How is the draft Housing Strategy different from the existing Homelessness, Social Housing and Housing Affordability Policy?
The draft Housing Strategy is focussed on housing outcomes and affordability and has a stronger focus on interventions while also continue to advocate for reforms to achieve the proposed goals and targets.
I commented on the Homelessness, Social Housing and Housing Affordability Policy engagement last year, do I need to comment on the draft Housing Strategy?
The development of the draft Housing Strategy has taken into account feedback received as part of the previous engagement, however as it now proposes goals and targets and more specific actions for the Council to undertake we encourage new submissions on these elements.
What do we mean by ‘Housing Stress’?
Households in the bottom 40% of household incomes that are spending more than 30% of their gross income on housing costs are considered to be in housing stress.
What do we mean by ‘Social Housing’?
Social housing is affordable housing provided by the government and community sectors to assist people who are unable to afford or access suitable accommodation in the private rental market. It includes public housing, state owned and managed Indigenous housing (SOMIH) and community housing.
Public housing is owned and managed by state and territory governments while community housing is housing that is either owned or managed by not-for-profit community sector organisations.
What do we mean by ‘Affordable Housing’?
Affordable housing is designed and priced to cost people no more than 30% of their gross income if they are on a low or moderate income (purchase or rent).
What is the difference between Social and Affordable Housing?
Affordable housing is not the same as social housing or community housing. Social housing and community housing is owned/managed by government or not-for-profit community groups.
Affordable housing is open to a broader range of household incomes than social housing.
Affordable housing is related to the percentage of gross income (currently 30%) a household has to contribute towards the rent/mortgage.
Affordable housing is typically discounted by offering subsidised rent, or fixed price housing to eligible households (low to moderate income earners) that are designed and delivered at a certain price point.
What are key workers?
Key workers are service workers most likely to be priced out during real estate booms or gentrification. For the purposes of the draft Housing Strategy, City of Adelaide defines key workers as people who work in:
What do we mean by ‘adaptive reuse’?
Adaptive reuse refers to the re-purposing and refitting of an existing building or structure to accommodate a new function – in this case residential dwellings. This process can involve modifications to meet current building codes and legislation and fulfill occupant expectations.
The draft Housing Strategy recognises the potential of latent building stock, including vacant spaces above shops, to increase housing supply, preserve and activate existing properties and retain embedded energy, with an ambition to deliver a range of dwelling types (targeting 50 dwelling per year).
Council is committed to supporting adaptive reuse through a range of mechanisms including policy frameworks, partnerships, and grants.
What incentive schemes does the City of Adelaide currently offer?
The City of Adelaide offers a range of incentive schemes that are applicable to housing including:
What is the NatHERs Rating?
Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) assessments are the most common way to meet the minimum energy efficiency requirements of the National Construction Code (NCC).
Homes are given a star rating between 0 and 10. A higher star rating means the home is more comfortable to live in and is cheaper to run. Lower star ratings mean a home is more costly to keep comfortable.[1]
