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Clarence Valley Council acts on housing affordability PDF Print E-mail

Northern Rivers Social Development Council (NRSDC) congratulates Clarence Valley Council for their decision to partner with North Coast Community Housing Company to establish an affordable housing development proposal. As Mr Tony Davies, CEO of NRSDC, points out, “local government is in a position to fully understand the social and economic impacts of insufficient and unaffordable housing”.

“Housing affordability in the Northern Rivers has reached crisis point and practical responses to this problem are needed urgently” stresses Mr Davies. Rental vacancy rates in parts of the region are as low as Sydney’s and rents are just as high. Compounding the problem here is our relatively low income levels. “It is very encouraging to see Clarence Valley Council take an active part in affordability solutions” commends Mr Davies.

Both the State and Commonwealth Governments have programs designed to assist local affordable housing initiatives and it is important that this region attracts its share of this assistance to begin to address our housing supply shortage.

The NRSDC’s Affordable Housing Project is working to develop a region wide push to attract the attention and support of government and investors. Project Officer, Trish Evans, urges all Councils and interested business and community agencies to consider how this regional response could be strengthened through collective effort. “What is required is an affordable housing development industry” explains Ms Evans “and the Commonwealth’s new National Rental Affordability Scheme is designed to attract investment into affordable development and create this industry”. This scheme provides an annual tax incentive of $6,000 per year per dwelling for ten years to institutional investors in affordable housing and includes a contribution to the value of $2,000 per year from State governments for the same period. “What we must do is attract that investment into our region” Ms Evans adds.

Improving housing affordability and increasing housing supply will result from a raft of strategies targeting both renters and purchasers and different income groups. It will also require a long term vision and ongoing commitment. The NRSDC Affordable Housing Project is working to establish a structure which will support these strategies so that government, business and the community have a vehicle to drive local projects and work on behalf of the region to improve housing affordability and supply over the longer term.

Media Contacts
Tony Davies (NRSDC Chief Executive Officer) 0438 222 636
Trish Evans (NRSDC Affordable Housing Project Officer) 0447 212 245