Housing affordability too hard for us to fix alone, local councils say

A landmark survey of every Australian municipality has revealed the country’s patchwork approach to the housing affordability crisis.

Less than half of the nation’s 546 councils responded for the Housing Locally report — in itself a suggestion of apathy — the first attempt to comprehensively survey local government on affordability, and those that did overwhelmingly said the problem was beyond their powers to fix.

“The big message is, and it’s not terribly surprising, a lot of local governments recognise there is a serious affordable housing issue but they feel absolutely powerless,” Alan Morris, one of the report authors and research professor at the University of Technology Sydney, said.

While the majority of councils that responded acknowledged there was a problem, with the results more pronounced in city areas than regional, many councils reported they didn’t prioritise housing affordability because they do not have the funding, housing stock or policies available to them to tackle the problem.

Mr Morris said without macro policy and funding commitments from federal and state governments, councils were not equipped to deal with the issue.

“To solve the issue you need revenue and policy and they are generally generated by state governments, like inclusionary zoning,” he said.

More than half of the councils didn’t have an overarching housing plan or strategy and an overwhelming 88 per cent of councils didn’t have an explicit housing affordability target or goal.

Mr Morris said the onus was on the federal government to prioritise secure, affordable housing on a national level, helping the other two tiers of government coordinate their efforts.

“In the same way public health and education is seen as a human right, affordable, secure housing should be seen as a human right. It is foundational to a decent life … families without affordable housing, their lives are shattered, you’re constantly stressed,” he said.

Sydney mayors have previously called on the NSW government to fast track planning measures that would allow them to cater for affordable housing in a systematic way.

A decade ago the City of Sydney became the first council in Sydney to be afforded inclusionary zoning, and has since asked the state government to expand the planning lever across its entire LGA in a bid to add another 3600 affordable homes.

Mr Morris pointed to City of Sydney as the “shining example” for its affordable housing plan and target.

“They’ve got a target, they’re very focused, they’ve made very strong statements [arguing for it]. I don’t think any other council comes near it. City of Sydney has built over 800 [affordable] dwellings in the past decade. They’ve made a difference but it’s been a huge struggle even as one of the most financially well off councils,” he said.

In Brisbane, the city council has proposed a ban on apartments and units on land suited to single houses, which some critics have labelled as a step backwards for housing affordability.

Meanwhile, the leafy eastern suburbs of Melbourne remain locked up by laws favouring larger family homes too.

But Australian Local Government Association president David O’Loughlin said 213 councils responding to a voluntary survey displayed a high level of interest, and that the results showed councils are “hamstrung”.

Cr O’Loughlin said despite councils being at the coalface of the problem, federal and state governments controlled tax and planning settings that dictated what could be delivered on the ground.

“Councils see the issues first hand but don’t have the powers to resolve them. We need both leadership and partnership at both state and federal levels,” he said.

“The survey showed there was a huge variety of responses from councils, ranging from land contribution to private-public partnerships to concessions and all manner of interventions at the local level, but these are the small end of the spectrum.

“We could have far more impact if we’re engaged with willing state and federal government sectors.”