Chapter 6 - Housing diversity
6.1
The argument in Chapter 5 centres on acknowledging that the challenge of
increasing the supply of residential housing in Australia is not simply a
matter of releasing more land and building more houses. Crucially, housing
stock must also be suited to the needs and the means of purchasers. For most
regions it would be appropriate for there to be different housing options which
offer a choice of dwelling size, tenure type and price. This chapter looks at
the evidence of the adequacy of the housing mix in Australia and notes some solutions
for increasing the stock of affordable housing.
The lack of diversity
6.2
Many residential developments in Australia have ignored the need for a
diverse mix of housing. On several occasions, the committee heard from
witnesses about new housing developments comprising exclusively large four
bedroom, two bathroom houses with three car garages, often colloquially
described as 'McMansions'.
6.3
Professor Terry Burke from the Australian Housing and Urban Research
Institute told the committee: 'Historically, I do
not think we have really built suburbs as lacking in diversity as those we are
building at the moment'.[1]
6.4
Anecdotally, the committee notes that housing diversity is a particular
problem in western Sydney. Community advocates were often critical that the
lack of housing diversity was ignoring the needs of low income earners. As the Director
of the Macarthur Community Forum told the committee:
All land release that I am aware of in this region is being
targeted for large houses and high-income people. So we are still not
addressing the needs of those people that are in mortgage crisis, have a low
income or are unemployed.[2]
6.5
She noted that the south-western outer urban areas of Sydney, with ample
land, predominantly have houses with three bedrooms or more. However the area
has many single parents, single people and a growing aged population. The need,
therefore, is also for smaller dwellings.[3]
6.6
The Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC) noted that
the bulk of the housing stock in western Sydney is increasingly unsuited to the
changing demographic composition of the region. The Assistant Director of WSROC
told the committee that in her time working for the Baulkham Hills Council:
...developers...claimed they did market research, in fact all they
did was an analysis of what sold well last year...which were very much targeted
to families with young children particularly...But in more recent years,
particularly because of the cost of housing...areas are now accommodating people
with older families, people trading up, second- and third-time buyers, and
quite often elderly people who want to move to the fringe if their families
have moved there. So the nature of the housing stock that was being produced
did not actually fit the current demographics of the area...[4]
6.7
The Real Estate Institute of Western Australia also identified the lack
of housing diversity as a key problem:
WA has a love affair with single detached housing, and we have
seen the proportion of multiresidential affordable housing actually go
backwards in real terms over the last 10 years. For us, having housing
diversity is a major issue because we think it is important for affordability,
particularly in the rental sector.[5]
6.8
It is not only developers that may be inhibiting diversity:
In a number of developments you do have covenants which are
intended to influence the type of housing development that occurs. You have
local council planning requirements which influence design, types of building
products that can be utilised, house sizes.[6]
Problems caused by lack of diversity
6.9
FaHCSIA opined that 'the best sorts of developments are those that have
fairly mixed tenant profiles or homeowner profiles'.[7]
The Planning Institute of Australia also:
...considers that a broad socioeconomic mix is a vital attribute
of sustainable development...affordable housing spread broadly across
metropolitan areas is critical to ensure that low- to middle-income-earning
essential workers—for instance, childcare workers, educators, nursing
assistants and the like—are able to live affordably and in close proximity to
where they are needed.[8]
6.10
The committee emphasises the importance of a diverse housing mix to
ensure that Australia's cities are not segregated according to housing types
and, therefore, demographics and income. Public housing developments in capital
cities are often examples of the problems that arise if specific areas are set
aside to meet the housing needs of a particularly narrow socio-demographic
cohort. Australia should not go down the path of some American and third-world
cities with a residential 'apartheid' between 'ghettoes' of low-income people
and gated communities of the rich, with very little social interaction between
the two groups, and very different qualities of local facilities such as
schools and cultural venues.
6.11
As well as these concerns, a lack of diversity means that young adults
seeking to live independently and older 'empty nesters' wanting to move to
smaller accommodation are often forced to move away from their communities
simply due to a lack of suitable accommodation. As a planner from Ballina put
it:
...the reason a lot of people want a larger dwelling is the resale
value and the sense that at the appropriate time you can then sell that large
dwelling and buy a smaller dwelling which is more appropriate to your needs as
you age. However, there may be a mismatch there because of the fact that we do
not actually have those smaller dwellings to move into.[9]
6.12
The Victorian Division of the Planning Institute of Australia suggested
that what is being marketed by developers is not what makes for a connected
community:
One of the things we are trying to explore is whether or not a
lot of the product that is being delivered is what the communities are seeking
or whether they are just buying it because it is cheaper to buy a product than
it is to buy a house. The idea of having a range and diversity of housing is
something that needs to be instilled in our planning policies. To take that a
bit further, we have the notion of what makes a good community. A community is
one where people feel connected, where people feel they have access to services
and facilities and where people feel that they have some form of housing that
meets their basic needs. I think that as we go through the debate on housing
affordability, we can get caught up in what is being marketed to us on a
broader scale and we do not necessarily come back to these notions of good
communities.[10]
Policy responses and their critics
6.13
One response to increase the diversity of housing is to encourage, or
require, developers to provide a range of housing types in new developments, a
process sometimes called 'inclusionary zoning'. A common example is to require
that a specific proportion—typically between 10 and 15 per cent—of housing be
smaller, affordable, housing.
6.14
This is common in Europe and also practised in the United States:
Amongst the countries that we would compare ourselves with, Australia
is a laggard in dealing with that sort of issue. The United States has
inclusionary zoning, the United Kingdom has inclusionary zoning, and much of Europe
has other programs explicitly to make certain that a percentage of the housing
that is constructed each year is of an affordable nature.[11]
6.15
The governments that appear to be taking initiatives to ensure new developments
have a diversity of housing types, and specifically include some housing
accessible to lower income Australians, are those of South Australia and the
ACT. The former was commended by National Shelter:
...the real benefit of the South Australian approach is that it
has set up a system around its planning system to try and ensure that 15 per
cent of all new developments have affordable housing on them and one third of
that be social housing.[12]
6.16
The South Australian Government's 2005 State Housing Plan has set
a 15 per cent target for affordable housing. The state government is
also aiming to increase affordable home purchases and rental opportunities by
five percentage points by 2014 to 38.8 per cent of all state dwelling sales. To
assist in these goals, the state's Development Act was amended in 2007 to
streamline development assessment processes and link affordable housing targets
(among others) to local government strategies and development plans. The
Development Act now makes explicit reference to affordable housing.[13]
6.17
The South Australian Division of the Planning Institute of Australia explained
that the affordable housing target:
...is currently being embedded into planning policy, with the
introduction of policy modules to provide for 15 per cent affordable housing in
major developments. Planning policy that encourages the development of
affordable housing is also to be embedded within development plans...The way that
we see housing affordability is that it is around not just the price of the
dwelling or how much rental it attracts but also other issues that need to be
taken into consideration concerning the longer term affordability of that
accommodation. That relates to housing being in reasonable proximity to people’s
employment or employment opportunities, access to public transport and other
sorts of services, such as schools, hospitals, shops et cetera...Appropriate
types of housing and diversity of housing to meet the different needs of people
and targeting products that also meet different sectors of the market,
particularly some of the higher needs groups, including first home buyers,
migrants, retirees, people with disabilities and other sorts of people, are all
key considerations in affordable housing.[14]
6.18
Asked to comment on perceived concerns among residents in outer urban developments
that the affordable housing requirement would attract so-called 'poorer and
probably more undesirable' residents, the Institute responded:
Effectively trying to mix up affordable housing, which is not
necessarily high needs but rather people who do not earn as much income and who
are struggling to buy a house, makes more sense than concentrating them all
together...
...the rules the local council uses to assess whether or not an
affordable housing proposal should be approved should envisage whether or not,
in principle, it is appropriate—close to shops, train stations and that sort of
thing. Whilst there may be angst from some of the locals about affordable
housing bringing down the neighbourhood, the actual rules should envisage that
the social mix where affordable housing is proposed is appropriate. People
should have a house.[15]
6.19
The ACT government requires that 15 per cent of all new greenfield developments
must be affordable housing stock, based on new planning regulations which
specify smaller compact blocks.[16]
As they elaborated:
...we are looking at housing in the $200,000 to $300,000 bracket
and we are also targeting land in the $60,000 to $120,000 bracket, whereas
previously it would have been very difficult to find a block under $150,000 in Canberra.[17]
6.20
The ACT government owns all greenfield land and sells it to developers
with an explicit requirement for a housing mix. The committee heard that
smaller, more affordable homes on smaller blocks have been embraced by the
market:
I am aware of one of the early estates which is currently
running at, I think, 38 per cent in that range. If the developers choose to go
there, it is a minimum requirement and many developers are in fact finding that
it is a market that they want to target more aggressively. It is fair to say
that the development industry was fairly wary of this when it was introduced,
but in fact we are now being told that the compact blocks and affordable end is
the fastest seller in Canberra at the moment.[18]
6.21
In New South Wales, an attempt at inclusionary zoning at Green Square
was set back by a court ruling that affordable housing was not a valid
objective under planning legislation. Subsequent amendments now allow for it.[19]
6.22
In addition to state and territory governments, some councils are also
actively working to ensure there is a diversity in new housing developments.
The Brisbane City Council noted that:
A master plan was developed for Rochedale and that emphasised it
as being an urban community, not a suburban residential estate...some of the key
features are that it has a town centre and zonings for denser residential
development and mixed use development adjacent to the town centre; it has
provisions for denser development along some of the main access routes, which
will be the main public transport access routes; and it has some quite high
environmental standards for the more normal subdivision of residential lots
outside that. That had some resistance at the start because people were saying
that that location—some 20 minutes from central Brisbane—should not be looked
at to provide units. But now it is seen as quite sensible.[20]
6.23
The manner in which the careful design and provision of infrastructure
to support community life in regional centres can play a key role in reducing
the pressures on our sprawling cities through targeted regional development
policies is discussed in more detail in Chapter 11.
6.24
There are specific provisions to encourage affordable housing within
developments:
...we give some small additional floor space and some relief from
council charges if the developer includes, within their development, units for
affordable housing, and they covenant them for 10 years. Our experience has
been that we have that 10-year limit and after that it will revert to market
housing. So our impact is quite limited, but that is what we are trying to
achieve in these areas.[21]
6.25
Brisbane City Council has also eased restrictions on high-rise
developments in parts of the city to provide another form of housing.[22]
6.26
Campbelltown City Council requires developers to include a proportion of
single bedroom dwellings in developments as one way of encouraging provision of
some affordable housing.[23]
6.27
Developers often object to such mandatory policies on the grounds that
they are building uniform housing because that is what the markets demand. In
some cases there was evidence from other sources supporting the developers'
views. For example, in Campbelltown in western Sydney the committee heard
evidence that, despite development approval being given for higher density
housing (apartments) close to the railway line, there had been little uptake by
developers, investors or buyers:
You can buy a house for less than you would pay for a
two-bedroom apartment. I do not think the railway station and the access to the
city figure in our purchases. In Ashfield or Burwood or those sorts of middle
ring or inner ring suburbs, it is good to get a two-bedroom apartment...That
market has not struck us yet, and it is going to be a while before it does, I
think... You will see when you come into the area that there is one major
high-rise that still has a big crane over the top of it. It has about 170
apartments in it. They are really struggling to sell them. It is not working at
all.[24]
6.28
Other witnesses suggested that there was a market for smaller, more
modest, homes but that developers were not providing such products because of
an (often unfounded) belief that they would not sell:
We face the problem that, if you ask the development industry
about building a greater diversity of housing, they say there is no demand for
it... Part of the reason for no demand is that the demand in most areas has not
actually been tested. If you keep building the same product and do not offer
the consumer a diversity of products so that you can find out whether there is
demand, you actually do not know.[25]
6.29
There is some evidence, however, that some developers are providing
smaller, more compact housing on the periphery of capital cities. The City of Casey
Council in south‑east Melbourne told the committee that in a recent new
release area in Cranbourne North:
...demand for lots at the rate of $150,000 per lot and in the
order of $250,000 for houses is dropping, and people are opting for a more
affordable product. In growth areas that means a smaller lot typology—smart
blocks, with less of a building footprint...We are very interested in housing
diversity, and that is the key to any sustainable community—allowing for all
types of housing and all types of people in those houses to downscale or
upscale housing locally so that you have some integrity and continuity of the
community.[26]
6.30
The UDIA also supported the idea that people are willing to live in a
modest size dwelling, if it is more affordable:
...I think people are already adjusting the size of the dwelling
they want to live in. As we are seeing the demographic bubble of baby boomers,
who are very much the ‘move up house’ generation of the last decade or so, move
through the demographics, I think we are seeing smaller households, people with
one or two children, actually quite happy to have a more modest sized dwelling.
I think the short answer to your question is that expectations will manage
themselves, depending on what people can afford.[27]
6.31
The committee did hear some interesting suggestions from developers to
improve affordable housing. The Western Australian Division of the UDIA offered
the following two suggestions:
The first is to encourage small dwellings in medium-density
development by changing the planning controls to be based on plot ratio and
height rather than dwellings by hectare. This would encourage more small
dwellings on each development site. The second point...is to provide a land tax
rebate for investors which would involve dwellings under, say, 120 square metres.
This would encourage developers to build smaller houses to sell to investors,
who would then rent them out...This scheme could also be complemented by a stamp
duty rebate to investors who purchase dwellings under 120 square metres for
rental purposes.[28]
6.32
Ballina Shire Council are encouraging 'adaptable' housing. They
explained:
...adaptable housing, that is housing for which the initial design
of the building allows the structure of the building to change over time, with
minor internal renovations. This may involve allowing the structure of the
dwelling to change, relatively easily, from a four-bedroom family home, to two
two-bedroom units (and possibly back again) as the needs of the community, and
the occupants of the dwelling, change over time. This requires forethought in
the design of the building, with regard to access, plumbing, wiring, bedrooms,
storage areas, private open space and convertible spaces (for additional
kitchens and bathrooms). The potential benefits associated with adaptable
housing include cost savings (thereby increasing the opportunities for low
income earners to enter the market) and flexibility for private rentals,
reduced environmental impact from construction (and the use of resources) and
flexibility in meeting the community's future housing needs. Adaptable housing
can also avoid the over-occupancy of dwellings, allowing existing residents to
stay/age in place, whilst downscaling the amount of space needed and providing
an additional source of income through rental of the additional unit.[29]
6.33
There are also substantial planning challenges if a more diverse housing
mix is to be sustained. The committee notes criticisms that Australia's housing
and planning policies are poorly integrated and that state and local
governments' planning systems have offered very little by way of concrete
action on affordable housing. Both points have been emphasised in evidence from
academics:
...the need to think about how we integrate our planning policies
and our housing policies in a way which we have not done so far. Housing policy
is seen as a box over here, planning is seen as a box over there—run by other people—and
I think we have to move towards a system which really integrates the two...In the
postwar period, housing policy was seen as a way of delivering urban growth. It
was a deliberate planning policy. In a way, we have lost that linkage because
we believe that the market will deliver. I think we need to understand that the
market needs to be assisted to deliver in some places. It certainly has not
delivered affordable housing outcomes that have been appropriate.[30]
For some reason the planning sector itself in Australia—and I
will be the first to admit this, as a planning academic—has been quite
reluctant to accept that broader policy objective of housing affordability as
well as the specific policy objective of maintaining and creating opportunities
for new housing that is specifically affordable to lower and moderate income
earners. Australia is actually quite out of step with international practice in
that regard. Most cities of the United States, most regions of the United
States, many parts of England and across the United Kingdom accept this very
symbiotic relationship between spatial planning policy and affordable housing.[31]
Conclusion
6.34
The committee contends that there is a need for Australia's planning
frameworks to set a target for affordable housing. It acknowledges the
initiatives of the South Australian and ACT governments in this regard. Any
target should be properly integrated within state and local governments'
planning and housing strategies. New stock of affordable housing must be
carefully planned and integrated into wider residential developments. Finally,
the committee highlights the commercial success of several smaller, more compact
and cheaper housing designs. It encourages developers to continue testing these
market opportunities and urges state governments to consider incentives for
developers to do so.
Recommendation 6.1
6.35 The committee recommends that state and territory
governments introduce enabling legislation for inclusionary zoning to require
affordable housing in all new developments, including a proportion of social
housing.
Recommendation 6.2
6.36 The committee recommends that the state and
territory governments encourage and promote the design and construction of
adaptable housing which facilitates access improvements for the elderly and
disabled and allow a larger house to be converted into smaller, separate units.
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