The Hodgman Liberal Government is making strong progress on addressing Tasmania’s housing shortage and delivering on the outcomes from the Housing Summit.
That is why we have released for consultation draft legislation to fast track zoning changes for government land identified as suitable for residential development that will add to the supply of affordable housing.
This is just the latest step our Government is taking to boost the supply of new affordable housing to meet growing demand.
So far our Affordable Housing Strategy has helped more than 500 new households into affordable, secure and safe homes and is on track to assisting 1,600 households into affordable housing by June 2019.
The Tasmanian Government is investing a further $125 million in the second stage of our Affordable Housing Plan which is expected to provide an additional 1500 new affordable homes for Tasmanians, and assist around 2000 households.
This is on top of the $73.5 million already invested into housing, bringing the total investment to almost $200 million over eight years.
We recognise the real challenges that some Tasmanians are facing when trying to find affordable housing, and we are committed to delivering on our ten year Affordable Housing Strategy 2015-2025.
As part of our shorter term initiatives, we sought interest from property owners for a new Private Rental Incentive Scheme which is coming online this month. We have had an overwhelming response to the pilot program, with over 200 expressions of interest in the scheme, with the next phase commencing today.
The eligibility criteria is now available on the DHHS website, with further information and the application form being provided to interested property owners from this Friday. It is expected that 110 properties will be used in the initial 12 month pilot.
These short term initiatives build on our work over the last term, including 78 two-bedroom units coming online across the state, a nine unit facility for youth at risk in Moonah, and a 25 unit youth accommodation facility in Devonport all being completed by the end of June.
The Hodgman Liberal Government is getting on with the job and we are working hard to address the entire housing spectrum from home ownership, to affordable rentals, and crisis accommodation to ensure every Tasmanian has a roof over their head.
A fact sheet on our actions to address the housing issues can be found here: http://www.premier.tas.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/373511/Action_on_Housing_Fact_Sheet.pdf