NSW rental stress is real
13/03/2019
State needs a third of all new social and affordable housing. 1 in 5 needed in Sydney. Sydney Town Hall Assembly to call for action
One third of the 1 million new social and affordable homes needed in Australia must be built in NSW, with Sydney accounting for a fifth of national demand, a new study released today shows.
The report by UNSW City Futures Research Centre shows that NSW will need 316,700 new social and affordable rental homes by 2036 to meet the current shortfall and keep up with population growth.
Sydney will need just under 200,000 social and affordable rental homes over the next two decades – or 1 in 5 of the new low cost housing needed Australia-wide.
The report comes as more than 2,400 community leaders and members from almost 200 organisations representing 2 million Australians prepare to fill Sydney Town Hall tonight to seek concrete political commitments on housing affordability and energy costs ahead of the NSW and Federal elections.
Everybody’s Home campaign spokesperson Kate Colvin said the new figures show Australia’s housing crisis is still real for everyday households – particularly in NSW:
- More than 213,200 social housing homes will be needed over the next 20 years for households in chronic rental stress and low incomes
- Another 103,500 affordable rental homes will be needed for moderate income households struggling in the private rental market.
- More than half of households who desperately need social housing in NSW aren’t getting it due to lack of homes
- Communities in regional NSW will need 117,000 social and affordable rental homes by 2036
“This study shows that communities in every part of NSW desperately need all political parties to step up with solutions to fixing the broken housing system for local households who are doing it tough,” Ms Colvin said,
“Voters in NSW rank the need for investment in more social and affordable housing as the state’s second highest priority ahead of public transport, schools, river management, new motorways and new sports stadiums*
“The massive turnout for the Sydney Town Hall Assembly tonight shows that housing and cost of living is a key issue that’s biting people locked out of the housing market, struggling to pay the rent, being unfairly evicted from their homes, or at risk of homelessness.”
Ahead of the NSW election on March 23, Everybody’s Home is asking all parties to support
- A plan for at least 5,000 new social housing properties every year for 10 years
- A ban on “no grounds evictions” for the state’s 2 million renters
- A properly resourced strategy to end homelessness in NSW – which has the worst levels of homelessness in Australia.
“Capital city house prices may have softened in recent months but in Sydney and in many parts of NSW they’re still among the least affordable in the world and well out of reach of ordinary people who are already locked out of the market,” Ms Colvin said.
“Every level of government, state, federal and local, has a role to play in fixing our broken housing system.
‘Right now NSW has the worst record on homelessness, the highest rents and house prices, the worst levels of rental stress and is still to support protecting the 1 in 3 households who rent from being unfairly evicted by landlords.
“We’re seeking concrete commitments from all parties that they will support these 3 key things ahead of the state election on March 23 to fix the broken housing system and make sure everybody in NSW has a home, whether they own it or not.”