Millions in the Middle launches secondary home scheme to combat homelessness
A growing demographic of people can’t afford housing despite having good jobs, but a new social enterprise has a plan for how the humble granny flat could help.
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As more and more people can’t afford housing despite having good jobs, a new social enterprise has a plan for how the humble granny flat could help.
Community worker Elisa McFazden said she was sitting around a table with friends one day and realised they all met the definition for homelessness.
When she met building designer Jenna Armstrong and marketer Stacey Lia at a Split Spaces sustainability event, they soon decided to start Millions in the Middle.
The Millions co-founders debated various options, but landed on secondary dwellings as a solution for housing insecure people and a way for homeowners to help.
“Everyone says (housing) is a massive issue, but there’s nothing we can do about it ... people feel a bit disempowered,” Ms McFazden said.
“(Secondary dwellings) are just one piece of the puzzle with the housing crisis, this isn’t going to solve everything.
“But actually let’s look (for) hope, rather than people being hopeless.”
There are now four concepts for dwellings designed to fit into the block of an existing home, either for single people, retirees, FIFO workers, or families.
Ms McFazden said Millions was designed to support builders throughout every step of the process, with flats starting at $140,000 and completed in just four months.
While still a traditional build in its methods, she said the flats’ smaller sizes meant less cost in terms of time and materials.
A key shift for Millions was when the Queensland government changed its legislation in September 2022, allowing granny flats to be rented out to non-relatives.
She said the change opened up a lot of possibilities for a town like Mackay, struggling with not just a lack of housing but diverse housing options.
The Millions in the Middle website states a granny flat is the most popular type of secondary dwelling, basically extra living space situated within, attached to, or detached from the primary dwelling on the same property.
Ms McFazden said the next step was reaching out to home and property owners who might consider building; to earn extra income, to support a friend, or to
“We have to try something,” she said.
Millions in the Middle gave a presentation at the Greater Whitsundays Communities Housing Summit on August 15.
An URBIS report tendered on the day advocated for the formation of a Greater Whitsundays Housing Alliance for stakeholders to work towards solving the crisis.
On August 25, Regional Development Australia Greater Whitsundays (RDA GW) committed $10,000 to the Housing Alliance for both the 2022/23 and 2023/24.
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