The national cabinet has decided that the states and territories will be eligible for a “new home bonus” of up to $3 billion if they contribute to meeting the revised target of 1.2 million new homes during the next five years.
In an effort to increase supply and make homes and housing more affordable, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated on Wednesday that the incentive payment will reward jurisdictions $15,000 for every homes supplied that is in excess of the previous objective of 1 million dwellings over a period of five years beginning in July 2024.
In addition, the federal government has announced that it will grant local and state governments with a total of $500 million in the form of competitive financing to assist them in bringing “well-located” new housing supply online. This will be accomplished by linking needed utilities, amenities to support new homes construction, or building planning capabilities.
“Supply is the key to putting downward pressure [on rent] and helping renters,” Albanese told reporters in Brisbane, in addition to a package of “sensible renters’ rights.” Albanese is a member of the Australian House of Representatives.
The national cabinet has agreed to consistent national rules on tenants’ rights, as was revealed by media on Tuesday. These criteria include capping rent rises at once per year and mandating “genuine reasonable grounds for eviction” before a lease can be terminated in the middle of the term.
These reforms will improve renters’ rights in Western Australia and the Northern Territory, but the Greens have already warned that they will do nothing to prevent “unlimited rent increases.” Those warnings are despite the fact that these measures will improve tenants’ rights.
Because of the ongoing debate regarding the imposition of a restriction or cap on rent rises, the passage of Labor’s $10 billion housing Australia future fund, which would provide at least $500 million annually for social and affordable housing, is not yet assured to take place.
The Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Anthony Albanese, stated that the amendments to renters’ rights “will make a tangible impact for the almost one-third of Australians who rent,” which includes minimum rental requirements.
Documents from the national cabinet state that this entails having both hot and cold running water, in addition to a stovetop that functions properly.
Additionally, jurisdictions vowed to implement a ban on soliciting rent bidding and to investigate other alternatives for improving the regulation of short-stay residential accommodations.
A national planning reform blueprint was discussed and approved by the national cabinet. This blueprint includes planning, zoning, and land release initiatives that are intended to increase housing supply and affordability.
Among these include the promotion of medium and high-density housing in regions that are well-located and adjacent to existing links for public transportation, as well as the simplification of approval pathways.
In June, Minister Albanese announced a $2 billion social and affordable housing accelerator. As part of this initiative, states and territories have presented a detailed implementation plan outlining the number of units they want to construct.
Since the federal government does not regulate land release, zoning, or approvals, as Albanese pointed out, there are “limits to what the commonwealth can do” in regards to the housing supply.
After months of denying the Greens’ requests to pay the states to limit rent increases, Albanese stated that the $3 billion incentive payment “borrowed unashamedly from some of the Hawke government” reforms paying states to execute competition policy. This came after months of denying the Greens’ requests.
Albanese responded that he had been “negotiating and talking with first ministers, not with minor parties” when he was asked about the demands of the Greens for a rental cap.
You cannot vote against the Housing Australia Future Fund and argue that you favor increasing the housing supply at the same time.
The Greens, along with the Coalition and One Nation, who have come together to create a no-alition in the Senate, need to get on board with this homes scheme.
Albanese pointed out that “no jurisdiction” considered that a restriction on rental increases would have a “positive difference.” “In point of fact, we think that will make the situation even more difficult.”
Max Chandler-Mather, the housing spokesperson for the Green Party, stated earlier on Wednesday that capping rent rises at once per 12 months is “effectively no change for the vast majority of renters in the country.”
“An unlimited rent increase is still an unlimited rent increase,” he stated on media, saying that the prime minister and Labor premiers should “take responsibility for every rent increase that happens” after refusing to impose caps on homes. “An unlimited rent increase is still an unlimited rent increase,” he stated.
In November, the national cabinet will get together once more to talk about health care reform and funding.
