Experts Advocate Benefits of Community Housing to NSW Government’s Housing Strategy

A team of housing experts, led by Associate Professor Louise Crabtree, has made a submission in response to the NSW Government’s A Housing Strategy for NSW - Discussion Paper (opens in a new window).

The submission (opens in a new window)(PDF, 425KB) details the benefits of housing cooperatives and community land trusts (CLTs) as alternatives to current models. Overseas cases have demonstrated success in fostering housing stability, affordability, and diversity through innovative, place-based design responses.

Sitting between owning and renting, housing cooperatives and CLTs offer a range of tenure options and price points. While these sectors are small and, for CLTs, in the early stages of growth in Australia, the models have the potential to provide affordable, accessible, and socially beneficial solutions to the nation’s housing crisis.

The submission is authored by Associate Professor Louise Crabtree, Dr Emma Power and Dr Neil Perry, Western Sydney University; Dr Sidsel Grimstad, University of Newcastle; Dr Joanne McNeill, Griffith University; and Associate Professor Wendy Stone, Swinburne University of Technology.

Associate Professor Crabtree, Dr Perry, Dr Grimstad, Associate Professor Stone and Dr Emma Power have recently been awarded an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant to further investigate the benefits of housing cooperatives. The project outcome will be an evidence base of what works in cooperative housing, providing a rationale for growth of, and policy support for, socially beneficial housing.

The NSW Housing Strategy will set a 20-year vision for housing in NSW, and outline the key priorities and actions the NSW Government will take to achieve this vision, alongside its delivery partners.

The NSW Government is currently reviewing submissions received. Feedback will help inform the development of the NSW Housing Strategy and first Action Plan.

Posted: 4 August 2020