying properties next door to ageing community housing dwellings, we can create larger blocks and deliver more social homes at scale. This is a chance for not-for-profit organisations to develop more homes that are genuinely affordable, rather than allowing private developers to transform these sites into premium properties designed to maximise profit margins and drive up prices.”
“This would also help the Victorian government achieve its goal of delivering more homes in existing suburbs, rather than relying on an ever-increasing urban growth boundary,” Toohey said.
The report’s modelling argues that a state government investment of $80 million a year into the decade-long initiative would “save taxpayers $1.99 billion through lower land costs, efficient land use and more cost-effective project delivery,” a release from CHIA Victoria reads. The proposal claims a saving of $250,000 per new dwelling.
Ys Housing CEO Oscar McLennan noted, “We know it’s absurdly hard to deliver housing at a reasonable price-point at the moment, yet site amalgamation presents a viable pathway to do just that. Amalgamating ageing community housing with neighbouring properties would involve voluntary transactions, providing property owners who may already be considering selling with the opportunity to do so. Site amalgamation is a strategic and sustainable way to help safeguard Victoria’s social housing future.”
The report’s release coincides with the recent announcement from the Housing Australia Future Fund, promising funding for 1,275 new social homes across 25 projects in Victoria.
Pomeroy noted, “Across the first two rounds of the HAFF, Victoria has received the highest amount of investment at $4.3 billion, which will deliver 5,418 social and affordable homes, the most of any state or territory. This represents more than 30 percent of the total funding pool and almost 30 percent of all homes.”
“While this will make a big difference to many people’s lives, Victoria still needs far more investment to meet the crushing demand for social housing and undo the impacts of years of underinvestment,” Pomeroy said. “Waiting lists for social housing continue to grow and currently 146,000 families and individuals need a rent-capped home they can actually afford.”
CHIA’s release on the new discussion paper notes that “over the longer term with further investment, the strategy could create up to 65,000 social housing units, enough to clear Victoria’s social housing waitlist.”
According to McLennan, “The greatest challenge we face isn’t the strategy itself but the urgent need for upfront investment and swift action to secure these sites while we still can.”
“The state government, in partnership with the community housing sector, must act decisively to seize this opportunity now before rising land prices and missed acquisition chances reduce its potential,” McLennan said.
Toohey added, “Victoria faces a golden but narrow window of opportunity to unlock land that could deliver thousands of new social housing dwellings across Melbourne and regional Victoria. […] If we don’t act quickly, it will mean less homes that are affordable for Victorians, and inevitably a more expensive social housing budget in the long run to catch up. The longer we wait, the fewer options we’ll have to bring these sites together, meaning we will have to build further away, sacrificing proximity, services and amenities for lower cost.”
The full paper can be accessed online.
Source: Architecture - architectureau
