Monash Council has identified three Council owned areas of land as potential sites to be considered for the development of social housing under the State Government's $5.3 billion Big Housing Build.
Councils across Victoria have been asked to find suitable parcels of land that can be used to create social housing. Social housing is housing owned either by State Government or by not-for-profit community housing providers that is rented to low-income households at either 25% (public housing) or 30% (community housing) of household income. Social housing does not generally include rooming houses.
The three sites identified by Council are:
- 1399-1401 Centre Road, Clayton
- 329-333 Waverley Road, Mount Waverley
- and 65A Power Avenue, Chadstone.
One further site controlled by VicTrack at 1a and 1 - 15 Johnson Street, Oakleigh was also identified as possibly being suitable and Council will advocate to the State Government for this site to be considered.
The State Government's new agency, Homes Victoria, has been established to deliver on the commitment to build more social and affordable housing. Homes Victoria is a public corporation within the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing portfolio and is accountable to the Minister for Housing.
Monash Mayor Brian Little said Council has led advocacy in this area, championing the rights and needs of people with lived experience of homelessness, or those at risk of becoming homeless, and called for the urgent need for a greater supply of social housing in Victoria.
In 2019 Monash Council initiated the Regional Local Government Homelessness and Social Housing Charter Group. This group, covering 13 Councils in the east and south east, represents two million residents and strongly advocates on behalf of the homeless. It is also a voice for those at risk of finding themselves without a home, including those who flee family violence.
"Housing is a basic human right. Everyone should have a roof over their head and a safe place to live," Cr Little said.
"The identification of potential land sites for social housing in Monash supports Council's approach to addressing the significant shortfall of social housing in the community and our determination to contribute to improving the health, wellbeing and safety of people experiencing homelessness in Monash.
"These three sites where chosen after an investigation of Council land that was fit for this purpose. The chosen sites are well connected to public transport, have minimal impact on adjacent residential properties and are located near shopping precincts and commercial areas," Cr Little said.
The development and building of new social housing dwellings in Monash would only proceed with successful funding investment from the Victorian State Government's 'Big Housing Build' program.
If successful in receiving funding, Council's contribution to the 'Big Housing Build' would be land only, with construction costs fully borne by the State Government and the site managed by a community housing agency.
The preferred model proposed by Council would be to retain ownership of the land and provide a long-term lease/licence over the land to facilitate the provision of social housing.
Background:
The Homes Victoria 'Big Housing Build' investment includes:
- $5.3 billion, new and additional investment to build 12,000 new homes across metropolitan and regional Victoria, creating an average of 10,000 new jobs a year over the next 4 years
- 10% increase in social housing, with the building of 9,300 new social housing dwellings and 2,900 affordable housing dwellings
- $1.3 billion delivered through the Social Housing Growth fund over the next four years to support up to 4,200 new dwellings.
