Media release – Michael Ferguson, Minister for State Development, Construction and Housing 28 February 2022
Delivering more homes for Tasmanians in need
The Tasmanian Liberal Government’s record social housing investment is continuing to deliver for Tasmanians in need, with six new units ready to house priority applicants from the Housing Register.
The primary goal of the development at Jackson Street, Glenorchy, is to house young people aged 16-24 selected from the Housing Register.
The new units have been delivered as part of the Government’s record $615 million investment in social and affordable housing and homelessness initiatives. This includes a $280 million election commitment to extend the building program of new social housing, which is the biggest in this State for decades.
The funding will deliver 3,500 new homes by 2027 to Tasmanians in need and will help about 5,000 Tasmanian households out of housing stress or homelessness.
The six new one-bedroom units were funded under the Community Housing Growth Program Extension, which is providing an average of $145,000 per dwelling in the development.
The Tasmanian Liberal Government has made an investment of $870,000 into these units, which will contribute towards a total injection of more than $2.5 million into the local economy which is fantastic.
That’s more homes for Tasmanians in need and more work for Tasmanians, supporting our local businesses.
The funding is also supporting job creation, with the works helping St Joseph Affordable Homes take on new apprentices to complete the project.
The units have been developed on Director of Housing land subject to a 40-year ground lease to Centacare Evolve Housing.
The units have been designed to meet the Silver Level of the Liveable Housing Design Guidelines, meaning the properties ensure future flexibility and adaptability to avoid more costly modifications if required at a later date.
Centacare Evolve Housing is one of Tasmania’s Tier 1 community housing providers, managing more than 2,000 properties, including 1,200 on behalf of the Director of Housing.
Media release – Peter Gutwein, Premier & Michael Ferguson, Minister for State Development, Construction and Housing, 1 March 2022
Over $1.5 billion investment to provide more housing than ever before
As part of our plan to secure Tasmania’s future, we are taking unprecedented action to assist the housing needs of Tasmanians. Today we are taking the next step by announcing a massive 10-year housing package, in excess of $1.5 billion, to build on our existing reforms and take further action to provide affordable housing.
The only way to address rising house and rental prices is to increase supply, so we are building on our existing $615 million program to deliver 3,500 new dwellings and homes by 2026-27.
The new statutory authority that was announced last week will have the capacity to borrow and invest with a balance sheet at more than $2 billion. Over the next decade it will be tasked with building and acquiring an additional 6,500 homes and units on top of our current target of 3,500. This leads to a total of 10,000 new dwellings by 2032. The expected new direct investment will be in excess of $1.1 billion.
We are also announcing today that all Stamp Duty and First Home-Owner grants and concessions will be increased to a $600,000 threshold. Including the previous changes, this results in a 50 per cent increase, keeping in line with rising property prices. This means that an eligible first home buyer, or a pensioner purchasing a downsized property, will save around $11,250 on property duty when buying a $600,000 home. Additionally, the Government is retaining the First Home Owner Grant at $30,000 for the 2022/23 financial year.
To further accelerate land supply, we will extend our Headworks Holiday program, doubling the Residential Land Rebate from $15 million to $30 million.
We will be extending the thresholds and eligibility for our successful Home Share program, which becomes the ‘Housing Market Entry program’ allowing more Tasmanians who meet our income and assets tests to access this much more generous program.
We will improve the program by reducing the requirement for a deposit to 2 per cent of the purchase price and doubling the State’s equity contribution to a maximum of $200,000 or 40 per cent for new homes or units and up to $150,000 or 30 per cent of the purchase price for eligible established homes or units. The package will also be opened up to eligible First Home Buyers purchasing existing dwellings (rather than building) who would otherwise be unable to obtain finance.
We will extend the private Rental Incentive Scheme from its current limit of 200 homes to 400 homes, creating another 200 affordable rental properties for the next two years.
The highly-successful ancillary dwelling grant program will be doubled to allow an extra 250 places over the initial allocation of 250, doubling our funding commitment to $5 million.
Other initiatives that the Government will be introducing include:
- As announced we will be resetting the tax free threshold to $100,000 and lifting the upper tax threshold to $500,000 while lowering the tax rate for land valued between $100,000 and $500,000 from 0.55 per cent to 0.45 per cent;
- Encouraging development at the edges of the urban growth boundary by making rezoning applications easier;
- Working with councils to achieve more “shop top” apartments;
- Better utilising Government owned buildings by re-purposing them for a higher and better use;
- Assessing the viability of build to rent schemes;
- Providing safeguards for rent-to-buy schemes to encourage the uptake of them;
- Introducing a new Apartment Code to simplify medium-density apartment and townhouse approvals; and
- Committing to a review of the utilisation of our social housing portfolio, to gain more efficiencies.
Media release – Peter Gutwein, Premier, 28 February 2022
Property owners and tenants to benefit from $220m of tax relief
The Tasmanian Liberal Government is taking further action to ease the cost of living for Tasmanian families and put downward pressure on rents, with the tax-free threshold for land tax to double to $100,000.
This means land tax will not be paid on land valued under $100,000, and we will also lift the upper tax threshold to $500,000 and lower the tax rate for land valued between $100,000 and $500,000 from 0.55 per cent to 0.45 per cent to reduce tax payable.
We took action last year to relieve some of the costs of rental properties and put downward pressure on rents by resetting the land tax thresholds, which provided more than $56 million in land tax relief for landlords and property owners over four years.
There is no doubt our strong economy and desirable lifestyle has meant more and more people want to live, work and raise a family in Tasmania.
With house prices and rents continuing to rise, we know more needs to be done, and the new arrangements will save Tasmanians hundreds more each year, providing more money to spend in local businesses.
The changes mean around 70,000 Tasmanians will save on average approximately $800 every year, up to a maximum saving of $1625 – with close to 12,000 taxpayers no longer needing to pay any land tax at all.
When combined with the changes we made last year, it will provide about $220 million of tax relief for property owners over the next four years – to enable further reductions in the costs for rental properties and helping to put downward pressure on rent prices.
Media release – TasCOSS, 28 February 2022
Six homes down, 4,349 to go
The Tasmanian Government has continued to overstate its response to the housing crisis, today announcing six new social homes and ‘record investment’ despite repeat cautions from the community services industry that should the current trajectory continue thousands of Tasmanian families languishing on the Housing Register will remain without a home.
TasCOSS CEO Ms Adrienne Picone said the Tasmanian Government’s recent boast of delivering ‘a [social] house a day’ was woefully inadequate and will deliver only one-third of what we need.
“While every house built is a step in the right direction, the fact remains the Government is treading water when it comes to social and affordable housing,” said Ms Picone.
“A target of 3,500 new homes by 2027 simply won’t cut it. We know that based on current demand projections, we need to be building 1,000 new social houses every year for the next decade.
“To add insult to injury for Tasmanians without a safe, secure place to call home, the private rental squeeze is as bad as it has ever been.
“With rising rents and cost of living, Tasmanian families are being pushed further out of urban areas, away from transport services, family supports and employment opportunities. This is just adding to their levels of financial and mental stress.
Ms Picone said tax relief announced for property investors has the potential to place downward pressure on rent, but questions lingered.
“Changes to land tax will give property investors a lower land tax bill. But where is the inducement to ensure this saving is passed on to renters?
“$220 million could have had a much bigger cost of living impact for Tasmanians had it been used to fund energy efficiency upgrades in private rentals and for homeowners on low incomes, rather than a tax cut for people who own more than one property.
“Energy efficiency measures could save customers an average $535 per annum on power bills, as well as making homes more healthy to live in, generating local employment, stimulating our economy and lowering emissions.
“With the House of Assembly back in session tomorrow and amid the distractions of the past few weeks, it is important the pressing issue of access to housing remains front and centre.”
Media release – TasCOSS, 1 March 2022
Real action to address social housing wait list not a moment too soon
TasCOSS CEO Ms Adrienne Picone said the Government’s revised social housing pledge of 10,000 new dwellings by 2032, alongside the extension of a number of other positive initiatives, was most welcome news for Tasmanians in need.
“We know that based on current demand projections, we need to be building 1,000 new social homes every year for the next decade,” said Ms Picone.
“To their credit, the Government has answered this call.
“Sufficient supply of safe, affordable housing will ensure Tasmania is rebuilt stronger post-COVID-19. Along with the direct benefit of housing Tasmanians in need, each new house built results, on average, in the direct employment of three people and has a multiplier effect on the surrounding community and its economy.
“The challenge now is to source the workforce and materials required to deliver the homes in a timely manner.
“Until those homes are built though, we need to do everything we can to support people to find and keep a roof over their heads. That’s why we are proposing an urgent review of the Residential Tenancy Act, including the provision that allows landlords to evict tenants at the end of a lease. With some leases only six months, this leads to severe housing insecurity and disruption to schooling, employment and caring responsibilities.
“TasCOSS also calls for urgent action to bring more private rental stock into the market, by restricting the number of entire homes that can be listed for short stay accommodation.”
Ella Haddad MP, Shadow Housing Minister, 28 February 2022
Tasmanians waiting for housing remains at historic high
More than 4,300 Tasmanian families remain hopelessly stuck on the Gutwein Government’s out-of-control housing wait list despite the repeated claims of Minister Michael Ferguson that the government is building more.
Shadow Housing Minister Ella Haddad said the latest housing data released by the government showed the number of housing applicants languishing on the list had barely budged over the past month and priority applicants were now waiting more than 71 weeks – which is almost triple the wait time from when the Liberals came to power.
“Michael Ferguson is still attempting to deceive Tasmanians into believing he is delivering by staging photo opportunities which, in reality, amount to nothing more than a drop in the ocean,” Ms Haddad said.
“Mr Ferguson is constantly boasting about building more homes, but in reality he is not delivering. He failed as Health Minister and now he’s failing as Housing Minister.
“His record and the government’s track record is atrocious, while Tasmanians continue to couch surf, sleep rough, get turned away from shelters or live in insecure, dangerous situations.
“Even on the Government’s own projections, the housing wait list will soon climb towards 5,000 families which means the government is not even keeping up with existing demand, let alone its own predicted demand.
“That’s just devastating for literally thousands of families who are stuck with a government and an out-of-touch Minister who choose not to make housing a priority and are focused on their own internal chaos and dysfunction instead of delivering for Tasmanians.”
Media release – Cassy O’Connor MP, Greens Leader and Housing spokesperson, 28 February 2022
Gutwein’s Land Tax Cut for Propertied Class Leaves Battlers in the Cold
Responsibility for Tasmania’s housing crisis sits with the Liberals, yet they refuse to act. Instead, today Peter Gutwein has announced a trickle down style land tax cut for those Tasmanians who are lucky enough to have a second, third or fourth property.
All the while rents continue to soar and Tasmanians are forced to move interstate, just to keep a roof over their heads.
In a monumental, but wholly transparent “look over there”, Premier Gutwein has handed a land tax cut to well off property investors. Yet another stunt from a Liberal Government devoid of any meaningful plan to curb the cost of living, or address the housing crisis in Tasmania.
Today’s land tax announcement won’t help to lower rents, as the government falsely claims. It will simply widen the class divide between the haves and have-nots – those who own their home, along with an investment portfolio, and those who spend half their weekly income or more on shelter.
Handing out a Land Tax cut won’t decrease rents. It will only encourage investors to increase their portfolio.
This will be the second round of land tax cuts implemented by the Liberals in the short time since the 2021 election. Peter Gutwein claims this will “further” decrease rents, what world is he living in? Rents have not gone down, they have gone up, since the Liberals’ last round of land tax cuts. This is a fact.
What is needed is regulation of short stay accommodation and rent controls – both moved by the Greens and blocked by the old parties in Parliament – along with building more social and affordable housing.
On the eve of Parliament’s resuming and with Covid rampant in our schools, the Gutwein Government is in disarray. It’s lost two Ministers in just two weeks. Peter Gutwein is clearly making policy on the run to distract from his internal chaos.
This kind of policy making won’t house the homeless, and it won’t even distract from wheels falling off Peter Gutwein’s Cabinet. In the midst of a housing crisis, Tasmania deserves better.
Ferguson Blind to Housing Fix
Today in Parliament I asked the Minister for Housing, Michael Ferguson, if his government would ease the housing crisis by limiting short stay accommodation to the owner’s principal place of residence.
The full question;
Minister, I acknowledge today’s announcement that you intend to invest $1.5 billion over the next ten years to deliver an additional 6500 homes by 2032.
However, this is 10 years away, and your government’s track record of hitting targets is not good.
Minister, people need homes now.
Will your government move immediately to ease the housing pressure by limiting short-stay accommodation to rooms in the owner’s principal place of residence?
Such a move will free up entire properties to be returned to the long-term rental market.
Tasmanians need roofs over their heads now, not in 10 years’ time.
While the Minister and the Premier are keen to talk up increasing the supply of housing over the next ten years they have no short-term plan for vulnerable Tasmanians that need a home today.
Notably the Minister, an owner of a short-stay accommodation property in Swansea himself, declined to say his government would act to release these homes into the long term rental market now.
Limiting Airbnb accommodation to rooms in an owner’s house, would have an immediate impact on Tasmania’s housing crisis and increase supply almost immediately.
The Minister is keen to crow about how strong the Tasmanian economy is, but that is not keeping our vulnerable people safe and warm at night.
