Addressing the Affordable Housing Crisis

The Mornington Peninsula Shire is taking proactive steps to combat the pressing housing crisis affecting its community. Despite limited support from existing government programs, the Council is proposing an innovative approach: a development contribution scheme that treats social housing as essential infrastructure.

The proposal involves a mandatory contribution from planning permit applicants (based on the market value of new developments), with funds directed towards increasing the stock of social housing on the Peninsula. While exemptions are in place for certain developments, the scheme aims to raise significant resources to support the construction of 600 to 1,000 social housing units. Representing a substantial portion of the Shire’s housing needs by 2041.

This initiative is aimed at addressing the housing shortage, particularly in the face of a booming short-stay rental market in the LGA. The Council has voted to consult the community on the idea.

It underscores a broader recognition of the need for multi-level government action and collaboration with private and community sectors to tackle the housing crisis effectively. With changes in Victorian Government policy granting more authority to local governments in social housing provision, this initiative marks a significant step towards addressing the pressing issue devastating families and individuals in the Mornington Peninsula community face.

I spoke with Liz Thomas, Managing Director of Common Equity Housing Ltd. (Australia’s largest rental housing co-operative provider), about mandatory development contribution schemes and she was fully supportive of the concept. Liz said, “My view is that ‘housing’ needs to be the third pillar of government policy, along with ‘health’ and ‘education’. The issue has extended beyond ‘homelessness’ – access to affordable housing with security of tenure now impacts working people denied rental housing and home ownership.”

On the face of it, it seems like an excellent idea and one that should certainly be explored. Particularly to see if it could be rolled out across other LGAs.

It does raise some questions, such as:

1. Will the scheme work – will it achieve its objectives?
2. If so, is it something that would work in other LGAs, with different demographics?
3. Does this sort of scheme work well with existing social/affordable housing providers’ development programs?