Bush Summit 2021: Paul Toole’s vow to solve NSW housing crisis

The price of homes in regional NSW has risen dramatically in 12 months with people forced to sleep in cars as rents double.

New Deputy Premier Paul Toole has vowed to tackle the housing crisis in the bush that has seen rents double and people even forced to sleep in their cars.

“We’re going to open up more blocks of land we’re going to cut the red tape through the planning system to allow housing ­development to occur within a number of areas to open them up,” Mr Toole said.

The NSW government’s ­Regional Housing Taskforce, set up to address the housing issues in the bush, will release a raft of recommendations later this month on measures to address the shortfall.

It cannot come too soon for employers in the bush already struggling to find workers in the regions and desperate for homes to house the people they do manage to recruit.

Deputy Premier Paul Toole has vowed to tackle the bush housing crisis. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

A Real Estate Institute of NSW survey in July found that vacancy rates across regional NSW were sitting at below two per cent with many areas at just below one per cent, including ­Albury, the central west, Riverina, Hunter (excluding New­castle) and the south coast.

In areas such as the central west, rents have jumped by 12.50 per cent in the past year, while in the Murray they increased by 11.11 per cent.

Mr Toole, who said he had heard of long-term renters being kicked out because landlords had been offered substantially higher rents, said the solution ­involved all layers of government working together to build a range of housing options.

Leo Patterson Ross, chief executive of the Tenants’ Union of NSW, said the state needed “a big construction boom” for housing supply to catch up with runaway demand.

“We’re seeing double figure rent increases in so many of the regions. People are being asked to move and, having nowhere else to go, they’re sleeping in cars,” he said.

He said ousted tenants were calling the union for help while camped in the overcrowded homes of family and friends.

“They’re really shocking and sad stories,” he said. “At the end of the day, people can’t find homes that they can afford.”

The price of homes in the bush has risen by 27.4 per cent over the 12 months to September compared with 23.6 per cent in Sydney and 20.3 per cent across the country, according to CoreLogic data.

CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless said demand was being driven by record low mortgage rates and low overall supply levels.

“Additionally, regional areas of the state have seen a rise in demand from home buyers coming out of the capital city region,” he said. “In many cases, buyers from Sydney have had the benefit of previous home ownership which has provided a significant leg-up into the regional markets.”

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