Yahoo Finance NSW social housing gets $60.5 million upgrade
The NSW Government has announced that $60.5 million of its $2.3 billion Covid-19 rescue package will be dedicated to revitalising public housing.
The funds will be used on repairs, upgrades and maintenance works on social housing properties, half of which will be located in regional NSW.
The NSW Land and Housing Corporation (LAHC) will spend $47 million of the $60.5 million on providing emergency accommodation in response to the coronavirus crisis.
According to a statement from the NSW Government this morning, the repair and maintenance works will include electrical, kitchen and bathroom maintenance to refurbish 142 units.
The funds will also aim to ensure that housing can be delivered at a lower price than the typical rental costs of emergency accommodation.
Tenants on the public housing priority list will be placed into emergency housing, said NSW Minister for Water, Property and Housing Melinda Pavey.
“This $60.5 million stimulus program delivers important public housing upgrades and new supply, while generating vital employment and economic relief at this critical time,” she said.
“This unprecedented crisis calls for different thinking and innovative approaches, to protect jobs and support the economy, our communities and vulnerable people and that is exactly what we’re doing.”
Yahoo Finance has reached out to Tenants Union NSW and the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) for comment.
Sydney has been named the world’s third-least affordable housing market in the world for two years in a row, and as the least affordable housing market in Australia, according to Demographia.
More social housing could play a major part in helping vulnerable individuals such as pensioners stay afloat, according to Mission Australia’s CEO James Toomey.
More social housing needed
Mission Australia NSW state director Nada Nesser said now was a crucial time for greater investment in social and affordable housing.
“While we welcome the NSW Government’s announcement about delivering maintenance works and upgrades on public housing properties, there remains a shortage of social housing homes in NSW and across Australia and more is needed,” Nasser told Yahoo Finance.
“There is a high level of need for long term secure social housing for people in crisis accommodation who need a safe, secure place to call home and for rough sleepers who have been temporarily placed in hotels to reduce the spread of COVID-19.”
Half a million more social and affordable homes are needed in Australia, which would reduce homelessness and would also provide economic stimulus, she said.
“We need more long term social housing options with support for vulnerable people.”
NSW’s $2.3 billion coronavirus rescue package
On 17 March, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced more than $2 billion would be pumped into the state’s economy to ease the economic fall-out triggered by the virus.
The package also includes $700 million for healthcare, and $1.6 billion for job creation and tax relief.
Small businesses will also receive payroll tax exemptions designed to alleviate cashflow issues, while $250 million will go towards hiring more cleaners for public buildings like schools.
$80 million has been set aside for NSW restaurants, cafes and bars to waive various business fees and charges.
Earlier this week, Berejiklian announced a $440 million rent relief package designed to help commercial and residential tenants and landlords affected by Covid-19.
It includes a moratorium on forced evictions of tenants in financial hardship, as well as a land tax waiver for landlords if they pass the savings onto tenants doing it tough.
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