Retirees, low-income families stare into rental housing abyss

The Community Housing Industry Association (CHIA) NSW is calling on the NSW Government to increase funding for social and affordable housing.

The announcement:

The Community Housing Industry Association (CHIA) NSW is calling on the NSW Government to significantly increase funding for social and affordable housing with today’s release of the Anglicare Rental Affordability Snapshot finding every single low-income household is worse off than one year ago.

The snapshot found just one affordable NSW home for a single person on JobSeeker, and three in total across the country. It also found that retirees on the Age Pension were at particular risk with just 0.5% of rentals being affordable, while for single parents with one child, just 0.3% were affordable.

Mark Degotardi, CEO of CHIA NSW, said funding new social and affordable housing projects must be a top priority in the upcoming State budget to provide urgent relief to thousands of families facing an increased risk of homelessness.

“Every Budget is about choices and once again, the NSW Government will have a clear choice. Invest in social and affordable housing and deliver hope to hundreds of thousands of people in housing stress in NSW, or abandon these vulnerable families and leave them on the precipice of homelessness,” said Mr Degotardi.

“Low-income families are already doing everything they can just to get by. Many of these families are one misfortune away from homelessness and are already making impossible choices between buying food, clothes, schoolbooks or getting medical care.

“The housing market has repeatedly failed to deliver affordable housing options for low-income individuals and families. It is time that the NSW Government abandon its reliance on the market model and instead intervene directly to create more affordable rental housing.”

Not-for-profit community housing providers have a long track record in delivering social and affordable housing across NSW.

“Community housing providers have social and affordable housing projects ready to go right now and CHIA NSW calls on the Government to fund these projects as an urgent priority. This investment will not only create economic growth and jobs, but deliver long-term social and economic benefits to NSW and to those families who receive safe, secure and affordable housing,” said Mr Degotardi.

CHIA NSW has outlined its policy proposals for the NSW Government this State budget as part of its Pre-Budget Submission.

Source: Press release supplied by Community Housing Industry Association NSW