We’re innovating housing to deliver more keys in doors
Delivering housing is much more than providing people with a roof over their head. Having access to safe housing assists people to pursue health, education and employment opportunities, allowing them to thrive and strengthen the communities where we all live.
At NSW Land and Housing Corporation, our role is to actively grow and manage the supply of the right types of housing, at the right time, in the right areas, for people in need in our communities. We manage the largest portfolio in Australia, with over 125,000 properties.
In 1942, the NSW Housing Commission was established to provide a pathway to home ownership for working families and returned services personnel.
Today, housing is a safety net for people in need who can’t otherwise afford to house themselves. The high demand for social, crisis, transitional and affordable housing, continues to outstrip supply.
So we’re innovating housing to deliver more keys in doors, to provide more safe housing for people in need.
Increasing and accelerating the delivery of housing is our imperative. The Portfolio Strategy is our 20-year vision and plan, to grow and change our housing portfolio.
We’re innovating by using data to better understand the needs of the people and families we assist, and the types of housing that are right for them. This understanding guides us to pioneer new ways to deliver a pipeline of safe, well-designed and appropriate properties.
To fund the development of new properties, and to maintain and renew existing properties, we need to generate income. Income is created from the sale of properties that are high-value, high cost to maintain, or at the end of their lifecycle, and from the collection of rent.
We’re innovating housing by building relationships to fund the development of even more properties.
We’re creating and seizing opportunities to collaborate with government and the Aboriginal Housing Office, and partner with industry, developers and community housing providers. Being part of this continuum enables us to use our collective strengths to increase and accelerate a sustainable supply of housing.
Our work supports a government priority to reduce street homelessness.
We work in every corner of our State from regional NSW to the diverse metropolitan suburbs of Sydney. Beyond the housing we deliver and maintain, we also create jobs and stimulate local economies.
We are proud to innovate, to deliver and to maintain our properties.
We know our work assists people and families in need to feel valued, accepted and included. This mission motivates us to continually seek new ways to deliver more keys in doors, to provide people in need with a safe place to call home.
About social housing
At NSW Land and Housing Corporation, our role is to actively grow and manage the supply of the right types of housing, at the right time, in the right areas, for people in need in our communities.
We manage the largest portfolio in Australia, with over 125,000 properties, valued at $51 billion.
What guides our work
- Future Directions for Social Housing is the NSW Government’s strategy to transform the housing system and provide a whole of government approach to deliver more housing and a better housing experience.
- Housing 2041 is the NSW Government 20-year housing strategy, so that all people, at all stages of their lives, will be able to access the right type of housing at the right time.
- The LAHC Portfolio Strategy 2020 set’s out our 20-year vision and priorities to grow and change our social housing portfolio; to provide people with the right type of housing, in the right area, at the right time, and to improve our financial sustainability as a self-funded housing provider.
- Our work supports a government priority to reduce street homelessness across NSW by 50% by 2025.
Supply and demand
The high demand for social, crisis, transitional and affordable housing outstrips supply. The priority accommodation waitlist currently sits at 5,000 households, so new and more housing is needed.
Most people living in housing are older, past working age, live alone and 93% rely on the age, disability or some other pension for income and people are staying in the properties longer.
There are many housing properties that are under-occupied. Underoccupancy describes a situation where one or two older people, perhaps having raised their family, remain living in a three-bedroom property.
We are working on ways to address under-occupancy, so that people in need are in the right types of housing, at the right time, in the right areas.
We are innovating to increase and accelerate supply
In 1942, the NSW Housing Commission was established to provide a pathway to home ownership for working families and returned services personnel. Today, housing is a safety net for people in need who can’t otherwise afford to house themselves.
To meet the high demand for housing, we need to change and grow our housing portfolio:
- We’re using data to better understand the needs of the people and families we assist, to design and deliver housing that is right for them
- We are building relationships to fund the development of even more properties by creating and seizing opportunities to collaborate with government and the Aboriginal Housing Office, and partner with industry, developers, and community housing providers
- We collaborate and partner to increase and accelerate the supply of more safe, well designed, appropriate, and well-located housing delivered at the right time, in the right areas, for people in need in NSW.
How is social housing designed and built?
We are leading the transformation of housing through Good Design for housing with LAHC Dwelling Requirements which provide clear guidelines on the design and development of housing properties:
- design quality
- environmental performance
- operational effectiveness and
- wellbeing for each tenant
Many of our properties are too old and too costly to maintain. They are no longer the right types of housing for the people who need them.
Mixed-tenure communities create more opportunity for integration, unlike housing estates of old, that had a high concentration of housing.
To create a sense of belonging to support the physical, cultural, social, and economic wellbeing of people, we create safe and secure housing and inclusive communities.
We deliver housing, made up of different property types, to suit the needs of people and their communities, in regional and metropolitan NSW.
The right type of safe and secure housing helps people and families in need to feel
valued, accepted and included.
How does new social housing benefit residents?
The NSW Government’s vision for social housing is set out in the Future Directions for Social Housing in NSW strategy.
LAHC delivers the NSW Government’s Future Directions for Social Housing policy to provide more and better social housing in integrated communities to better assist residents.
We are replacing ageing properties of the past with architecturally designed, contemporary homes, transforming communities, boosting economies and supporting jobs.
Who supports social housing residents?
A number of NSW Government and not-for-profit agencies provide housing support to social housing residents:
- LAHC owns and maintains social housing properties across NSW. These properties are leased to residents by the Department of Communities and Justice. LAHC also leases properties directly to Community Housing Providers.
- NSW Department of Communities and Justice manages the leases of social housing residents. In NSW, social housing homes are leased at market rates. Tenants can apply for rental subsidies, which are based on each person’s circumstances.
- Community Housing Providers are not-for-profit companies funded by the NSW Government to lease properties to social housing residents. They manage and maintain those properties as well as the leases with social housing residents. Their properties are owned by LAHC or by other property owners. Tenants can apply for rental subsidies.