The number of affordable housing sites in the inner city in Sydney will increase following a funding application by the City of Sydney to the Federal government's Housing Affordability Fund.
The grant of $456,000 will help find and prepare land for up to 1,000 new homes, with at least 50 per cent allocated to affordable housing for low to moderate income earners.
"There is an urgent need for an increase in quality affordable housing, which is close to the city. This will help ensure people employed in essential services can afford to live close to where they work. We want to ensure the city continues to be a diverse, inclusive and fair city, which is open to everyone," says Clover Moore, Lord Mayor.
"Here at the City we are already working to increase the supply of affordable rental housing across our local government area from the current one per cent to 7.5 per cent of total housing by 2030."
The City applied for the funding on behalf of the Inner City Mayor's Forum (ICMF). The ICMF includes City of Sydney, Waverley, Woollahra, North Sydney, Randwick, Rockdale, Canada Bay, Ashfield, Marrickville, Leichhardt and Botany Bay councils.
The project will be managed by the City of Sydney, working directly with a steering group made up of representatives from the development and community housing sectors, the Department of Planning, the ICMF and a research expert.
The inner city councils will nominate sites that are suitable for affordable rental housing in their own local government areas.
The $456,000 funding will be used to establish a team of experts to consider planning, design and environmental factors and ready the sites for development.
