Inquiry calls for major boost to social housing in Victoria

A STATE inquiry into the rental and housing affordability crisis has called on the government to increase the number of public and community homes in Victoria by 60,000 in its final report.

The recommendation states the government should commit to building these dwellings by 2034, with at least 40,000 to be completed by 2028.

Committee chair, Liberal member for Western Metropolitan Trung Luu, said the lack of social housing across the state remained a “glaringly unresolved” issue.

“There are two reasons why we have argued for the level of social housing to be increased rapidly,” he said. “Most importantly, we need to take care of our most vulnerable.

“Secondly, many people who can’t access social housing are having to compete with others in the private rental market.

“Building more social housing is another way of reducing demand – and therefore rents – in the private rental market.”

Among the Committee’s 34 recommendations is the establishment of an independent rental inspector within Consumer Affairs Victoria to ensure rental properties meet legislated requirements and the enshrinement of the right to housing in the Victorian Charter of Humans Rights.

The removal of the First Home Buyers Grant was also recommended, along with the redirection of those funds into the Private Rental Assistance Program which helps people at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness maintain tenancies.

“It is now widely accepted that Australia is experiencing a severe problem with housing,” Mr Luu said.

“Problems with housing have been decades in the making. They will also take decades to fix.

“The solutions to the problems we are facing require a national approach involving all levels of society, both the private sector and government.

Despite significant campaigning by the Victorian Greens, the Committee made no recommendations on rental price regulation.

The inquiry’s final report follows data released by SGS Economics & Planning that suggests housing affordability is continuing to decline across regional Victoria, with Geelong and the Surf Coast experiencing some of the largest declines.

Households in Torquay, Ocean Grove, Barwon Heads and Apollo Bay are among the towns regarded as severely unaffordable for the average regional Victorian rental household, indicating households in these regions are spending, on average, more than 38 per cent of their incomes on rent.