Housing

The Greens (WA) believe that affordable housing¹ is a basic human right. State Government is responsible for providing a policy framework and planning infrastructure to ensure that safe, secure and affordable housing is available throughout Western Australia. Local and State planning rules should ensure that housing is available close to jobs, schools and other essential services.

Housing affordability should be measured to account for the full cost of living in a particular place – including energy and transport costs as well as access to services and employment.

Urban design and housing efficiency standards are therefore increasingly important, as are reforming existing incentives and tax structures to more effectively support housing affordability for lower and middle income Australians.

The amount of social housing² in Western Australia has decreased, exacerbating the housing affordability crisis by forcing too many people to compete for limited private rental accommodation. The increased competition has forced up the rent of those who can least afford it. An increase in social housing, both public and community housing, is desperately needed in Western Australia. We remain concerned that State and Federal investment in public and social housing has decreased dramatically and is poor by international standards.

Goals
The Greens (WA) want:

• all Australians to have access to adequate, safe, secure and affordable housing¹
• the elimination of housing-related poverty
• increased government investment in public and social² housing, with a target of 15% social housing by 2020
• improved legal security of tenure and reduced discrimination
• existing and proposed housing incentives and subsidies to deliver improved access to affordable housing for lower income households, and reduce competition between home buyers and investors
• the implementation of best practice international alternative tenancy and ownership models in State legislation
• a reduction in the environmental impact of housing, both during construction and throughout the life of the building
• to promote higher density housing on public transport corridors, minimum water usage and energy efficiency standards, and a greater proportion of social housing
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to have access to adequate, secure, well-maintained, safe and culturally appropriate long-term housing, wherever they live

Initiatives

The Greens (WA) will initiate and support legislation and actions that:

Planning & Design

• develop a state housing plan, including increased state investment in public and social housing with a target of 15% social housing by 2020
• provide more information and opportunities to enable the community to participate in planning decisions
• introduce enabling legislation for inclusionary zoning³ that can require percentage targets for affordable and social housing stock and mandated minimum water and energy efficiency standards in new developments
• require new residential developments over 10 lots to provide at least 10% affordable housing
• review the provisions of the Building Code of Australia (BCA), Western Australian Residential Design Codes and Town Planning and Development Act to reduce barriers to medium-density and mixed-use developments in transport and amenity rich areas, particularly for seniors, singles and other people with special needs
• facilitate redevelopment around public transport routes to increase accessibility to employment and other facilities by means other than the private car
• increase developer contributions for new fringe developments, directing government expenditure to support well-located, high-quality infill development
• assist households to purchase in areas where living costs will be lower, through schemes such as location-efficient mortgages⁴
• locates new public housing⁵ close to employment, transport and other services
• include the promotion and assessment of affordable, sustainable development models in the key objectives of the Department of Housing and Works and the Department for Planning and Infrastructure

  Appropriate social housing

• introduce enabling state legislation and regulation to support the community housing⁶ sector, including a review of relationships with the Department of Housing and Works and reform of headleasing fees
• increase state investment in public housing with a target of 6% of housing stock by 2020
• review the targeting of public housing to consider how a wider spread of tenants might contribute to the longer term sustainability and social integration of an expanded investment in public housing
• investigate the potential of not-for-profit community housing organisations to provide better tenancy and support services to public housing clients
• set targets for social housing, including diverse dwelling types targeted to people with special needs, in all Local Government Areas (LGAs) to achieve social mix and shared responsibility between State and Local Government
• investigate support options to encourage the community housing sector to develop more appropriate housing to meet the future needs of an increasing number of older Australians and support ‘ageing in place’

Affordable home ownership

• provide once-off exemptions from state government taxes and charges (such as stamp duty) for first home buyers and for retirees who are downsizing their primary residence
• develop a state land rental scheme to improve affordability (based on the ACT model) where home buyers may opt to rent the land from the state for the first ten years or more and then purchase the land, if and when their income improves
• work with the Commonwealth to eliminate the tax bias towards passive investment in property by making expenses incurred deductible only against income from the same type of investment in current or future years
• work with the Commonwealth to improve the targeting of, and coordination between, property-related taxes and concessions, such as stamp duty, GST, First Home Owners Grant and land tax to support first home buyers in the bottom 40% of incomes
• provide local government incentives and consult with builders, real estate agents and lending institutions to promote smaller, more diverse housing as a legitimate option
• examine the legislative and regulative barriers and requirements for implementing international best practice 'subsidy retention models' to support public and private investment in perpetually affordable housing – including community land trusts, deed restricted mortgages and limited equity cooperatives

Affordable and Sustainable Regional Communities

• investigate development of mid-size regional cities to limit suburban sprawl and promote regional development opportunities
• direct the Auditor General to assess LandCorp's performance in releasing residential land in the Pilbara
• review the WA Land Authority Act 1992 and reform the Section 19 requirement that LandCorp 'endeavour to surpass financial targets'
• urgently increase the level of state government investment in public and community housing in the Pilbara region to address unmet need
• implement a regional development plan for north-west communities that takes into account projected development pressures to ensure adequate infrastructure and support for sustainable regional communities
• substantially increased investment in Aboriginal housing over a decade to address unmet need, backed up by ongoing maintenance plans and employment and training initiatives in construction and maintenance

Housing design and efficiency

• encourage and promote the design and construction of adaptable housing to facilitate improved access for the elderly and disabled, and allow larger family homes to be converted into smaller separate units as life cycle needs change
• increase minimum requirements for energy and water use efficiency in new buildings and encourage substantial alternations to existing buildings, and provide incentives to better these minimum requirements
• require new homes to have a minimum 7 star NatHERS rating⁶ or equivalent
• introduce a state rating scheme (similar to that in the ACT) that grades houses for energy efficiency before sale or rental with this information supplied to the buyer or tenant
• provide incentives to private landlords to improve energy efficiency, and require those whose properties fail to meet minimum standards to pay excess utility costs
• review the energy provisions of the BCA to encourage innovation for sustainability
• implement an energy Efficiency Access and Savings Initiative (EASI), whereby 10 per cent of existing buildings are retrofitted per year to meet sustainability goals (starting with the most inefficient buildings and poorest households), by providing interest free loans repayable as a proportion of reduced utility bills, with a payback period of less than 10 years
• implement a Water Tight scheme to retrofit water saving systems and devices, including plumbed-in rainwater tanks based on the EASI model
• support the development of appropriate new technology, including recycling of building waste in line with the State Waste Minimisation Strategy

Glossary
1. affordable housing - housing that costs less than 30% of household income.
2. social housing - affordable rental accommodation including housing provided by the State and by the community sector.
3. inclusionary zoning - a zoning ordinance mandating affordable housing in certain development projects.
3. location efficient mortgages (LEMs) allow purchasers of homes near public transport who agree to own only one car to qualify for a larger loan, enabling access to communities that might otherwise be out of reach. LEM's assume that less income will go toward car costs if they can walk, cycle, or take public transport.
4. public housing is rental accommodation provided by the State (Homeswest).
5. community housing - rental accommodation provided by not for profit community-based organisations, church groups or Local Government that offers tenant participation in the management of their housing.
6. National House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) measures the amount of energy required to keep a home comfortable. It uses a rating out of 10 stars, like the energy rating stickers on whitegoods.