SA rental and housing crisis hits new depths amid search for way out
South Australia’s rental and housing crisis is reaching heart-breaking new depths as more people struggle to find a roof. But there are ideas emerging to try to fix it.
SA News
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A woman who was left homeless for six months after watching her housemate perish in a fire at Woodville West in March says more public housing must be made available to people in emergency situations.
Billie, 29, who did not want her surname published, lived in the western suburbs home with Todd Bradmore and his girlfriend – a friend of Billie’s.
After Mr Bradmore’s death in the alleged arson attack, the two women had to hop between hotels, racking up large debts to fund their stays, from March to September.
Both women have also suffered burns and required a week of treatment in Royal Adelaide Hospital before they were discharged.
They could not return to the Calendar Place home as Mr Bradmore, 31, had been the owner.
“The hospital discharged us with nowhere to go. The social worker told us basically to couch surf,” said Billie.
The pair spent months in hotels and Airbnb properties, for days and weeks at a time, putting them $9000 in debt and draining their savings and Centrelink payments. They struggled to pay for food due to the accommodation costs.
Billie, a psychology student, said little assistance was provided by Victims of Crime SA workers or Housing SA. “In terms of Victims of Crime, I feel like they didn’t help us at all (despite having) special funding for circumstances like this,” she said.
“It was really horrible because we’d been through something so horrible to begin with and nobody seemed to really care at all. And we’d just been locked in a room, on fire, watching one of our good friends … screaming to death. (We were) left with no house or no belongings, nothing.”
The pair last month found student housing in the western suburbs for $330 a week but are having to share a double bed.
Victims of Crime Commissioner Bronwyn Killmier said her team referred victims to homelessness services.
“There is an issue because there are other victims that contact me for housing … I think there is a backlog,” Ms Killmier said. Housing SA said it prioritised victims of crime and would meet with the pair this week.
“People in housing crisis or who are assessed to be at high risk can receive priority services for emergency crisis accommodation and for public housing,” it said.
Alessandro Cavuoto, of Woodville West, was charged with murder over the fatal blaze and will face court again in May.
- Dixie Sulda
Industry push for SA to ease rent pain
By Elizabeth Henson
South Australia must introduce its own affordable rent program to ease the housing crisis caused in part by the axing of the federal National Rental Affordability Scheme, a key industry group says.
Under that scheme, incentives are provided to investors to build homes specifically to be offered as rentals to low-income earners at a rate of at least 20 per cent below the market price.
The Advertiser reported in September that hundreds of South Australians were at risk of becoming homeless as more than 3100 homes across the state come off NRAS over the next five years.
The federal government, which delivers the program in partnership with state and territory governments, decided in 2014 to phase out the scheme, meaning the last NRAS houses in SA will exit the program in 2026.
The Housing Industry Association SA is calling on the state government to step into the breach and operate its own rental affordability program to prevent families and individuals from falling into homelessness.
HIA SA executive director Stephen Knight said the replacement program could be delivered by Revenue SA, possibly in conjunction with HomeStart Finance.
He said it should be open only to individuals, rather than to businesses and other organisations.
“The incentive (for investors) would need to come from the state government and could be rebates for 10 years on land tax, stamp duty concessions on land purchases, emergency services levies and other state-based charges,” Mr Knight said.
He said a new scheme would need to eliminate the opportunity for commissions and excessive fees charged by real estate agents, which compromised the current NRAS scheme.
Mr Knight also suggested increasing to 100 per cent a 50 per cent land tax discount for eligible build-to-rent projects that was included in the state budget, to make the scheme attractive to potential investors.
“The benefits are a consistent pipeline of work for builders as we transition out of HomeBuilder, job security for tradesmen and apprentices and suppliers and best of all a steady supply of affordable rental homes into the market for South Australians struggling to find a home,” he said.
Mr Knight said $76m was set aside in the state budget for a “housing construction stimulus package” which could be used to kick off a new affordable housing program.
Social services groups fear low-income families and individuals will be left without a roof over their heads, or be forced to couch surf, as the national rental subsidy program winds down over the next five years.
They say the 20 per cent discount for renters under the NRAS scheme has, for many, been the difference between being able to afford a place in the rental market or having nowhere to go.
SA Treasurer Rob Lucas said the state government was in discussions with HomeStart and other stakeholders about various affordable housing options, including shared equity programs and rent-to-buy schemes.
“We’re happy to receive a proposal from Stephen and consider it,” he said.
However, Mr Lucas said it would “require a lot of convincing” for him to agree to launch a state-run NRAS-style scheme.
State opposition human services spokeswoman Nat Cook said Labor was developing housing policies ahead of the 2022 state election that would aim to provide support on issues from homelessness to home ownership.
“These policies will focus on delivering jobs, housing those most in need making sure that our homes are sustainable – environmentally, socially and financially – in the decades to come,” Ms Cook said.
Plea to help fund Nishy’s ‘forever’ home
By Elizabeth Henson
It once took Christopher Gower 12 months to feel comfortable enough in his new home to enter the living room.
The 29-year-old, who was born with a rare genetic disorder called cri du chat syndrome, finds it difficult to adapt to change, which is why his mother, and full-time carer, Kylie Gepp is so worried.
Ms Gepp and Christopher, whom she affectionately calls “Nishy,” have been told they must look for new rental accommodation after their landlord decided to sell up.
The pair only moved into the Kersbrook house about 18 months ago and Ms Gepp, 48, fears how another upheaval will affect her son.
“I know of a lot of...families struggling to get housing and people that had to stay in motels because that’s what’s considered emergency housing,” she said.
“I’m just terrified of any of that because my son struggles moving as it is. One house we moved to it took him 12 months to...come and sit in the living room.”
Ms Gepp has started to look for a new house, and hopes to stay in the area or move to the beach, as Christopher adores both the Hills and the ocean.
But as a person on a carer’s pension, Ms Gepp said she goes “straight to the bottom” when it comes to rental applications.
This, at a time when the rental market is squeezing out even moderate income earners, means Ms Gepp has an uphill battle to find a new place to call home.
It is for this reason, a GoFundMe has been created to raise money for a deposit to enable Ms Gepp to buy Christopher his “forever home” so he can have security and never be forced to move again.
Ms Gepp admitted it was hard for her to ask for help because she had never done it before, but she was willing to step out of her comfort zone for the sake of Christopher.
“It’s always been my dream for Nishy to have his own home and just have round the clock carers come in when obviously I’m no longer able to care for him,” Ms Gepp said.
“I don’t want him to ever have to go into an institutionalised care.”
To donate, visit https://GoFundMe/c97acc9a.
Fresh call to stamp out tax
By Gabriel Polychronis
A fresh debate about scrapping stamp duty in South Australia has been sparked by the rise of long-time tax reform campaigner Dominic Perrottet taking over as NSW Premier.
Last year, as NSW Treasurer, Mr Perrottet announced ambitious plans to create “the Netflix of property tax” by giving homebuyers the choice of paying stamp duty upfront or paying an annual land tax.
Then in his first address to the media as premier, Mr Perrottet promised to focus on housing affordability and getting more young people into home ownership.
“We are facing a challenge when it comes to generational equity where many young people today cannot get the keys to their very first home,” he said.
Urban Development Institute of Australia SA boss Pat Gerace said Mr Perrottet’s appointment “can only be a good thing” for prompting SA to consider a similar plan.
SA has already abolished stamp duty on non-residential properties, but has so far resisted phasing it out for homes.
SA’s 2021-22 budget benefited from a massive $200m stamp duty windfall, with an Adelaide property at the median price of $510,000 attracting $23,530 in property transfer tax.
“The least contentious thing about stamp duty is that everyone recognises it’s an inefficient and horrible tax that either stops some people from ever owning their own home, or otherwise makes it difficult for people to move to more suitable accommodation,” Mr Gerace said.
“Retirees lose part of their nest egg and it’s harder for people to move closer to jobs, not to mention the extra costs over the lifetime of the mortgage.”
Mr Gerace suggested a “transition plan” over a long period to help governments adjust their budgets.
The ACT is phasing out the tax over a 20-year period.
Deloitte Economics has previously branded stamp duties “inefficient” and said they penalised individuals and businesses who moved frequently.
But both major SA political parties have ruled out taking any kind of major property tax reform to the March 2022 election and will resist industry calls to phase out stamp duty on homes.
SA Treasurer Rob Lucas flatly ruled out phasing out stamp duty any time soon.
“The notion of introducing an annual land tax on people’s homes of maybe $2000, $3000 or even $4000 each and every year is not an option we’re prepared to support,” Mr Lucas said.
Opposition treasury spokesman Stephen Mullighan said: “We certainly won’t be adding an additional land tax to every South Australian household.”
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