Peak housing advocacy bodies Community Housing Industry Association (CHIA) and National Shelter have welcomed the National Cabinet package of planning and rental reforms announced last week.
The advocacy groups view the package as a step in the right direction towards tackling the housing crisis.
Some of the reforms being considered include inclusionary zoning and planning to support permanent affordable, social and specialist housing, as well as restricting rent increases to one per year as a national standard, which is expected to support renters’ rights.
Describing inclusionary zoning as a real policy breakthrough, CHIA CEO Wendy Hayhurst says, “It should ensure that new housing developments include a percentage of social and affordable homes, significantly expanding housing options for people on low and modest incomes. The particularly great thing about it is that it’s not a tax on development – the ‘cost’ is baked into the price paid for the land.”
National Shelter CEO Emma Greenhalgh observes that the package of rental reforms was highly significant, and laid a platform for further reform. “A nationally consistent limit of one rental increase per year is a long overdue reform, as is a ban on soliciting rent bidding and stronger privacy protections for renters’ personal information.”
“We have come a long way. Six months ago there was no prospect of a national reform push on renters’ rights, but today we have seen solid progress.
“Despite this, rental reform remains unfinished business. We need upper limits on the quantum of rent increases for tenants to provide them with genuine stability and security,” Greenhalgh notes.
The planning reforms outlined in the reform blueprint were also appreciated by CHIA and National Shelter.
“If we are to get the supply we need, kinks in the planning process need to be ironed out to speed up the construction of social and affordable homes. Recognising that councils need resourcing to enable them to respond is also a positive element of this package,” Hayhurst says.
“A more robust community consultation at the beginning of the planning process will create greater legitimacy and support to build the housing we so desperately need,” Greenhalgh adds.
While the National Cabinet package underlines the Government’s commitment to an ambitious increase in housing supply, it is critically important that targets are also set for social and affordable rental housing.
Image source: CHIA
