Minister Barr: ACT Government invests $100 million for more public housing
- Written by ACT Government
Released 29/10/2018 - Joint media release
The ACT Government is stepping up our support for low-income and disadvantaged Canberrans with a $100 million investment in public housing over the next five years. This will deliver at least 200 new homes and the renewal of a further 1,000 homes.
We believe every Canberran, no matter their circumstances, should have access to safe and affordable housing that suits their needs. This new investment will ensure we can keep growing Canberra’s public housing stock to meet demand as our city grows.
This $100 million investment is a key initiative under the new ACT Housing Strategy released today after extensive consultation and engagement with tenants, service users and providers, and the community.
The strategy also includes a new target of setting aside 15 per cent of all Government land releases for public, community and affordable housing, including both infill development in urban areas and developments in new suburbs. This will grow the number of additional homes delivered each year to approximately 630.
These targets will be met within a broader plan to maintain a sufficient supply of new land to meet future housing demand. Over the next four years, the Government plans to release sites for 17,000 new homes in Canberra.
The government will further grow the community housing sector through the provision of 151 dwellings across different sites, to be tenanted and managed so as to achieve a strong social mix and deliver more affordable rental housing on the ground.
For all renters, the strategy outlines new and stronger protections to guard against unfair rent increases and give tenants more rights to make a property their home – as recently announced by the Government.
The ACT Housing Strategy builds on our strong record of action to improve housing affordability and reduce homelessness. We are abolishing stamp duty for first home buyers – no matter what type of property they buy and we have reduced our rate of homelessness by 8 per cent since 2011. We are also growing funding for specialist homelessness services and delivering the largest renewal of public housing stock since self-government by renewing 1,288 homes.
The ACT Government is stepping up our efforts to improve housing affordability and support services – particularly for low-income and disadvantaged Canberrans. As our city grows, all Canberrans must share in the benefits and we are investing to ensure they do.
The development of an ACT housing strategy is an item of the ACT Labor and ACT Greens Parliamentary Agreement. The strategy is available at www.act.gov.au/homes-housing
- Statement ends -
Section: Andrew Barr, MLA | Yvette Berry, MLA | Media Releases
