PowerHousing Australia today strongly supported the commitment made by Federal Labor to invest $6.6 billion to restructure a national long term investment to deliver affordable rental housing infrastructure.
The promise to build 250,000 new dwellings across programs over the next 10-15 years with Community Housing Providers central to the task, sets the national focus to tackle affordability, and places a safety net under a future declining housing construction industry to underpin communities, jobs and the economy.
Nicholas Proud, CEO of PowerHousing Australia, which represents 32 of Australia's largest Tier One and growth Community Housing Providers, said, "Australians have truly been heard and the message that our affordable housing future should not be left to chance has been recognised here today.
"Whilst there has been an acknowledgement from all sides of Federal politics that affordable housing is an issue of national importance which achievements such as the NHFIC, this election commitment takes the issue of affordable housing supply and yield gap subsidy to a new level of Federal priority.
"PowerHousing Australia Members who drive scale partnership delivery of affordable housing have sought this next type of commitment that reduces the yield gap that occurs by charging 20% or less of the market rental rate.
"This NRAS type subsidy will touch the lives of all Australians, whether it is as a social housing renter, a work colleague co-worker that has less of a commute, as one of the hundreds of thousands in the construction industry or as a future market renter/buyer that will see housing prices come back to manageable levels.
"This level of commitment will see around 10% of the build rate per year being affordable housing and rental focused which will place downward pressure on pricing, provide rentals within reach of more families, and secure Aussie jobs that simply dry up as we head to an unpredictable housing delivery trough.
"Countries such as the US are able to guarantee up to 10% of their housing delivery through structured programs and tax credits for 30 years and the Government backed, long term focus in this emerging affordable housing asset class is proven to ride through economic troughs such as the US Great Recession.
