Coast2Bay CEO Andrew Elvin hopes Queensland’s Housing and Homelessness Action Plan is just the beginning

The Queensland Housing and Homelessness Action Plan commits 137 new social housing homes to be built on the Sunshine Coast over the next four years.

Sunshine Coast housing advocate Coast2Bay is calling on the state and federal governments for more affordable rentals to be made available in the region.

The Queensland Government in June launched its Queensland Housing and Homelessness Action Plan 2021-2025, which includes a $1.9 billion investment over four years under the Queensland Housing Investment Growth Initiative.

The plan committed to 137 new social housing homes to be built on the Coast over the next four years.

Projects were also underway in Beerwah, Yandina, and Little Mountain, as part the department’s plan to increase housing supply on the Sunshine Coast.

The Sunshine Coast Daily has launched the Locked Out campaign in a bid to shed a light on the devastating impacts of the housing affordability crisis on the region.

Coast2Bay CEO Andrew Elvin said he was supportive of the plan but since the pandemic began, the need for more housing had become more urgent.

Coast2Bay CEO Andrew Elvin is calling for more affordable rentals on the Coast.

“While the dwelling numbers for new social housing dwellings are modest we see these as minimum numbers and we expect that in reality more will be delivered once individual projects are assessed at the end of the year,” he said.

“Through the Covid pandemic the Department of Housing has been agile and responsive to changing needs on the Sunshine Coast and we expect this to continue.”

Mr Elvin said the federal government also needed to “join the party” in planning for the Coast’s future to ensure affordable housing was made available.

“An urgent plan is needed to sustain, replace or expand the existing 1,000 National Rental Affordability Scheme properties on the Sunshine Coast that are due to expire over the next three years,” he said.

“It’s time for meaningful cross party support and greater co-ordination of existing and new funding between State and Federal Governments, in order to tackle the shortfall in community and affordable rental housing in Queensland and the Sunshine Coast.”

A Department of Communities, Housing and Digital Economy spokeswoman said people were being connected with services that addressed their immediate housing needs as a short-term solution.

“Our Maroochydore Housing Service Centre alone has provided 663 bond loans totalling more than $825,000 and 186 rental grants worth more than $109,000 to help people secure a rental home in the region during the 2020-21 financial year,” she said.

Mr Elvin said there was a strong need to investigate alternative solutions for long term affordable housing options, including implementing inclusionary zoning into local planning schemes.

“This will mean large developments will be mandated to include a significant proportion of homes for affordable rentals in partnership with community housing providers,” he said.

“This would bring us in line with most OECD countries that have inclusionary zoning planning frameworks.

“This combined with a stream of institutional investment could be a game changer for the Sunshine Coast over the medium to long term.”

The Queensland Government had partnered with Coast2Bay Housing Group to deliver 60 new affordable homes in Beerwah and Yandina.

A department spokeswoman said construction on the Beerwah project began in June 2020 and was expected to be completed by August 2022, while construction on the Yandina project was expected to start in September.

A further partnership with community housing provider Churches of Christ Housing Services had secured construction of 40 new affordable homes for seniors at its Little Mountain Campus in Caloundra and would be completed by December 2023.